Torquoise course chip inlay packs

( Ground to  the size of course raw sugar)

Note :Maybe  a mix of real stone and man made materials

This crushed stone is perfect for inlay work or filling natural voids found in carving or woodturning projects

Uses include all types of inlay such as knife handles. Antler and bone .

Jewellery, art and crafts, Infill for  carved  birds and animal eyes.

TQP 50g

TQP 100g 

TQP 480g

Using Turquoise or Copper inlay 

Turn or carve item to finished shape and sand to min of 180 -240 grit.

1:If you are intending to carve out areas for inlay mark with a soft pencil then using a high speed rotary tool and a small carving bit – carve or rout out the area for the inlay material.

Use saburrtooth burs in a Dremel for fast and clean cutting results .Conventional burs tend to chip out the end grain. The faster the speed the easier and quicker it is to carve/rout out the area.

2: If you have cut in a groove on turned work like a platter now is the time to use sanding sealer to prevent any staining when either Ca glue or epoxy is used to glue in the inlay material

You may wish to then paint with acrylic paint of your colour choice as a back ground

3: Mask of the area to be filled 

4: Using an small artist pallet knife carefully place inlay material in one of the carved out areas – pile the material proud of the surface to allow from some settling and flow when the CA glue is applied.

5: Using the handle end of the pallet knife, gently tamp, pack down the inlay material. This has two purposes, first to pack the material into the opening as deep as possible, second to get the smaller grains of material to settle down between the larger grains to fill the cavity.

6: Carefully put a few drops of thin CA glue on a uphill side of the material and let the CA glue flow into the material. If the glue is applied on top of the material it will force some of the material out of the carved area. I do not put accelerator - I think it makes the inlay material a little brittle and easier to “chip” out when sanding and finishing.

7: Let cure for 5-10 minutes.

 8 :Sand the built up areas with 80 grit sandpaper – being careful not to sand the wood. The objective is to sand down the inlay/glue to match the surface of the wood but not to change the wood profile.

 I do this sanding with an air die grinder or right angled drill using Ondena oil as a lubricant.

This extends the life of the paper

 Place the item on the lathe and sand normally to final sanding grit you like to use.

During the sanding process, inspect the inlay for small pin holes that may have been created. If you have some small pin holes you can repair with the finer powder

Sanding down the inlay is the most reliable method. Most inlay stone material will quickly dull turning tools. Turning tools will often catch the corner of a larger chunk of material and tear it out leaving a pin hole.

Gemcoat epoxy resin can also be used to inlay this Material

Post overseas quoted