Turquoise Inlay

Check out Candy Hicks project page. She uses turquoise inlay a lot, and I’m sure if you sent her a message she would be glad to offer some suggestions.

I’ve done a few stone/epoxy inlays, and it is pretty much a straightforward procedure just as you described.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

go to a rock shop and get some epoxy 3 or opticon , as these are the best for being transparent and have the best holding power in stone, opticon is acctualy for fixing fractures in gemstones, another thing you can do is use molten silver and then grind off and polish. i have poured silver into checks and knots with amazing results

-- blaine von hagen

On stone – Candy Hicks. I use atomized metals and epoxy frequently with good results on specimen pieces . Look for my next projects post.

-- rob

I did a nice tourquoise inlay once when the wood kept yelling at me, saying that’s what it wanted. I wrapped some turquoise in a towel and smashed it with a hammer. I filled the holes with the crushed rock, then I used System Three long-set epoxy (dyed black with System Three Epoxy dye). I taped off the area as if I were taping for a paint job, then poured the epoxy over the rock. Over the next hour or so the epoxy seeped down into every nook and cranny and I added a little more. The next day I hit it with a grinder of successively finer grits. It was stunning.

Were do you get the tourquoise in the first place?

-- Mike, Westport MA.

Most craft stores carry turquois for inlay (www.woodturnerscatalog.com, www.arizonasilhouette.com (you can do a search online for it also)...either as powder or crushed stone….some also have bigger pieces, other places would be a mineral store…or a jewelry supply….I’ve seen some on Ebay too,

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!