Can anyone recommend an honest, reliable source for genuine Turquoise, either powder or stones. I going to do some inlaying in cracks. I'm not interested in any other product. Thanks
Never used it, but if I wanted to crush something like that a piece of large steal pipe capped on one end and a steel rod, or slightly smaller capped pipe. Use it like a mortar and pestle.
I crush my turquoise using a cold chisel upside down. I ground the chisel end flat. I put the turquoise in a 2 inch coupling and pound against a steel plate using a small hammer. I have 2 inch steel rod in a steel cylinder but feel that I can control the crushing better using my method. As expensive as turquoise is you want to try not to ha e too much waste (fine powder).
As far as inlaying the turquoise, I keep it just below the surface and drip the CA over it. I used to sand the CA down with a small flap sander but have started turning it down with a negative rake scraper. You will get a little more chip out this way but do not have to deal with the CA sanding fumes.
That's pretty similar to my experience. I like the look of the turquoise set in black epoxy. To do that you have to grind it flush to expose the contrast. Dave Mueller's suggestion sounds like something I'll have to try.The color of turquoise varies depending on where it was mined. For example, the Sleeping Beauty mine turquoise is pastel blue in color, the Lander Blue mine turquoise is a darker blue, and there are several mines in Nevada that produce green turquoise and there are all shades in between.
The turquoise in most jewelry that you find has been "stabilized" because it is too soft in its natural state to be usable. This explains why it's Moh's hardness is only about 5.5. I learned from Google that about 90% of all turquoise is soft and considered low grade in its natural state. It is stabilized under high pressure with epoxy or plastic resin. The relatively rare and really hard natural turquoise is very expensive. Judging by the large amount of generic gray rocks in the turquoise that I have I think it probably was gathered from tailings or even road gravel. It was definitely harder than Moh's 5.5 since it dulled my carbide tools instantly.and it took many hours of grinding with the masonry blade to grind the turquoise down flush.
I also get my turquoise from vendors at gem and mineral shows. I use two methods for grinding the turquoise. For coarse stuff, I use a plugged pipe described by others, but I use a long bolt sized to fit inside the pipe. Once I have the stuff ground down to about 1/16" or so, I shift to a regular stainless steel mortar and pestle. Once the turquoise is down to that size, it grinds down without spraying around the room. For gluing the turquoise in place, I use two-part epoxy exclusively. Then I use diamond sanding blocks and pads used for glass and granite polishing -- available on Amazon. I use 60-grit and 120-grit. Sanding blocks work on flat and convex surfaces; sanding pads are more flexible for use on concave surfaces. The diamond pads cut turquoise and epoxy without damaging the wood very much.
That's pretty similar to my experience. I like the look of the turquoise set in black epoxy. To do that you have to grind it flush to expose the contrast. Dave Mueller's suggestion sounds like something I'll have to try.