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Stone inlay on pepper mill help needed!

G

Gregory Capello

Joined
Jan 14, 2019
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Location
Providence, RI
Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster... I have been turning for a few years now and I have come across an issue with my latest project that is causing me serious issues, so I was hoping for some ideas!

Basically I am making a pepper mill but I have decided to do 3 small stone inlay bands near the top of the mill that has the recipient's family birthstones in it. The first 2 bands I have managed to do using crushed aquamarine and crushed black opal and they turned out reasonably well using the standard method of filling with crushed stone and thin CA then cutting away the excess with a carbide cutter then filling with smaller stone/powder and more CA then sanding. They look great (well the aquamarine looks rather blah, but that is the nature of the stone I think).

The problem is with the last band which is for the April birthstone, diamond. Obviously I am not going to do a diamond inlay given the cost... so I decided to buy some diamond powder and some cut cubic zirconia. I laid a small coating of the diamond dust at the bottom of the channel and then put the cut CZ on top of it (a combination of 1mm and 1.5mm stones). It created a really nice, sparkle. However, when I tried to cut back the CZ it completely destroyed the look of it since the stones just turned white at the top. So I decided that I wanted to try to re-do it and this time fill the stones slightly below the wood line so that I could just lay CA on top. That way it would keep the sparkle and be protected. However I am having an impossible time with it. I have never been good with CA finishing, so I have avoided it...

I tried thick CA, but it turned white in spots and looked terrible.... same with Medium CA. I have thought about leaving the stone a bit proud so you can feel the texture of the cut stones but I am not sure how to protect it.

One of the issues seems to be the fact that the inlay is just under 2" round so when I fill it with the CA it drips and pools at the bottom. I don't have a variable speed lathe, or I think I could turn it at something like 25 or 30 RPM to even it out... but that doesn't work at 600RPM. ;-)

So basically I am looking for suggestions as to how to put a clear coat on top of the stone that will sit in place while it dries and that I can sand to a clear finish... I am open to any and all ideas...

Thanks!
 
When I inlaid some pens with bands of abalone and thick CA, I placed the blanks on a dowel clamped to a motor used for fishing rod wrapping. Worked great to prevent the CA from sagging. The motor turns at less then 10 RPM. I can see it working for a 2 inch diameter pepper mill, although you might need to make an adaptor. The 4 jaw plastic chuck of a rod wrapping motor is designed to hold a narrower fishing rod blank.
 
I like Inlace which is more transparent than epoxy, but initially it will tend to run so you would need to wait until it just begins to gel. Then work really fast because it goes from just right to stiff in less than a minute.
 
The motor from a discarded microwave is also an option for a slow speed motor. John Torchick should have 1-2 (hundred) available if you need one.
 
Thanks all!

I was thinking about trying clear epoxy but I've never worked with it so I am not sure what brand/type I should get... I looked at the Bob Smith Finish Cure epoxy but that seems to need to be kept at 85 degrees and seems complicated... is there a simple clear epoxy that people recommend that I can use as a somewhat thick top coat?
 
Gregory Capello said:
Richard, thanks! I know that when casting with alumilite i should be using a pressure pot to avoid air bubbles... Is that the case with all casting resins?
Click to expand...

Inlace (Reichhold 32153-00) doesn't have a problem with air bubbles. Read the entire thread in my link for good information on using several different products.
 
Inlace make a flake powder thickening product which you can mix with any Inlace product and then it can be applied and even held upside down. You can get holes and may have to apply ywice to cover a large area. Bubbles are possible problem and if so you could cut some out and refill.
 
The next go around might be easier to glue a small disposable mold together and drop the piece into the mold after gluing the inlay into the cuts and pour casting resin around the entire piece and let it set up and then turn to the final shape desired then sand, polish and finish. You can glue the piece to the bottom of the mold to keep it from floating in the resin.
 
Keep in mind- Dean fishes and obviously tends to exaggerate a lot. I do have two. FWIW, rod builders will fight to get a MW oven left at curbside to salvage the turntable motor. Most turn about 4-6 rpm. I found people toss them when all they need is a fuse to fix it.
 
Thank you all for the replies on this. I decided to give the thick CA one more try by turning the lathe at a low speed and being patient... and I think it worked. It seems to have dried clear without any of the white spots I had before. It's not 100% even but it definitely is all covered and now I think I can cut/sand it down. Of course that is now my current question. I have only tried a CA finish a few times and generally with terrible results. And that is using it as a finish after sanding with MicroMesh. This time I have a good amount of CA I need to remove to get down to a smooth surface.... Is there a recommended way for me to cut the CA down and sand it to a glossy finish? I've only ever used micromesh between coats while doing the CA finish... so can I actually take it from 120, 150, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1200, 2000, 3000 grit (which is my normal sanding progression)? Or should I be doing something else?

Thanks!
 
I get a glass finish using Micromesh after sanding to 499 grit. I go all the way to 12,000 grit with the Micromesh. Sometimes I also use Novus 2 polish applied with a jumbo cotton ball. Do not use any kind of cloth or especially not a paper towel because they will scratch the finish.

I use Alan Trout's method of applying a CA finish and I only use super thin CA. I feel like using thick CA is just creating extra work to level the finish and then polishing.
 
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