bgast1
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2010
Posts: 1,076
|
Post by bgast1 on Aug 18, 2011 12:39:45 GMT -5
I have a question. I have been carving some Alabaster and get lot of dust saved over. The carving has some grooves in it. I have noticed that while sanding that the dust fills into the grooves and looks very nice as a color contrast. Is there a way to solidify that dust and have it remain the same color in those grooves?
Or would some sort of inlay be better but I don't know how to do inlay or how to keep it inside groove.
Any hints or help to get me started in the right direction would be very much appreciated.
|
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on Aug 18, 2011 22:17:39 GMT -5
An old wood workers trick was to mix sawdust with stain and glue to fill voids. You could try mixing rock dust in 330 epoxy.
|
|
bgast1
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2010
Posts: 1,076
|
Post by bgast1 on Aug 18, 2011 23:02:56 GMT -5
Thanks, I think I will give it a try. I don't really want to waste my Sleeping Beauty Turquoise on a project that might not turn out.
|
|
|
|
Post by rockitman on Aug 25, 2011 0:02:51 GMT -5
If I'm not mistaken. That is how they make fake turquoise.
Grind up junk turquoise to a powder, die it, and mix with epoxy. Instant Chinese turquoise.
Then again the Zuni Indians have been doing chip inlay with epoxies for over 50 years.
Just a thought....
If you have the ratio powder/epoxie to high in epoxie it will be shineyer?
I would think add as much powdered stone as you can if you try it.
Sounds like fun. Let us know how it goes... Luck on ya...jim
|
|
|
|
Post by Rockoonz on Sept 12, 2011 1:34:41 GMT -5
Re-constitited turquoise is not the same as fake turquoise, which is dyed howlite. Most turquoise is basically blue chalk with resins added to stabilize it.
Lee
|
|
unclestu
Cave Dweller 
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
|
Post by unclestu on Sept 12, 2011 8:13:34 GMT -5
Yesterday I was asking Mary Ann a similar question with regard to her reconstituted coral.
My thought was to create a new life form from the dead and discarded parts that I have been collecting from my trim saw.
I am going to call it FRANKENSTONE. I just needed to know if it was better to use epoxy or Opticon as the. I see a lot of potential here. Different formulas can be devised by using different stones and different ratios. There is also the possibility of adding non stone ingredients to the mix such as small pieces of shells or metallic flakes. Also there are the effects that can be caused by the introduction and interaction of different chemicals.
As a child growing up I quickly learned that there where two groups of people. The haves and the have nots. The fact that I was of the later didn't change the fact that those of both groups had one thing in common. Whether they had or didn't have they all wanted one thing or another. It was out of this want that the concept of make it yourself came into my being. Unfortunately the concepts that where born in my head seemed to always get lost in the translation somewhere between my elbow and my finger tips. LOL Lets just say I was mechanically challenged.
However this seems something that I just might be able to pull off. Heck my mother always wanted her son to be a doctor and so I shall. I will now become........ Dr. Frankenstu
|
|
|
|
Post by Rockoonz on Sept 12, 2011 13:21:18 GMT -5
Stu the reconstitutet stone that is being sold was manufactured using high temperatures, vacuum, and lots of pressure. I think you could make something like the 2nd time around turquoise with vacuum alone, I would try a vacuum packer.
Thoroughly clean your stone bits and bake to remove all moisture and solvent/oil residue.
Opticon sets too fast, you need a resin that will give you a nice long work time to pull the air out, also as low a viscosity as possible.
Lee
|
|
