inlace?

[Jamie Buxton]

Inlace sells kits with "stone" granules and CA glue. 8 oz of granules, $30. It is not clear to me if the granules arrive dry, or whether they are already mixed with the glue. Anybody know?

[Russell Stanton]

They arrive dry

[Brice Rogers]

Is the inlace material a stone or a polymer?

[Wes Ramsey]

I'm not sure what that product specifically is, but I would imagine it is some type of dyed stone. I've used real minerals and stone and a little of the fake stuff. The real stuff looks great when crushed fine, but the dyed stuff sometimes isn't dyed all the way through and can leave off-color spots in your inlace. If it is fine already and doesn't need to be crushed it should look fine. I picked up some red coral from one of the suppliers that looked just fine crushed. Dyed stone may be easier to cut and finish and the real thing is hard to cut and your tools can take a beating, but I'll go with the real thing anytime I can. I have all sorts of stone and minerals I buy at rock shows or people give me - lapis lazul, dolomite, malachite, wavellite, rotochrosite, agate, turquoise, obsidian, and so on. Haven't used most of them yet, but I'm getting around to it. I used to be somewhat of a gem and mineral nerd in school and my mom still is. Now my boys are carrying that flag. Its really quite fun and cheap since a lot of their samples are from my old collection or gifts from my mom.

[Jamie Buxton]

Is the inlace material a stone or a polymer?

Inlace seems pretty careful to not answer that question. They do admit that it is man-made, but that's all. They just call it "material". It could be plastic, or it could be dyed stone. From a workability standpoint, plastic might be better; stone can dull your tools.

[Art Mann]

The clear liquid looks and smells like polyester resin. It is similar to Bondo that is used in body shop work.

[Bill Boehme]

The Inlace nuggets, granules are colored hard plastic material that simulates stone. Inlace is NOT cyanoacrylate glue. It is a two part polyester casting resin, Reichhold Polylite 32153 (http://www.reichhold.com/documents/1089_POLYLITE3215300.pdf). You can buy either just the clear Inlace resin (16 oz.) or a selection of ten different premixed granules and resin (http://www.inlaceonline.com/text/products/kits.html) (8 oz.). There are also numerous other Inlace products (http://www.inlaceonline.com/) that you can use to create many different effects. These include dyes, metallic dust, and dry granules of several different sizes and many different colors.

The particular product that you asked about comes already mixed together and you just add the hardener. Once mixed, you have an open working time of about 15 to 20 minutes. When it starts to set, it sets very fast so don't bother trying to continue once you see that it is setting up or else you will just wind up messing thing up.

I use the clear Inlace with real minerals in inlay work. One thing to be mindful about when you want a flush surface is the Moh's hardness of the mineral. You will regret letting turquoise and other hard minerals stand proud of the surface if you think that you are going to turn, sand,or grind it flush.

[Steve Mawson]

The only reason I don't use much Inlace is it loads up my sandpaper as I finish it off. It could be that I am not doing proper mixing or some other problem, but for me it takes a lot of 2 and 3" sanding discs. Looks good when I am done but I have found other ways to avoid the sandpaper issue.

[Art Mann]

Steve, I have had the same experience as you. Sometimes, the material will take a week or two to cure properly so that sanding produces dust rather than gum.

[Robert Willing]

Jamie this is where I buy my inlace from https://www.turtlefeathers.net/ You can buy the mixed or clear up to you, just navigate their site and find what you want. They offer I think 3 grades chunks, granules, and powder. They provide good instructions. Good luck!