Cheap TURQUOISE Inlay material

[Bob Hallowell]

I needed some Turquois for a bowl I was turning and looked at the "bay" I got a full pound of crushed turquoise for $16. plus 4oz of powdered turquoise for $4 and 4oz of some crushed blue rock for $4.

just thought I would let you know.

auction number
http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/globalAssets/rtCurve.gif
1770188505465

Bob

[Tony De Masi]

Thanks Bob. Just picked up a bag myself.

Tony

[Bob Hallowell]

I looked it up a csusa and they want $10 for 1oz. So that would be $160 for a pound not to shabby.

Bob

[Scott Hubl]

OK, so how do I find it by that #?:confused:

[Bob Hallowell]

you can do an advance search or search for crushed turquios as I did, But I pm'd you the link It looks like 1lb bag left I don't know if they will put more up or not.

Bob

[Scott Hubl]

Thanks Bob, I got your PM and bought that last one.:D

[Allen Neighbors]

Cheers, everyone! If you'll Google "Colbaugh Processing", you can locate a plant in the SW USA. I bought Unstabilized Turquoise... floor sweepings... dime to half-dollar sized chunks for 15 bucks a pound. Plus shipping. Three pound minimum. Clean, beautiful, blue, turquoise.

[Scott Hubl]

I believe I ended up buying the same 3 you bought Bob, I was looking for a 4oz. of the Blue powered but seems you had to buy that by the pound.

I'm waiting on the seller to bill me for the 3 and combine the shipping.

I may buy a pound of the blue powered once I recieve the other stuff and see how fine it actually is and just how
BLUE too.
Thanks for the heads up.

I have been collecting the Brass key filings from key machines at HD, will be nice to mix some color in.

[Norm Zax]

How are you guys managing with crushing the turquoise? I chickened out and bought azurite and malachite (blue and green), both 1-1.5 softer on the Moh scale.

[Bob Hallowell]

I sent her an email and told her I posted her ebay store here and She just sent me here website with lots more options www.gilmerrockshop.com (http://www.gilmerrockshop.com)
I have no affilation with them.

Bob

[George Troy]

I have Coran scraps in different colors, put it in a bag and crush until particles are real fine. Use with super glue over the top and you are good to go.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hi Guys, I'd love to use some of this in my bowls but don't know how. Can you give me a quick lesson on its use? Does it cut with regular turning tools? It sounds pretty hard. Thank you. Alan

[Bob Hallowell]

Hi Guys, I'd love to use some of this in my bowls but don't know how. Can you give me a quick lesson on its use? Does it cut with regular turning tools? It sounds pretty hard. Thank you. Alan

Alan,
If it is a small void or crack I just shoved some in and put some ca ove top. If it is larger I mix it in with epoxy and pour it in the void or large crack.

Bob

[Hal Taylor]

I tried to Google Colbaugh Processing to purchase some unstablized turquoise but was unsuccessful. Anybody have a more specific address? Thanks.

[Pete Jordan]

I tried to Google Colbaugh Processing to purchase some unstablized turquoise but was unsuccessful. Anybody have a more specific address? Thanks.
http://www.colbaugh.net/home.html

I ordered 3 pounds yesterday

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Bob thanks for the answer on that. Alan

[Chris Stolicky]

Thanks for the info...

I ordered some. I will test my crack-filling artistic skills (or lack there of)....

[Allen Neighbors]

Alan, Bob's got it down.
Some folks crush the turquoise in a pipe with a cap on the end, with a smaller pipe and cap to act as a plunger... just bang away with it, then pour it out.
I have a small square crusher made from steel with a Railroad spike to pound on. I'll try to post a pic.
(I now have a real handle on my hammer, too.) :o

[Glenn Hodges]

I use a pipe with a cap on one end, then use another with a cap on the end to cruch the material. One pipe slides down inside the other. This does a good job and prevents the loss of material.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Hi All,
I don't do turning....as yet anyway, but have been looking to get some turquoise for inlaying into mesquite things I build and stumbled across the post here.

Allen, I just finished ordering from Colbausgh. I did get three pounds as it's pretty cheap, but there was no minimum for the order other than you had to get it in pound lots. Thanks for posting their info.

As far as working it I have yet to try it but it should work like the other stuff I've done. I build a good many things with mesquite and want to inlay it in them Since mesquite is full of cracks I got a gallon of wood flour cement. A friend who made mesquite flooring used it and just mixed fine mesquite sawdust with it and squeeged it into the cracks in his flooring and sanded it off with a floor sander. I use a belt sander on my stuff. The wood flour cement is about 25 bucks a gallon and lasts a long time if you use it like I do. I have yet to try the turquoise but I did try filling a crack with brass filings I got from a local hardware store where they cut keys (my own idea but I have since read about it elsewhere). It mixed very well with the cement and was easy enough to sand off.

Like I said, I don't turn as of yet but plan to be retiring pretty soon and will have time to get into it. I keep thinking I will but then along comes another order. :)

P.S. (edit) The guy was nice enough to say he would throw in a sample of some red coral they have to let me try it so if it works out well I'll try to let you know. Doubt it will look good with mesquite....would be better with a lighter wood.

[Allen Neighbors]

Thanks for posting, Richard. I'm interested to hear about the red coral, too. I'd like to know how it looks... (hint... pics?)..:D

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Allen, Thanks for that info. I forgot about this thread like a lot of things. :(

[Dewey Torres]

I just got a full pound from the bay... thanks all!

By the way... what is the best way to flush up this stuff once inlaid? I have never used it before.

Looking forward to a new challenge:)

Dewey

[Scott Hubl]

http://www.thewows.com/isapi.dll/c/content/f/viewproperty/contentclass/FILE/contentid/ZZZZZS2S/propertyname/File/ssid/ebuPvEjWLUKU6n_gKQVCFYoT6Ag*PQ4oMC/~/Basic_Stone_Inlay__Ver_1.0_.PDF

I thought this would interest all of us buying crushed stone for inlay and crack filling.

[Joseph Peacock]

Cool, what are you working on?:confused:

[Scott Hubl]

I just recieved my stone order today.:D

I am very please with it.
I bought a pount of the sm. crushed turquiose,4oz of the powder inlay turquoise,4oz of the sm. crushed blue gold stone, and 4oz. of the power blue gold stone.

It was all very well packaged the 4oz. bags were Dbl. zip lock bagged and the 1 pounder was a heavy duty ziplock bag and stapled closed across the top, then each was individually wrapped in newspaper and boxed.

I will buy from her again.

( I saw some Purple Turquoise on another website I want to ask her if she can get it, it was only offerd as beads on that other site.)

[Glenn Hodges]

Pete, I did not see floor sweepings on the site. Did you email them and ask for them?

[Hilel Salomon]

Hi Folks,

When I saw this, I looked up turquoise on ebay and found this site. I wound up ordering some turquoise, black agate, quartz and blue gold stone. It'll be shipped to SC (headed back there this week), but the folks at this site were very friendly and their shipping was very reasonable.
Here's the site: www.gilmerrockshop.com (http://www.gilmerrockshop.com/).
I've never done inlaying, but I've got so many funnels and cracks that I thought it would be interesting to try these.
Luck, Hilel.

[Chris Stolicky]

I got my order in the mail on Saturday. I used some of the finely crushed to fill voids in a Buckeye Burl pen I made yesterday.

It came out pretty good.

Thanks again for the info.

[Chris Yarish]

Can someone explain the use of turquoise in turning?
Do you merely inlay it or do you inlay it and then turn it?

[Pete Jordan]

Pete, I did not see floor sweepings on the site. Did you email them and ask for them?
Hi Glenn,

I didn't see them either so I just asked.


Pete

[Pete Jordan]

This is the floor sweepings. It is three pounds. I thought you might want to see the size of the pieces. I am very happy with it.

[Dewey Torres]

Got my shipment yesterday...(1 lb crushed; just like the pictures on the site) great little company. shipping was very fast. Now for my first try with stone....
Wish me luck guys... I may be back for questions.
Or maybe to show something off!
Dewey

[Barry Elder]

Guys, I spoke with the lady on the phone yesterday and tried to explain how to get in touch with all you turners in the Dallas/FW area clubs. She's struggling to survive with a bad location for a retail business so she's turning to the internet. Good prices, good selection and can't wait to see it delivered! No personal interest other than a source for woodturners.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I thought I would resurrect this thread and add a couple things (pictures) to it, as well as recommend a source. I ordered the ‘floor sweepings’ from Colbaugh Processing. I placed the order and was transferred to a guy who handles the material. He said he would throw in a sample of red coral for me to play with, so I’m including a picture. Actually he put in two samples, stabilized and non-stabilized. Stabilized refers to impregnating the sample with resin so it won’t crumble when worked. It’s nice to get the stuff but since the coral is not bright red but more of a brick red I think it would have limited use, especially in mesquite. It would work better in a light wood.

But mixed in with the blue turquoise was some green stuff. The site lists a material called Mohave Green Turquoise and that’s what I'm guessing this is. It’s a bright lime green and could be used for inlay like the regular blue turquoise. I assume the hardness and working properties are the same. Anyway, I ordered three pounds of turquoise and picked out maybe a ¼ lb of the green.

The Colbaugh Processing site lists a $100 minimum but nothing was said about it for my order, other than ordering in pound lots. Great people to deal with. I ordered one afternoon and told them to just send it to my PO Box. That evening I got a call from them saying that they had checked and I could save a few bucks going UPS. Very nice of them to do that.
87226

87227

87228

[Allen Neighbors]

Chris Yarish...
I mix crushed (about like sugar and finer) turquoise with epoxy, and force it into cracks and holes in Mesquite. I ensure that it's a little proud of the surrounding surface of the wood. I do all this after I've turned the piece, and before sanding. After it sets up for overnight, I power sand the turquoise level with 80 grit.
Then I sand as normal, and, because the turquoise doesn't sand as quickly as the wood, I occasionally power sand again, to make sure the turquoise is level with the wood.
I have turned the mixture before but you have to have the cutters that are stronger than plain HSS. I have some cutters for my Oland tools that have 10% Cobalt in HSS, and they'll cut it just fine.

[Bob Hallowell]

I got all my stuff I ordered from here and it was all great. I hope she makes it.

Bob

[gary bardsley]

Scott,

I found your email thread on the Sawmill site about powdered turquoise and more, but didn't see the site where you found all the different colored stone.

I hope this finds you well as all threads I found on the site were from 2008.

Thank you,

Gary Bardsley

[Bill Bukovec]

info.colbaugh@citlink.net (info.colbaugh@citlink.net)

Here's an email address for them.

Bill

[Primvs Aebvtivs]

Just found this today, as it's been resurrected (thanks!) Can't find anyhting decent on the bay for rough / crushed turquoise, and prices to here for postage are pretty steep too, so looking to find some in charity shops when we go out later (It's 'Mothers' Day' today), and she wants a walk round the shops... in the rain! Oh boy, well, 'Fathers' Day' is in June - so at leat we should have good weather for a day on the beach (my choice!).

Take it easy out there, I can see some chips coming loose, but fingers crossed you're all wearing visors!