Has Anyone Tried This Product For Sanding Turquoise?

[Jeff Paxton]

I have tried a couple of pieces with turquoise, but it was so hard to cut and sand, that I have not tried any more. I saw a product at The Sanding Glove called 3M Super Abrasives - Diamond Discs. It is for sanding stone. It is really expensive, a 3 inch disc is $37.95. It suggests that it can be cleaned and used over and over. Does anyone have any experience with this product? I really like turquoise for filling cracks and decorative voids, but before I spend that much I would like a recommendation.

Here is the link:
http://www.thesandingglove.com/

Thanks,

Jeff

[curtis rosche]

i think it would scratch the wood to peices around the turquoise

[Ryan Baker]

I feel your pain. I was sanding turquoise filler for hours yesterday, and it's not done yet.

I can't help much with the diamond wheel, as I haven't used one. I would expect it would work really well on the turquoise. I think the biggest issue is the binder you use with it -- CA, epoxy, Inlace, etc. For me, that is what gums up the disks and makes things difficult. You wouldn't want an expensive disc to gum up quickly.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

I have tried a couple of pieces with turquoise, but it was so hard to cut and sand, that I have not tried any more. I saw a product at The Sanding Glove called 3M Super Abrasives - Diamond Discs. It is for sanding stone. It is really expensive, a 3 inch disc is $37.95. It suggests that it can be cleaned and used over and over. Does anyone have any experience with this product? I really like turquoise for filling cracks and decorative voids, but before I spend that much I would like a recommendation.

Here is the link:
http://www.thesandingglove.com/

Thanks,

Jeff

I haven't tried it. However You could just give Bruce a call. (owner of the Sanding Glove) Bruce is also a wood turner himself & Knows a lot about all the products he carries.

[Nathan Hawkes]

I have tried a couple of pieces with turquoise, but it was so hard to cut and sand, that I have not tried any more. I saw a product at The Sanding Glove called 3M Super Abrasives - Diamond Discs. It is for sanding stone. It is really expensive, a 3 inch disc is $37.95. It suggests that it can be cleaned and used over and over. Does anyone have any experience with this product? I really like turquoise for filling cracks and decorative voids, but before I spend that much I would like a recommendation.

Here is the link:
http://www.thesandingglove.com/

Thanks,

Jeff

Jeff, funny you should mention this. I was just looking at their website. I get an email woodturning newsletter from Steven Russell, and a while back the entire thing was devoted to this product being used for sanding inlaid stone!! I personally haven't tried it, but a lot of people apparently do use it for stone, and it works well for them. I know what you're going through with traditional abrasives though! I've done just one bowl with a 14" dia. by 3/8" wide inlaid stripe on the rim, and went through probably 6 or 8 discs of 60 grit and 80 grit, then 100 to get the turqoise flush with the surface of the wood, not to mention the rest of the grits to 800 then polishing compound to shine it up! I wasn't happy with the way tiny crushed pieces looked if I just filled in around them with CA glue, so I opted for what it sounds like you are doing; filling it in above the surface & sanding flush with the wood surface.

[Chip Sutherland]

but when some aggregate stone I wanted to inlay sat too proud in a recess I cut, I got out my dremel and used a combination of grinding down the stone on the backside and recessing the location more. It took a lot of trial and error to find the best grinder bits in my box for the dremel....I also learned to hold the stone in some hemostats to save my fingers. This took quite a while to complete because each problematic stone was set with thick CA manually then I added the filler which was a 20-25 minute epoxy with crushed and powdered stone. Thin CA was used to fill low spots. Unless you held the bowl just right you'd be hard pressed to see the CA at all.

I used traditional sanding grits starting at 150 up to probably 400. I didn't dare go lower lest those grits really gouge the inlaid. In the end, some of it still stood proud despite my efforts. I was past obsessed, I was ready to get rid of the piece so much that I never setup the photo tent to take a picture of it. It was snatched up at a fall craft show....The buyer really, really liked the feel. I probably could have skipped all the extra work but then I wouldn't have the experience for the next one. I was going for sanding perfection and forgot that there would be a tactical pleasure in not sanding piece to museum standards.

I have designs for future stone inlay but haven't committed the time which I assure you will be far less than the 1st piece. I do use Inlace frequently without any problems with traditional sanding abrasives by a combination of forward/reverse sanding with a pad in a drill, as well as, hand sanding.

As a safety note, I do where a particulate respirator....stone dust is bad stuff. And Inlace will get you high so I let the shop air out after I use it.

[Chris Stolicky]

I, too, have used my dremel to smooth crushed turquoise/CA inlay.

It takes some trial and error, but it will work.

[Steve Trauthwein]

I can see where the dremel tool could be useful for leveling stone but I usually end up gouging whatever the corresponding material is. I find files to be very useful for reducing inlaid stones to the level of the turning.


Turquoise and malachite both contain copper so I would be sure to use dust protection when sanding it.

Regards, Steve

[Chip Sutherland]

Excellent comment. At the time I didn't have adequate files but now I do. I gotta remember that.

[Al Wasser]

I bought one of the 2" diamond discs and used it for the first time yesterday. I had put sand size particles of turquoise in the rim of about a 7" bowl using CA glue. It had sat for about a month so was well cured. It took maybe 30 minutes but got the job done. No harm to the wood. It would have taken less time but by cheapo angle drill kept getting to hot to handle so I had to let it set and then start over. It did take me a little longer than expected but got it done.

[Bruce Hoover]

Jeff,
If you look in your AAW resource directory for Larry Fox, in Colorado, he could tell you all about the diamond discs. Every vessel he makes contains turquoise inlay and he teaches the topic.
Bruce