I'm in the final stretch of the race to complete my daughter's 18th birthday present and am looking for some verification...or not. I am building her a cherry jewelry box with walnut splines. The lid has a bubinga veneered panel that I was hoping to install banding around the outside of, but due to a 'brain fart' I was presented with 'design opportunity.' I've decided to use a crushed stone inlay to fill the grove that is too wide for the inlay. This is a technique that I've never done before, but it appears to be rather straightforward: Fill the grove with crushed stone up to the surface or just slightly above, flood the area with thin CA glue and wait for it to cure before sanding. My question has to do with finishing. My plan is to use BLO on the box and then top coat with spray lacquer. The dilemma I'm having is whether to apply the BLO first and then inlay, or should I inlay and then apply BLO. My gut tells me to finish first and apply painter's tape to keep the CA where it's supposed to be.
Also, if anyone has advice on doing the inlay, I'm all ears!!
Thanks,
JP