Stone Inlay in Wood Turning

By Chris Bennett – of Pop’s Shed

Introduction
In this document we describe the process on inlaying crushed stone into wood through wood turning.
It is aimed at giving some hints to those that are contemplating having a go, with the aim of avoiding
some of the pitfalls. As with any art form we tend to get better with practice and learn from our
mistakes, so good luck with making your mistakes.

Safety
One of the first things we would suggest is the right breathing wear and glass wear. Dust and flying
chips from standard wood turning is something that most wood turners are familiar with, and I am
pleased to note that over the last few years we have all become more conscious of the dangers of dust
and chips. Turning which involves stone gives an added level of danger and I do urge turners to use
eye protection and dust masks and where possible dust extraction systems.

Determining what to inlay

There are many different possibilities when you first look at the opportunity of using inlay material
such as stone. The easiest and suggested starting point is to insert a ring onto an object.

The example on the left is a 300mm (12 inch) platter with a

simple inlay of Azurite. This is one of the simplest inlays
to begin with and it is very effective in providing contrast
between the wood and the deep colour of the inlay.

There are many different options around the type of inlay to

use such as a carved picture or the use of geometric shapes.
The possibilities are many and will only expand as you gain
more experience in doing simple then complex inlays.

At right this inlay of Malachite follows the natural hollows in

the burl. The stone in effect replaces the bark that was
removed

www.popsshed.com.au Page 1
Cutting the Recess
The recess needs to be cut with vertical sides and be a
minimum 2mm to 4mm deep ( a up to ¼ inch). If you are
cutting a ring then I suggest a parting tool or a modified
blade will do the trick, but make sure the sides are straight
up and down. If the walls of the cut are too shallow it can
be difficult to get the inlay to stay where it is put

It is very important before you start inlaying the stone that you
protect the timber from excess glue. The Cyanoacrylate glue or CA
glue used may stain the timber around the recess if excess glue spills
(as it will) onto the surrounding timber. To protect this I suggest you
use a wax stick and add a layer of wax either side of the recess cut.
If you forget to do this then you will find that sanding will be around
four times as long to remove all the glue form the wood. It is worth
trying to remember this step.

If you decide to move to a fancy inlay where you need to

insert a picture then the same applies that the sides of the cut
need to be straight up and down. One of the ways to achieve
this is with a Dremel tool mounted in a plunge router
attachment.

The Dremel tool can then be used in a hand held manner to

tidy up the carving as can be seen in the picture on the left .

As you can see from this cut pattern we are gradually carving
a pattern of flowers to go into the timber.

Remember to rub additional wax around the outside of the

recess to protect the area from staining from the excess glue

www.popsshed.com.au Page 2
Selecting the Stone
There are a number of different types of stones available all of which give a different range of colour
and finish. Firstly it is important to understand that the hardness of stone is measured using the MOH
Scale (Measure of Hardness).

The MOH hardness scale for minerals has been used since 1822. It consists of 10 minerals arranged in
order from 1 to 10. Diamond is rated as the hardest and is indexed as 10; talc as the softest with index
number 1. Each mineral in the scale will scratch all those below it:

Diamond 10
Corundum 9
Topaz 8
Quartz 7
Orthoclase or Feldspar 6
Apatite 5
Fluorite 4
Calcite 3
Gypsum 2
Talc 1

So when selecting stone it is recommended that you focus on those that are below 5 and preferably in
the 3 or 4 range.

The stones that are available vary in colour and in type. Here is a selection of stones that are available
through Pop’s Shed. Go to the website at www.popsshed.com.au for an up to date list of the stone
currently in stock.

The stone available through Pop's Shed is in bags of 50 grams (1.8 ounces approx). The
stone we use is sourced in Australia and is then crushed by us and fed through a number of
different sieves and sold in four different sizes.

 4mm to 6mm
 2mm to 4mm
 .5mm to 2mm
 Powder (called Flour is sold in bags of 25 grams)

www.popsshed.com.au Page 3
Malachite

Malachite has a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the MOH scale and

has a deep green colour.

The inlay in the burl below shows how the richness of the
green inlay contrasts with the patterns of the burl

Calcite

Calcite comes in a range of colours from dark almost black through to white or clear calcite. The
stone breaks into small rectangular crystals when crushed. Calcite is a 3 on the MOH hardness scale.
We stock a range of colours such as white, orange, pink and clear

Because of the variety of colour and the relative softness of Calcite this is a very popular choice of
stone for inlay work

www.popsshed.com.au Page 4
Chrysocolla

Is a green/blue colour and relatively soft on the MOH scale at a

rating of 3. Chrysocolla is a good substitute for Turquoise which
can be difficult to obtain.

Azurite

Azurite is a soft, deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of

copper ore deposits. It is also known as Chessylite Is a deep blue to purple
in colour and provides a contrast against any timber.

The inlay in the platter below is Azurite,

Inserting the stone

The technique of inlaying stone involves adding the stone to the recesses in the timber and then
sanding back the stone until it is level with the timber. It is not possible to use your turning tools to
take off the excess stone as the stone will blunt the chisels almost immediately.

Corundum based sandpaper or Silicon Carbide paper will remove the excess stone quickly. We
suggest using a power sander or drill with a sanding disk attached to remove the bulk of the excess
stone.

Cyanoacrylate glue (Super Glue) or CA Glue is used to glue the stone in place. The process is to start
with the larger pieces of stone and put these into position then add glue over the top to hold the stone
in place.

www.popsshed.com.au Page 5
 This part of the process is slow and requires patience. There is a
tendency to want to dump a pile of stone over the recess and then add
the glue. Unfortunately this approach will deliver poor results. The
aim is to build up a solid base of stone from the bottom of the recess.
Start with larger stones and then add smaller stones to fill the spaces.
This is why bags of stone are sold in different grades.

We strongly recommend the use of gloves in this step. We all know that nail polish remover will
remove super glue, however if the super glue is embedded with fine stone removal is very difficult

Continue the process of adding different stone to the inlay and allow the glue to dry. At this point you
have a very solid mass of stone glued in place

Undoubtedly underneath the layers of stone that you have added and then flooded with glue there will
be gaps or holes in the stone which will require filling with additional stone. The process from here is
to cut back the stone using the power sander and then add additional stone and glue. This is where the
smaller grades of stone are used along with the powdered stone – or Flour. Again this step requires
patience and latex gloves.

Sanding & Finishing

It is important to remember that from the time you start adding inlay
you must stop using your chisels. If you try to remove stone with
your chisels the sparks will fly and not much else.

The solution is Silicon Carbide paper or emery paper. I start by

using a sanding disk on the drill. This is a rough Silicon Carbide
pad of around 60 grit.

The bowl to the left shows the build up of stone prior to the first
sand. With the CA glue this is a very hard and jagged mass of
stone. This is why I start the process of reducing the stone with
the drill. Leather gloves are also essential as you progress to
hand sanding on the lathe.

As with any finishing you progressively move up through the

grits once the bulk is removed.

www.popsshed.com.au Page 6
Once you have removed the bulk it is time to review the
work and use a finer level of powder in combination with
tapping to push the stone into any remaining holes.

As you can see from the photo to the right you continue to
add additional stone in finer and finer levels into the holes.

The final finish is the same you would use for any piece of turning. I use UBeaut EEE cream to give
a final cut to the work and then the Friction polish to give a sheen to both the stone and the timber.

The following pieces are those used throughout this

document

New Guinea Rosewood Hollow form with Chryoscolla

inlay.

Coolabah Burl with Malachite inlay

Camphor Laurel platter with Azurite inlay

www.popsshed.com.au Page 7
About Pop’s Shed
Pop’s Shed is a private company owned by two brothers who are passionate about Timber and all
aspects of wood and woodcraft. Brian and Chris Bennett have worked to build a business which will
meet the needs of wood crafters of all types. This includes Wood Turning, Carving, and general DIY
enthusiasts.

We have a very large range of timbers and tools including lathes, band saws, sanders, dust extractors
and drill presses. We saw the need to try and bring together the right quality tools at the right price
with the timber and the accessories. We know that woodturners love to try new things. So the
accessories we have sourced such as bottle stoppers, cork screws, magnifying glasses, cufflinks,
perfume atomisers and many, many more will provide lots of good projects at reasonable prices. We
also have a large range of wooden gift boxes for those pens or special items.

One other part of the Pop’s Shed vision is to allow people to try the product before they buy. Whether
this is a Lathe, a Chuck, a Japanese saw or a Bowl Gouge, all of our tools are available in our
Training Centre to try before you buy. This way we know you are making an informed decision about
the product.

Finally, our Training Centre is an important part of the Pop’s Shed world. So many people we talk to
say........

“I always wanted to learn how to do wood turning...........but never had the chance”

Well we now offer that chance from short introductory courses to more involved and advanced
courses run by some of the best turners in Melbourne.

This paper is provided to assist those starting in the art of stone inlay and we happy to help if we can.
Please contact us if we can assist. Details are on the contact page of our website at
www.popsshed.com.au

Good luck with your turning

www.popsshed.com.au Page 8