Decorative touches

[Tim Passmore]

I've been turning bowls for just over a year and am now wanting to add some decorative touches to my pieces. I'm thinking of cutting some "grooves" in the rim with a parting tool and then would like to fill it with "material" to add some color. Thoughts and recommendations please. Any websites you can reference would be greatly appreciated.

[Dave Cullen]

There are lots of materials for that. Crushed Turquoise is very popular. Check out inlay materials at Craft Supply:

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/t/47/Inlay-Materials

For simple & cheap you can mix coffee grounds with epoxy:

[Tim Passmore]

Thanks Dave---I've been looking at a product called Inlace.

[John Keeton]

System Three epoxy and a little black tint makes a nice background for a variety of aggregate - brass filings, etc.

[Thom Sturgill]

I once made the mistake of using some Lapis Lazuli that I bought (at woodcraft?). It was harder than my M2 tools . I had made a groove and filled it with a lapis/epoxy mix. I ended up flattening it with a sanding disk. Softer stone like malachite, turquoise, jade should all work well as does brass shavings/filings as John said.

[William Tanner]

I done a couple of small projects with Woodturner's Palette from ThesandingGlove.com. They stock several vibrant colors and the material is easy to sand. It is advertised as "Wood filler and color enhancement." I've been very pleased so far.

[William Tanner]

I should have also noted that this product is inexpensive and the company has been a pleasure to deal with.

[Wes Ramsey]

A lot of the turnings I've done have cracked, but with a little inlace they turn out nice. So far I've used coffee grounds, turquoise, red coral and copper filings. I think coffee grounds are my favorite so far, but the copper sure does look nice. It is a lot of work and a lot of fun.

Just a note from experience - it is not possible to clean up turquoise inlace with Benjamin's Best gouges. It dulls the tool on the first pass and only gets worse from there. My new Thompson gouges do just fine.

[Steve Mawson]

I have used Inlace before but have trouble sanding. Sand paper or disc load up quickly and takes a lot of pieces to get it looking good. Perhaps I am not mixing properly but I have had the same problem with many batches.