Inlaying mother of pearl

Dr Bob

New Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
1
Hi all, I'm a new member. I'm a full time dentist and part time jeweler. I'm about to tackle a new progect I've never done before. Inlaying mother of pearl (MOP) into gold. My question is, do I create a straight sided trough on both sides and cement the MOP into the troughed gold, or do I treate it like a channel set diamond, create a bevel on the MOP and reverse bevel undercut one side of the trough and "work" the gold on the other staight side of the gold to the other reverse bevel on the MOP. My concern with that is the fragility of the MOP. On the other hand, the cement may fail over time and the MOP will loosen and dislodge.

Does any on have experience with this type of inlay work?

You may e-mail me at norway330@alltel.net if you like or I will check this forum daily.

Thanks so much for your help.

Dr Bob
 

Don Cowles

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Joined
Nov 9, 2006
Messages
165
Location
Royal Oak, Michigan, USA
I have done a lot of pearl inlay, but never in gold. The method for inlaying in wood (usually ebony or rosewood) involves scribing around the inlay piece and then creating a mortise within the scribed lines using a straight-sided carbide dental bur in a router base. The hole is slightly shallower than the inlay piece.

I use epoxy in the mortise, and have had no problem with inlays coming out. The epoxy provides a custom "bed" for the pearl piece, smoothing out any irregularities in the floor of the mortise. The pearl is then filed down flush with the surrounding material.

I have doubts about adapting this process to gold, but it's the best I can offer at this point.
 

nomentalgiant

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Joined
Jul 28, 2007
Messages
105
Location
New Orleans, Louisiana
Is your project a piece of jewelry or a knife? The answer to your question may differ depending on the application.

.....Oh, and as always, don't forget to post some pictures when you are finished!:)
 

Doc Mark

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Messages
1,284
Location
Hampton, Virginia
Dr. Bob,

Welcome to the Forum!! It's good to see another frustrated artist/ "Mouth Mechanic" on-line. I have no experience with MOP so I can't advise, but I'm sure there are some members who can help you out. If you want to be truly "blown away", just peruse the archives of this forum and see the unbelievable level of artistry shown within these pages! It is sure to inspire you.

Mark
 

DakotaDocMartin

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
1,835
Location
Grand Forks, ND
Mother of pearl inlaying

I've done quite a bit of work with M.O.P. and inlaying it in various ways. What you mentioned about the slight angle to the sides is what I've found to work well in gold and silver. I have a Crystalite Diamond Demon diamond cabbing machine I use for the grinding, shaping, and polishing. Make sure to use a lot of water when grinding M.O.P. (especially abalone shell) as it is very poisonous. I once did some shaping of inside curves dry with a Foredom tool and I wore a dust mask. A little bit of the dust made it past the mask and I turned red and ran a high fever for a couple of days. I never did any of it dry again after that ordeal.

Anyway... I normally will grind and fit the piece into the channel so there is good contact with the sides all around it. I attach it with Epoxy 330 Molecular Connector and then grind it down and polish it in place.

Of course, it all depends on the piece but that's the gist of it.

 

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