inlay

I have been practing inlay borders and have been using silver and copper
wire and I have been wondering what is used to stone the inlay down
flush. I have been using small rubberized abrasive rods in a flex shaft or
dremel tool to work the inlay down flush
Bob

Bob,
Everyone has a different way to do this. I will tell you mine.
I try to remove as much excess inlay first. I have a copper scraper made from an old penny on a handle to "peel" off any excess. I then use good quality sandpaper on a small sanding block to smooth it down. Some use soft stones and I use them as well but I find the sandpaper works fine for me. I don't think the abrasive rods would be to good as you can "wash out" the inay. You need to stone or block it flush.
Hope this helps,
Rex

Hi Bob,

As Rex indicated, there are always more than one way to skin a cat. But it's difficult to get a truly flush finish without the abrasive being something which is hard-backed. It needs to be rigid enough to 'ride' on the high points of the inlay material until the high points are eliminated completely.

Gesswin sells some nifty finishing stones in kits which are ideal for stoning down inlays. They are held in a pin-vise (Gesswein also sells thoses) used with oil, and rubbed over the inlay. These stones are rigid sort of like small whet-stones. You use the tip-end of the stones to abrade the inlay material down flush with the surface. The tip of the stone will wear away to the angle of attack you use and then the tip will eat the inlay material away very quickly without pitting the inlay. The stones I use the most are the 600 grit and 800 grit.

http://www.gesswein.com/catalog/index.cfm?cat=1&sub=27&catalog=2&CFID=1585197&CFTOKEN=92551022

Of course, you can do the same thing with just sandpaper backed by a block of hardwood starting with relatively coarse paper and progressing to very fine paper. I usually do this as a final step anyway, burnishing the stoned surface with a mostly worn-out piece of 1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper backed by a small hard-wood block. This leaves a highly polished finish. But the Gesswein stones are great for getting into hard to reach places and they make the whole process go much quicker. Hope this helps.

Best,

Thanks, that is a big help
Bob

There are also sanding sticks. Basically a plastic spring loaded holder that has a sanding belt on it. They come in different colors for different grits . Very easy to use and comfortable in the hand. Gesswein has them ( http://www.gesswein.com/catalog/search_result_form.cfm?indresults=yes&category=11&subcategory=117&count=9&criteria=Belt%20Sticks&secondary=yes&showcat=Abrasives&showsubcat=Sandpaper&CFID=2217428&CFTOKEN=77720433) and so does ENCO (http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INLMK3?PMK0NO=992234). Gesswein has the 3/4" sticks and ENCO has them in 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" widths. They cost about $5 and the belts are about a $1 each for the 3/4" size from either company.

Thanks for the link to gesswin .I ordered the pencil stone kit today I think it will make things easier for me
Bob