peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
|
Post by peachfront on Sept 25, 2011 15:54:42 GMT -5
Just a tiny brag. We have finished our second stone mosaic box top.  It has brass hinges, nice feet, and a felt lining, but I won't bore you with multiple photos. The box top that shows off a mosaic of many different polished stones is what pulls the whole project together. Just for grins, this beauty actually started as this warped, scraped tragedy:  Christmas has come early for the friend who gave me the box "to see what I could do."  Special shout-out of thanks to "Snuffy" who provided many of the mosaic pieces. |
|
grayfingers
Cave Dweller 
Member since November 2007
Posts: 4,575 
|
Post by grayfingers on Sept 25, 2011 16:33:34 GMT -5
That is beautiful! I am curious, are the stones recessed into the top and if so how did you do that?
Also, what did you use for the mortar?
Bill
|
|
peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
|
Post by peachfront on Sept 25, 2011 18:22:52 GMT -5
My husband created a recess in the box lid with a tool called a trim router. The original box lid was warped beyond using; therefore we used a thick piece of plywood suitable for the job which we already had from a previous project. He says this isn't the most efficient way to do the job but it's the tool he had and it worked fine. Also keep in mind that
you will want to "paint" the plywood with wood filler and then maybe with thinned PVA glue before you prime it. (Can't remember if I painted it with the thinned PVA for this project but I definitely painted all of the plywood with a thin layer of wood filler and then sanded it down.) Use a good primer.
The adhesive is Weldbond, and the grout is just regular non-sanded grout. These are the same adhesive/grouts used with ceramic, but I'm just trying it with stone, and so far, so good. You would need to use different adhesives and either thinset or a sanded grout for an outdoor project like the mosaic birdbaths.
There is a large community of folks doing "folk art" or "broken plate" mosaic with ceramics and glass or mirror. So I've really just been copying some of their techniques but in stone.
At some point, I will move up to intarsia but the folk art mosaics are very forgiving, because they are grouted and don't have to fit perfectly. Intarsia will require very exact fitting, because there is no grout, and we are still trying to set up our saw/computers to allow for such exact fits. In the meantime, this is a relaxed form of mosaic arts.
Hubby says if you need more step-by-step of the routing process, PM me and I can give you his email so he can answer any questions. I don't think the trim router is usually used this way but we have too many tools already and we are trying to make a discipline of looking first to use what we already have.
|
|
|
|
Post by frane on Oct 5, 2011 15:32:11 GMT -5
Looks like it turned out great! I am thinking of trying something like this. Probably will take me a while to get around to it. I think if my husband makes the boxes, I can do the tops. Time will tell if I ever get it done but with inspiration like this, maybe I will!
Fran
|
|
