Tutorial : Inlays and Inlay Tools

[stan]

jumping in late, and not sure if it has been mentioned - use proper breathing protection when cutting up mop, shells etc, the dust is more than bad for you, Dr Google it...

[Gavin1393]

Stan you are correct, but breathing particals of any sort long term is bad for you and your advice to use breathing protection is spot on......you just have to figure out how to stop the lens from fogging up!

[dingobass]

Stan is right about dust, but shell dust is quite inert and non toxic as such.. Its only calcium afterall..
I just use a simple paper dust mask if I cant be bothered to set up the dust extractor.
Been cutting shell for years and I am still alive

[jarrod]

Only just though lol.....

[Tweaky]

OK, I received my assorted shell pieces from the Australian MOP supplies [Both White & Gold MOP, Green lipped and RED Abalone ]
A few questions.

Firstly, the shell you get from these people is not polished to a finished state.
What would be the first grade of sandpaper you would use to start polishing ?

Reason I ask is that I have bought a full set of Micro Mesh polishing papers [1500/1800/2400/3200/3600/4000/6000/8000/12000 ] and I tried this sanding regime on one of each type of shell, the white MOP came out fine, all the others have what I would call Radial striations , which I'm not sure are features of the shell itself [therefore they will not be able to be removed] or, if they are circular saw marks from cutting the pieces [ so they could possibly be polished out if I started at a lower cut of sandpaper ]

Apart from these radial marks, the shell comes to a mirror finish very quickly with a brief rub of each grade of sanding

My other question is to those that have the most practical experience, would you cut first and polish second, or visa versa?

[dingobass]

Start your polishing with 800 wet and dry then work your way up to 2500 W/D.
Then break out the micro pads
Personally, I choose the best face then sand the other face flat on 240 grit sandpaper.
Then I cut shape, clean the edges then install.
Next up flatten off and begin to polish

[Tweaky]

I tried your recommended starting grade sanding.
Depending of Shell type, it worked well starting at 600-800....some still showed circler saw cuts, at 1200 grit, so I went back to a lower grit.
I'm now thinking 220 for RED abalone is the needed base sanding grit....320 for Green lipped Abalone...at least as it is supplied buy the MOP company.

White MOP only needs a 400 starting grit point if that,.....GOLD MOP on the other hand, because of the way it is cut, needs a Coarser starting grade [220 ], unless you get it right at the lower grits, especially with Gold MOP, it's a waste of time....as you will have portions of the shell unpolished with cavities/holes.
From the short time I've been doing this, look at each individual shell piece under a magnifying glass, look for pits in the shell....you won't be able to level these, so consider these pieces [or portions of the shell] pretty much useless.

I've been trying all combos, with the different shells and sanding regimes.

A regime of 15 grades of sanding seems the give the best result.

Only problem is my Fingers Bleeding ....possible Technique change needed
Any tips?
I've been using Sanding block/sanding paper ...then using finger pressure trying to sand the shell downwards against it ] I have rubbed certain points of 3 of my fingers, plus the thumb bare to point of bleeding