Replies

1. 
   RMillard | Jan 31, 2006 04:28am | #1

   I use a cheap hot plate and a small iron skillet. For the sand the finer the better. I use a paint additive sold by Rust Oleum for making paint slip resistant, it is a uniform fine grain sand. The time factor is hard to pin down, as there are so many variables ( sand temperature, veneer thickness, desired degree of shading etc).

   To see a project where I used sand shading go to:

   http://home.woh.rr.com/federalfurniture/

   Rob Millard

2. 
   TTalma | Jan 31, 2006 05:03pm | #2

   Don't put to much sand in the pan. You only need about an inch.

   It takes about a hour to heat it up. And don't mix it! you want it hot on the bottom and cooler on top.

   There is no moisture in the sand so it is slow to heat up. And due to all the gaps between the grains it is a good heat insulator, which also makes it slow to heat up.

   I use a cheap hotplate from Walmart and an old cast iron skillet. I also use play box sand from HD. and it works fine for me.

1. 
   highfigh | Jan 31, 2006 07:58pm | #3

   If a cover is put on the pan, it will heat the sand faster, even though there's not a lot of moisture. Once the cover is removed, the top will cool and the bottom will still be hotter. Has anyone tried a heat gun for this? Different tips are available and could focus the heat. They also come in different sizes.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

1. 
   Ron01960 | Feb 01, 2006 01:57am | #4

   I use swimming pool filter sand, its very fine and very consistent. Mine happens to be white, but color is unimportant.Ron

1. 
   DonStephan | Feb 01, 2006 02:35am | #5

   When I started researching the subject last year I found a number of suggestions that the sand should be hot enough to noticeably darken the veneer in about 7-10 seconds. Prolonged exposure to heat just hardens the wood. I've tried a couple electric hot plates, the last is about 1200 watts, and after 20 min of heating still hard to get the veneer dark enough in 7-10 seconds. It was suggested to me that the newer hotplates have thermal switches to prevent the burner from overheating. Don't know if true. One of the masters of marquetry, Paul Schurch, uses a gas fueled camping stove. Now that sucker puts out some serious heat!I also extensively researched "silver sand". Found it referenced in a number of older books, but no one seems to know what it was. Clean sand packaged for playground use works for me.

1. 
   joinerswork | Feb 01, 2006 04:33pm | #7

   All,

   An alternative to sand is to use an old-fashioned soldering iron (the kind with the large copper tip with flat facets), or even a wood-burning pen with broad tip.  With tweezers, draw the piece to be shaded across the tip repeatedly, changing the direction and/or position  of the piece to get the shaded effect you want.  While the shading occurs on only one side of the piece, it penetrates pretty deeply.  By shading a bit darker than you want to end up, you compensate for any loss of color after levelling the inlay; you can also use the woodburning pen to touch-up after installing the inlay, if you are careful.

   Regards,

   Ray Pine

3. 
   Quickstep | Feb 01, 2006 02:55am | #6

   I did this quite some time ago. I used a cast iron skillet on the stove. Made me very popular with the wife :)  Worked well though and as I recall I used regular 'ol sand. I had the stove on high which turned out to be too high after a while. I think I only had to leave the vener in there for a few seconds to get the desired effect.

4. 
   JerryLen | Feb 03, 2006 02:43pm | #8

   I read that fine sand was the best and found some extremely fine sand at a pet store which is sold to be used in lizard cages.  I first tried heating the sand in my kitchen but found that I couldn’t help but get sand all over the place.  I now use a camping stove which actually heats the sand faster than my electric range.  I use this set up in my garage to keep both the heat and the odor out of my shop.  I also use a 12 inch cast iron pan I found at a sporting goods store for about $15.00.

1. 
   WesHighfill | Feb 03, 2006 03:17pm | #9

   I think I'm going to try and find a cheap hot plate somewhere.  The deep fryer just doesn't seem to do the job. I varied the depth of the sand in the fryer anywhere from 1/2" to 2", and even in the shallow parts after heating the sand for over an hour on high, the veneer wouldn't scorch.  And I even left it in there for several minutes at a time, and it didn't darken it. 

   Wes

5. 
   ponce | Sep 26, 2016 03:19pm | #10

   I have settled on a Cadco 6 inch hot plate.  I bought it used, $40.00.  I tried a few from the big stores, Walmart, Meijer, and others.  I tried induction but it took for ever.  I got unused lizard sand from neighbors who have a pet reptile.  I used my old camping 6 inch skillet from camping.  One inch of sand, put the lid on, and turned things on.  Came back in 15 minutes and put a piece of veneer maple into the top of the sand.  Within 6 seconds smoke was coming off the veneer, major scorch.  Spoon sand onto the veneer and very nice shading.  I work in the basement and was not keen on having an open flame, paranoid.  But wow this system worked fast like recommended in some of the websites, 5-10 seconds contact or else the entire piece heats up and shrinks or becomes brittle.