704.258.8521
Disclaimer and clarification: Betsey Sloan's book, published by Schiffer Books, is an independent product, NOT in any way related to the project(s) in progress by InLace Book .com - We wish to clearly stipulate that our only connection to this book is that we have elected to add it our products related to the use of the InLace brand of resin inlays. We have no connection whatsoever to the authoring or publishing of this book and are merely reselling a product produced completely independently of our own work(s) in progress.
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InLace Techniques: Resin Inlay for Gourd and Wood Crafts, by Betsey Sloan, is a 64 page publication that focuses on the use of InLace brand inlay products. As a primer that covers an array of common usage techniques, as well as providing some of the less obvious 'tips and tricks' of using the product, we give this book a buy recommendation for all artisans. The book is heavily targeted toward the gourd crafting market, but that certainly does not mean that it will not provide very useful information for those working with other applications and media. Woodworkers of all general, specialty, or niche products will find that InLace techniques utilized for one medium can be very helpful in others. We have high expectations for our own slowly progressing projects, but this one is ready - and you should have it on the shelf.
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"Introduction" is a 2 page section that primarily discusses how Betsey got involved with using the product line and specifically notes her reticence at beginning to use a product with she was unfamiliar and unsure how to use properly and effectively.
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Chapter One: "What is InLace?" is a 1 page overview of the brand.
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Chapter Two: "The Product Line" is an 11 page section that describes available InLace products, and includes pictures of the additives and the available colors. This section covers the 11 available Kits - Resins; Metallic, Pearl, and Solid/Opaque Dyes; Metallic Dusts, Stone Flakes; Nuggets; Granules; plus the 'accessory' items - Thicken-It; Hardener; as well as the Buffing and Polishing Compounds.
Chapter Two, in our opinion, is a train wreck of a mess. With the exception of the Stone Flakes, the color sample pictures are terrible quality and a shocking disappointment in a Schiffer Books publication. The Kits - Resins are the most important products, and have the very worst pictures.
We must also note a substantial number of errors in this section. In the Metallic Dyes, colors are specified as Blue, Green, and Violet. We have had extensive personal experience with InLace for over five years and these colors are correctly referred to as BB Blue, GG Green, and V V Violet. This has been the case for as long as we have been aware of the InLace brand. Blue, Green, and Violet, with the Dyes, have ALWAYS referred to the Solid/Opaque line of Dyes. The distinction is critical. They are not at all the same product. The Metallic Dyes are much more popular than the Solid/Opaque colors and we would not want customers to mistakenly look for or order the wrong product. (Note: In the Dye section, the eight Metallic Dyes are the first group shown, but not distinguished as such with any identifying text whatsoever. The second grouping shows the Pearl Dyes, and the header "Metallic InLace Dyes" incorrectly appears above this group of five color options.) In the Solid/Opaque Dyes, Brown is missing. Eight colors are shown, but there are nine available. .In the Stone Flakes, aside from numerous other errors, 'White Ice' should be correctly referred to as "White Lie'. Also, the picture shown for 'White Lie', and incorrectly called 'White Ice', is using a picture of a blue - perhaps Washed Denim which is missing from the color list entirely. In the Nuggets and Granules, the text notes that Nuggets come "in 16 colors". There have never been 16 colors offered, ever, of either Nuggets or Granules. With Smarag Green Nuggets 'discontinued', there are 14 Nugget colors. With Smarag Green still an officially available item, there are 15 Granule colors. (Don't ask.)
After the product sample pictures, the quality of the pictures is much higher; what we would expect from a Schiffer publication. The demonstration pictures, finished piece pictures, and Gallery pictures are all excellent. We highly recommend the book for the qualtity of these many examples alone. It is only the great bulk of the product color sample pictures that are awful. We find this surprising, as all of the other pictures are first rate, and we generally like the approach to showing the Stone Flake color samples, though the staggering number of textual errors is inexcusable.
See the bottom of this page for a 'Footnotes' section noting additional Chapter Two issues and errors. This book description and review should not have to waste so much space noting the lack of attention to ensuring correct details.
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Chapter Three: "Tools and Equipment" is a 5 page section that discusses Basic Supplies; the use of Rotary Tools for carving and/or polishing; Masks, Respirators, and Safety Glasses (Masks not pluralized in the Table of Contents); Optional Equipment; Drill Bits; and closing with 'Grinding, Sanding, and Polishing Tools'.
The text in this section states ".....one additional purchase is a small item called a Universal Chuck®.....". This is indeed true - IF one is available for your rotary tool and/or flexible shaft attachment. Not all rotary tools or flexible shafts will accept a "Universal Chuck"; though most will. The majority of rotary tools come with, or have available, four or five collet sizes. A full set of collets for your rotary tool will allow the use of the full range of bit shank sizes that a specific tool can accommodate. The picture shown in the book, though excellent, shows a grouping of 13 collets. Good giggly wiggly:)) Which rotary tool has 13 collet sizes available? The picture shows a deceiving 13 collets next to a Universal Chuck. The point could adequately be made without the preposterous display of collets. We acknowledge that it can be a handy 'extra' (though certainly not 'necessary'). Changing bits and/or collets is not a big deal.
Additionally, it is quite unclear to us if the Registered mark used in the text "Universal Chuck®" is correct. A cursory search did not identify the company (if any) that has legally registered this mark. It is our current understanding that 'universal chuck' is generic term. Different manufacturers refer to the accessory with various terms; "Dremel Chuck" for Dremel rotary tools, the 'Keyless Chuck' for Proxxon brand, the 'Chuck Arbor' and 'Micro Chuck' for Foredom brand..... If you get this accessory, make sure that it will work with your brand and model configuration!
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Chapter Four: "How to Start" is a 5 page chapter devoted to carving the design into the inlay project. This chapter discusses and demonstrates the carving of a dragonfly into a gourd. Twelve photographs illustrate the process in progress and the accompanying text describes the techniques and considerations required for making the work easier and successful.
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Chapter Five: "Mixing InLace" is a 5 page chapter that covers 'A Word About Gravity', 'Multiple Carved Areas', 'Using Premixed and Solid/Opaque InLace', and 'Using Clear InLace'. It is a pretty straightforward process that essentially restates and works to expand and clarify the Instructions that come with the Kits.
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Chapter Six: "Grinding, Sanding, and Polishing" (Noted as "Grinding, Sanding, & Polishing" on the "Contents" page.) This is a 2 page chapter that covers 'Step 1. Sanding Drums', 'Step 2. Sanding Sponges and Sandpaper', and 'Step 3. Final Buffing and Polishing'.
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Chapter Seven: "Troubleshooting & Other Questions" is a 3 page chapter that asks and answers seventeen Questions, such as "My inlay has a bubble in it after it hardened. What should I do?", and "While I was polishing with my felt wheel and rotary tool, my inlay got sticky. What happened?".
We must respectfully disagree with the answer to the question "I don't want to invest a lot of money right now on equipment and InLace. Are there any options?" The author suggests buying a "Starter Kit" package, a product amalgamation that we cannot recommend.
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Chapter Eight: "Artists' Perspectives" is a 10 page chapter that features nine artists. Each artist has one or two pictures of a finished piece shown, and they comment about their experiences with InLace, passing along a few tips, or describe a project in a step-by-step text presentation. Garry Devine has a page that talks about "Power Carving InLace". Randall Eckley presents an "Inlaid Gourd Bowl" project with step-by-step notes. Bonnie Gibson and A. B. Amis are among the featured artists offering tips, suggestions, or describing the steps of a project.
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"Gallery" The Gallery section is a 10 page chapter that features forty completed works for 'inspiration', by eleven artists. The Gallery is almost exclusively devoted to gourds, and the book is clearly targeted primarily to gourd crafters. However, the techniques, tips, and suggestions should be valuable to, and translate well, for use with many other applications, most especially woodworkers of nearly any specialty, from bowl makers, woodturners, flute makers, instruments makers..... Gourds are but one of dozens of applications for which InLace is ideal.
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"Original Designs" (Noted as "Original Drawings" on the "Contents" page.) This is a 3 page section with five designs, that doesn't strike us as particularly useful or helpful. To work with patterns, you will want to find some good pattern books from your local book or craft supply store.
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"Biographies of Contributing Artists" A 3 page section that provides a short bio and contact information for nine of the contributing artists to InLace Techniques: Resin Inlay for Gourd and Wood Crafts.
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"Resources" A 1 page list of suppliers that stock products related to InLace or gourd crafting. NOTE: Only one of the resources cited actually carries InLace brand resin inlay supplies - the manufacturer's very own aggressively competitive retail outlet. Shilling for a single source of the product in this fashion is a little rough on distributors that have significant investment in the brand. We are disappointed that Schiffer Books would allow this blatant skewing of product source, believing the Resources page to be 'ethically dubious'. The other suppliers cited appear to merely be 'fillers'. We are not disparaging the other suppliers recommended on the Resource page. For example, Primitive Originals is a highly reputable supplier that we certainly would recommend, without hesitation, for many craft supplies. However, they have no connection whatsoever, of which we are aware, to the marketing and selling of the InLace brand. Nor do any of the other 'sources' - save one, conveniently 'cherry picked'. Note: Mardi Gourds is no more and is already an obsolete reference.
NOTE: In Chapter One: "What is InLace?" the text states "InLace Products is the manufacturer and worldwide distributor of the InLace product line.", and then proceeds to recommend referring to the Resources section for "suppliers". Turtle Feathers Inc. owns the InLace brand: retails the full line, and distributes wholesale; invoking the InLace products moniker when convenient; a pretense and allusion that these are somehow 'independent' operations.
NOTE: In Chapter Seven: "Troubleshooting & Other Questions", the author asks a leading question and then answers with an answer targeted toward recommending the "Starter Kit", an item that includes special 'trial sizes' of the Polishing Compound, Buffing Compound, Thicken-It, and Metallic Dust. She specifically recommends Turtle Feathers as the source. This item is available only at the manufacturer's own retail website, and is simply unavailable to legitimate distributors.
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The total number of pages above comes to 61. One has to deduct 3 pages for the inside cover and List of Contents.
This book is worth the price despite its flaws. It will provide inspiration, ideas, and provides a good overview of product usage, tips, and suggestions of important considerations.
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Note: We want to sell this publication - it is well worth having. We do not want to antagonize publisher, author, and/or manufacturer. We do not want be perceived as 'sour grapes' because someone else brought a publication to market first, and have no interest in rushing our own timetables. We do not want to detract from what should be, and is, a mostly positive book description and review. We absolutely want to interest our customers in buying this book. However, we cannot, in good conscience, simply ignore that a second-rate job was done in several areas, and quality of the final product suffered. We are put in a bad spot because others fell short of higher standards. There are quite a lot of typ0s; questionable quality of authoring and copy-editing with respect to grammar and flow of language; as well as 'iffy' and/or inconsistent usage of TM ™ and R ® symbols. Nevertheless, there is some good information here, experienced opinions, and a goodly number of good quality pictures of finished pieces from which to draw inspiration and try new ideas. Our review is 'as we see it', and the publication merits a buy recommendation despite the unfortunate flaws, especially at the price point (which was probably a large part of the problems with regard to quality control).
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ISBN: 978-0-7643-3330-9
9780764333309
In the Metallic Dusts, Green has been renamed (inexplicably) Emerald Green, but the book stipulates Green. It is the same color, unchanged, but renamed. Green is now Emerald Green. Also, two colors, Sea Green and Rainbow, are not shown or mentioned.
In the Stone Flakes, pictures are of a MUCH higher quality than the other InLace product color sample pictures. However, there are a number of glaring errors which should be noted. First, the text notes that there are 24 colors, but does not mention or show Washed Denim. Only 23 colors are displayed. Second, there are several incorrect color name references. A number of the colors are 'artistically named', and use unusual spelling. This has always been the case, as evidenced by the correct color names on InLace Book .com, the manufacturer's website, and the websites of most distributors. This section appears not to have been proofread by anyone familiar with the products or the brand. 'Cantaloupe' should be correctly identified as 'Cantelope'. Artistic to be sure, but this has always been the official spelling. The manufacturer's website, their own aggressively competitive retail outlet website, the wholesale Product & Price Guide, Product Code documents, and catalogs all use the spelling 'Cantelope' for this product. 'Coco' should be correctly referred to as 'CoCo'. 'Deep Forrest Green' should correctly be referred to as 'Deep Woods Green'. Not only is "Forrest" wrong, but seems to be an 'artistic naming in itself:)) 'Gray Fox' should be correctly referred to as 'Grey Fox'. 'Mossy Green should correctly be referred to as 'Mossey Green'. 'Orange Sherbet' should be correctly referred to as 'Orange Sherbert'. 'Vanilla' should be correctly referred to as 'Vanillo Yellow'.
The text of the Stone Flake section states ".....(remember, these are resin products, not real stone)....." The manufacturer supplied MSDS - Material Safety Data Sheet (deemed valid for all Stone Flake colors) notes that Barium Sulfate makes up 65% - 85% of the weight of the product, and we consider the Stone Flakes to be a 'genuine' stone or mineral product, despite the addition of a quite minor amount of Polyvinyl Acetate. Quite soft and rated very low on the Mohs hardness scale Barium Sulfite, from Barium ore, and related, (Barium - Atomic Number 56 - Ba) - the Stone Flakes are easily and safely worked and pose no risk of damage to tools or equipment.
In the Nuggets and Granules sections, 'Gray' should be correctly referred to as 'Grey'. Also, 'Red Rust' is incorrectly identified. This color has been referred to as 'Rust Red' for years. Also, though Smarag Green is a discontinued item in the Nuggets, (still available in remaining stocked quantities), we have not been informed of any plans to drop Smarag Green from the line-up of Granule colors.
In the 'Other Products' section, and throughout the book, 'Thicken-it' should be correctly referred to as 'Thicken-It'. The uppercase 'I' is an affectation much like the uppercase 'L' in InLace and is the proper reference. This, also, has been the case since before the current owner bought the brand and goes all the way back to the time of the developer/original owner of InLace/Inlace. The developer and original owner of the brand did not distinguish "InLace", but the popular cast pen blanks, selling as Inlace Acrylester, was separated from the bulk DYI product line and they are now two distinct operations, operating under separate ownership. The InLace typography 'distinction' was introduced about three years later.
