Wood and Stone

[Rick Rothrock <rothrock@xxxxxxxx>]

Linda:

    Your plan to use mechanical fasteners between wood and stone is good.
Adhesives like epoxy are modified for stone and have good elasticity.
If you use your tool to cut grooves or holes in the mating surfaces it will
increase the surface area and the adhesive will lock the pieces together
mechanically.  Remeber that the fastened surfaces are only as strong as the
material. A sugary marble of a soft wood can fail in the material even though
the connection is good. Also, if you are planning to make smaller pieces that
will be kept indoors and out of the sun,  the wood and the stone should
stabilize and last intact indefinitely. Outdoors, the wide range in ambient
temperature from the winter to the summer or full sun to nighttime will
inevitably deteriorate most  joined materials.  I have however seen stone epoxy
between like stones last in our mid-atlantic USA climate without signs of
deterioration for more than ten years.
    A new series of products from Wood and Stône Company by AXSON has been very
usefull to me. They will send you samples and advise you as to dealers. Their
toll free number is 1-800-365-8191, web adress http://www.axson-na.com/ 
Best of luck!

Rick Rothrock
rickrothrock.com