How many of you knew that Shellac came from a female Lac bug?
Secretions from the Lac bug. (India & Tia-land) The color of the shellac depends on the kind and color of the tree the bug has been eating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellac

If you have a little ethyl alcohol you can mix your FRESH Shellac and use it to glue your parts together. Shellac DOES have a shelf life. If it is not fresh it won't dry.

Patrick,
Not only did I know that, I have raw shellac in the garage somewhere. As you say in its raw form (or even in flakes) it has basically unlimited shelf life. There's a woodworking mail order place back east that sells different grades.

One thing I don't know is what grade/color is used for attaching jewels, or if it matters. Most of the stuff I've seen seems like dark red grade rather than the more expensive blonde.

Evan

I think when it comes to jewels and pallet stones, who cares , what the color. I use a Shellac that comes in strips or long slivers Kind of like a tooth pick. It's easy to apply that way. 1 tube may contain 3 or 4 different colors. You mentioned the expensive blond. As Mark says, a furniture re finisher will pay more for the popular colors but the watchmaker can get by with the cheapest available color. We are not going to sand it and & buff-it to a shine, We just hope to God it sticks.

You're right, Patrick, to a watchmaker it means nothing....but to a furniture restorer, it means EVERYTHING!

Regards! Mark