Well not today because it's too early but last couple days anyhow...
Been playing with dying, and double/triple dying, and casting, and dying and casting and what not, and kinda meeting with mixed results.
- Learned that running short of alumilite, mixing more and repouring doesn't necessarily work, and even if you do get it turned, getting a decent finish on it after the fact is not likely.
---- I didn't take pictures of that one!! ---
- Learned that you can dye half a dozen similar blanks, (all were box elder scraps, sorta) and cook them off in the same batch, and no 2 will look anything alike! They'll all behave differently. First two were soaked in blue, second two were soaked in green first run, swapped containers and soaked for a week or so without vacuum, cooked, then pulled vacuum with all of them in Orange, held that a day or two, then let them soak under pressure for a week, and cooked. And...
- Learned Bamboo Laminate is interesting when dyed, but not as interesting as I thought it might be. And, that glue streaks really show up when present.
- Learned alumilite doesn't always stick to wood as perfect as we would like for it too. Was supposed to be a pen! Other half the blank blew out.
- Learned some times it does stick, and despite best laid plans, it turns away before you get to size... Casting actually ran up to about the ball on the end of the clip. But it vanished as I was turning it.
- Learned Norman's Russian Olive Burl is elegant not matter what you turn it into! Although this picture doesn't really do it justice.
- Learned that with all man's attempts to make wood more beautiful, you simply can't outdo nature! (Same keychain, totally different figure from one side to the other.)
Guess long as you learn that much, the weekend wasn't a total loss!
Been playing with dying, and double/triple dying, and casting, and dying and casting and what not, and kinda meeting with mixed results.
- Learned that running short of alumilite, mixing more and repouring doesn't necessarily work, and even if you do get it turned, getting a decent finish on it after the fact is not likely.
---- I didn't take pictures of that one!! ---
- Learned that you can dye half a dozen similar blanks, (all were box elder scraps, sorta) and cook them off in the same batch, and no 2 will look anything alike! They'll all behave differently. First two were soaked in blue, second two were soaked in green first run, swapped containers and soaked for a week or so without vacuum, cooked, then pulled vacuum with all of them in Orange, held that a day or two, then let them soak under pressure for a week, and cooked. And...
- Learned Bamboo Laminate is interesting when dyed, but not as interesting as I thought it might be. And, that glue streaks really show up when present.
- Learned alumilite doesn't always stick to wood as perfect as we would like for it too. Was supposed to be a pen! Other half the blank blew out.
- Learned some times it does stick, and despite best laid plans, it turns away before you get to size... Casting actually ran up to about the ball on the end of the clip. But it vanished as I was turning it.
- Learned Norman's Russian Olive Burl is elegant not matter what you turn it into! Although this picture doesn't really do it justice.
- Learned that with all man's attempts to make wood more beautiful, you simply can't outdo nature! (Same keychain, totally different figure from one side to the other.)
Guess long as you learn that much, the weekend wasn't a total loss!
Last edited:
pictures are looking good too!
