Third cholla bowl

DavePolaschek said:

Building the blank

Started making the pieces for another cholla bowl this morning, and figured there's been enough interest in what I've done that I should write it up.

The first step is building a base on a faceplate for my lathe. I've been aiming at bowls that are 6-10 inches in diameter, so I generally put a pine 1×6 on the faceplate, and then put a couple pieces of 1×6 across that to get up to the size I want.

Then I cut it round-ish on the bandsaw, and turn it round (and about 10 inches in diameter) on the lathe.

I stick blue tape on the joints. That helps keep the epoxy from running through the joints and making a mess in my shop.

Next, I stick a piece of blue tape around the edge of the base. Just one or two turns, but I try to stick it to the edge of the base as best I can. I'm going to be pouring epoxy into this and I don't want a leak.

I should note that I've already cleaned the cholla. If there's any material in the middle of a piece, I poke it out with a long screwdriver.

Next is putting in the cholla. In my first two bowls, I stood pieces of cholla on end. This time I'm going to try laying them circumferentially.

If the pieces go a little beyond the tape, that's ok. And if there are gaps, I plan to fill them with the next layer. So now it's time to mix up some epoxy. 50ml of System 3 Fast Hardener, 100ml of System 3 General Purpose Resin, and 22 drops of TransTint Aqua for the first pour. That makes a fairly pale almost sky blue.

Second pour is another 150ml of epoxy (5 oz), this time with about 35 drops of Aqua, and 5 drops of TransTint Lemon Yellow. Definitely green, but I think still thin enough that it'll let light through. I pour this aiming to hit areas that didn't get any epoxy in the first pour (cholla will form dams) and I concentrated on pouring over pieces of cholla that looked dry inside. I also stuck in a few more pieces of cholla (small broken chunks) to fill any small gaps that looked wrong to me.

At this point, there are still a few spots where I can see the dry pine base. But after this epoxy cures overnight, I'll put on another few wraps of tape, building the sides up to 1.5 to 2 inches high, lay in more cholla, and then pour the next two colors of epoxy. I'll probably set the base slightly off-level so that the epoxy pools more on one side. I'm guessing I'll have a total of four pours of two colors of epoxy (they mix a little, but the cholla will segregate the colors a bit, plus the first of two pours starts to harden before I get the second poured), and I'm leaning towards red and violet tints for the next batch.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Building the blank

Started making the pieces for another cholla bowl this morning, and figured there's been enough interest in what I've done that I should write it up.

The first step is building a base on a faceplate for my lathe. I've been aiming at bowls that are 6-10 inches in diameter, so I generally put a pine 1×6 on the faceplate, and then put a couple pieces of 1×6 across that to get up to the size I want.

Then I cut it round-ish on the bandsaw, and turn it round (and about 10 inches in diameter) on the lathe.

I stick blue tape on the joints. That helps keep the epoxy from running through the joints and making a mess in my shop.

Next, I stick a piece of blue tape around the edge of the base. Just one or two turns, but I try to stick it to the edge of the base as best I can. I'm going to be pouring epoxy into this and I don't want a leak.

I should note that I've already cleaned the cholla. If there's any material in the middle of a piece, I poke it out with a long screwdriver.

Next is putting in the cholla. In my first two bowls, I stood pieces of cholla on end. This time I'm going to try laying them circumferentially.

If the pieces go a little beyond the tape, that's ok. And if there are gaps, I plan to fill them with the next layer. So now it's time to mix up some epoxy. 50ml of System 3 Fast Hardener, 100ml of System 3 General Purpose Resin, and 22 drops of TransTint Aqua for the first pour. That makes a fairly pale almost sky blue.

Second pour is another 150ml of epoxy (5 oz), this time with about 35 drops of Aqua, and 5 drops of TransTint Lemon Yellow. Definitely green, but I think still thin enough that it'll let light through. I pour this aiming to hit areas that didn't get any epoxy in the first pour (cholla will form dams) and I concentrated on pouring over pieces of cholla that looked dry inside. I also stuck in a few more pieces of cholla (small broken chunks) to fill any small gaps that looked wrong to me.

At this point, there are still a few spots where I can see the dry pine base. But after this epoxy cures overnight, I'll put on another few wraps of tape, building the sides up to 1.5 to 2 inches high, lay in more cholla, and then pour the next two colors of epoxy. I'll probably set the base slightly off-level so that the epoxy pools more on one side. I'm guessing I'll have a total of four pours of two colors of epoxy (they mix a little, but the cholla will segregate the colors a bit, plus the first of two pours starts to harden before I get the second poured), and I'm leaning towards red and violet tints for the next batch.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Building the blank

Started making the pieces for another cholla bowl this morning, and figured there's been enough interest in what I've done that I should write it up.

The first step is building a base on a faceplate for my lathe. I've been aiming at bowls that are 6-10 inches in diameter, so I generally put a pine 1×6 on the faceplate, and then put a couple pieces of 1×6 across that to get up to the size I want.

Then I cut it round-ish on the bandsaw, and turn it round (and about 10 inches in diameter) on the lathe.

I stick blue tape on the joints. That helps keep the epoxy from running through the joints and making a mess in my shop.

Next, I stick a piece of blue tape around the edge of the base. Just one or two turns, but I try to stick it to the edge of the base as best I can. I'm going to be pouring epoxy into this and I don't want a leak.

I should note that I've already cleaned the cholla. If there's any material in the middle of a piece, I poke it out with a long screwdriver.

Next is putting in the cholla. In my first two bowls, I stood pieces of cholla on end. This time I'm going to try laying them circumferentially.

If the pieces go a little beyond the tape, that's ok. And if there are gaps, I plan to fill them with the next layer. So now it's time to mix up some epoxy. 50ml of System 3 Fast Hardener, 100ml of System 3 General Purpose Resin, and 22 drops of TransTint Aqua for the first pour. That makes a fairly pale almost sky blue.

Second pour is another 150ml of epoxy (5 oz), this time with about 35 drops of Aqua, and 5 drops of TransTint Lemon Yellow. Definitely green, but I think still thin enough that it'll let light through. I pour this aiming to hit areas that didn't get any epoxy in the first pour (cholla will form dams) and I concentrated on pouring over pieces of cholla that looked dry inside. I also stuck in a few more pieces of cholla (small broken chunks) to fill any small gaps that looked wrong to me.

At this point, there are still a few spots where I can see the dry pine base. But after this epoxy cures overnight, I'll put on another few wraps of tape, building the sides up to 1.5 to 2 inches high, lay in more cholla, and then pour the next two colors of epoxy. I'll probably set the base slightly off-level so that the epoxy pools more on one side. I'm guessing I'll have a total of four pours of two colors of epoxy (they mix a little, but the cholla will segregate the colors a bit, plus the first of two pours starts to harden before I get the second poured), and I'm leaning towards red and violet tints for the next batch.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Building the blank

Started making the pieces for another cholla bowl this morning, and figured there's been enough interest in what I've done that I should write it up.

The first step is building a base on a faceplate for my lathe. I've been aiming at bowls that are 6-10 inches in diameter, so I generally put a pine 1×6 on the faceplate, and then put a couple pieces of 1×6 across that to get up to the size I want.

Then I cut it round-ish on the bandsaw, and turn it round (and about 10 inches in diameter) on the lathe.

I stick blue tape on the joints. That helps keep the epoxy from running through the joints and making a mess in my shop.

Next, I stick a piece of blue tape around the edge of the base. Just one or two turns, but I try to stick it to the edge of the base as best I can. I'm going to be pouring epoxy into this and I don't want a leak.

I should note that I've already cleaned the cholla. If there's any material in the middle of a piece, I poke it out with a long screwdriver.

Next is putting in the cholla. In my first two bowls, I stood pieces of cholla on end. This time I'm going to try laying them circumferentially.

If the pieces go a little beyond the tape, that's ok. And if there are gaps, I plan to fill them with the next layer. So now it's time to mix up some epoxy. 50ml of System 3 Fast Hardener, 100ml of System 3 General Purpose Resin, and 22 drops of TransTint Aqua for the first pour. That makes a fairly pale almost sky blue.

Second pour is another 150ml of epoxy (5 oz), this time with about 35 drops of Aqua, and 5 drops of TransTint Lemon Yellow. Definitely green, but I think still thin enough that it'll let light through. I pour this aiming to hit areas that didn't get any epoxy in the first pour (cholla will form dams) and I concentrated on pouring over pieces of cholla that looked dry inside. I also stuck in a few more pieces of cholla (small broken chunks) to fill any small gaps that looked wrong to me.

At this point, there are still a few spots where I can see the dry pine base. But after this epoxy cures overnight, I'll put on another few wraps of tape, building the sides up to 1.5 to 2 inches high, lay in more cholla, and then pour the next two colors of epoxy. I'll probably set the base slightly off-level so that the epoxy pools more on one side. I'm guessing I'll have a total of four pours of two colors of epoxy (they mix a little, but the cholla will segregate the colors a bit, plus the first of two pours starts to harden before I get the second poured), and I'm leaning towards red and violet tints for the next batch.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Building the blank

Started making the pieces for another cholla bowl this morning, and figured there's been enough interest in what I've done that I should write it up.

The first step is building a base on a faceplate for my lathe. I've been aiming at bowls that are 6-10 inches in diameter, so I generally put a pine 1×6 on the faceplate, and then put a couple pieces of 1×6 across that to get up to the size I want.

Then I cut it round-ish on the bandsaw, and turn it round (and about 10 inches in diameter) on the lathe.

I stick blue tape on the joints. That helps keep the epoxy from running through the joints and making a mess in my shop.

Next, I stick a piece of blue tape around the edge of the base. Just one or two turns, but I try to stick it to the edge of the base as best I can. I'm going to be pouring epoxy into this and I don't want a leak.

I should note that I've already cleaned the cholla. If there's any material in the middle of a piece, I poke it out with a long screwdriver.

Next is putting in the cholla. In my first two bowls, I stood pieces of cholla on end. This time I'm going to try laying them circumferentially.

If the pieces go a little beyond the tape, that's ok. And if there are gaps, I plan to fill them with the next layer. So now it's time to mix up some epoxy. 50ml of System 3 Fast Hardener, 100ml of System 3 General Purpose Resin, and 22 drops of TransTint Aqua for the first pour. That makes a fairly pale almost sky blue.

Second pour is another 150ml of epoxy (5 oz), this time with about 35 drops of Aqua, and 5 drops of TransTint Lemon Yellow. Definitely green, but I think still thin enough that it'll let light through. I pour this aiming to hit areas that didn't get any epoxy in the first pour (cholla will form dams) and I concentrated on pouring over pieces of cholla that looked dry inside. I also stuck in a few more pieces of cholla (small broken chunks) to fill any small gaps that looked wrong to me.

At this point, there are still a few spots where I can see the dry pine base. But after this epoxy cures overnight, I'll put on another few wraps of tape, building the sides up to 1.5 to 2 inches high, lay in more cholla, and then pour the next two colors of epoxy. I'll probably set the base slightly off-level so that the epoxy pools more on one side. I'm guessing I'll have a total of four pours of two colors of epoxy (they mix a little, but the cholla will segregate the colors a bit, plus the first of two pours starts to harden before I get the second poured), and I'm leaning towards red and violet tints for the next batch.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Building the blank

Started making the pieces for another cholla bowl this morning, and figured there's been enough interest in what I've done that I should write it up.

The first step is building a base on a faceplate for my lathe. I've been aiming at bowls that are 6-10 inches in diameter, so I generally put a pine 1×6 on the faceplate, and then put a couple pieces of 1×6 across that to get up to the size I want.

Then I cut it round-ish on the bandsaw, and turn it round (and about 10 inches in diameter) on the lathe.

I stick blue tape on the joints. That helps keep the epoxy from running through the joints and making a mess in my shop.

Next, I stick a piece of blue tape around the edge of the base. Just one or two turns, but I try to stick it to the edge of the base as best I can. I'm going to be pouring epoxy into this and I don't want a leak.

I should note that I've already cleaned the cholla. If there's any material in the middle of a piece, I poke it out with a long screwdriver.

Next is putting in the cholla. In my first two bowls, I stood pieces of cholla on end. This time I'm going to try laying them circumferentially.

If the pieces go a little beyond the tape, that's ok. And if there are gaps, I plan to fill them with the next layer. So now it's time to mix up some epoxy. 50ml of System 3 Fast Hardener, 100ml of System 3 General Purpose Resin, and 22 drops of TransTint Aqua for the first pour. That makes a fairly pale almost sky blue.

Second pour is another 150ml of epoxy (5 oz), this time with about 35 drops of Aqua, and 5 drops of TransTint Lemon Yellow. Definitely green, but I think still thin enough that it'll let light through. I pour this aiming to hit areas that didn't get any epoxy in the first pour (cholla will form dams) and I concentrated on pouring over pieces of cholla that looked dry inside. I also stuck in a few more pieces of cholla (small broken chunks) to fill any small gaps that looked wrong to me.

At this point, there are still a few spots where I can see the dry pine base. But after this epoxy cures overnight, I'll put on another few wraps of tape, building the sides up to 1.5 to 2 inches high, lay in more cholla, and then pour the next two colors of epoxy. I'll probably set the base slightly off-level so that the epoxy pools more on one side. I'm guessing I'll have a total of four pours of two colors of epoxy (they mix a little, but the cholla will segregate the colors a bit, plus the first of two pours starts to harden before I get the second poured), and I'm leaning towards red and violet tints for the next batch.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Building the blank

Started making the pieces for another cholla bowl this morning, and figured there's been enough interest in what I've done that I should write it up.

The first step is building a base on a faceplate for my lathe. I've been aiming at bowls that are 6-10 inches in diameter, so I generally put a pine 1×6 on the faceplate, and then put a couple pieces of 1×6 across that to get up to the size I want.

Then I cut it round-ish on the bandsaw, and turn it round (and about 10 inches in diameter) on the lathe.

I stick blue tape on the joints. That helps keep the epoxy from running through the joints and making a mess in my shop.

Next, I stick a piece of blue tape around the edge of the base. Just one or two turns, but I try to stick it to the edge of the base as best I can. I'm going to be pouring epoxy into this and I don't want a leak.

I should note that I've already cleaned the cholla. If there's any material in the middle of a piece, I poke it out with a long screwdriver.

Next is putting in the cholla. In my first two bowls, I stood pieces of cholla on end. This time I'm going to try laying them circumferentially.

If the pieces go a little beyond the tape, that's ok. And if there are gaps, I plan to fill them with the next layer. So now it's time to mix up some epoxy. 50ml of System 3 Fast Hardener, 100ml of System 3 General Purpose Resin, and 22 drops of TransTint Aqua for the first pour. That makes a fairly pale almost sky blue.

Second pour is another 150ml of epoxy (5 oz), this time with about 35 drops of Aqua, and 5 drops of TransTint Lemon Yellow. Definitely green, but I think still thin enough that it'll let light through. I pour this aiming to hit areas that didn't get any epoxy in the first pour (cholla will form dams) and I concentrated on pouring over pieces of cholla that looked dry inside. I also stuck in a few more pieces of cholla (small broken chunks) to fill any small gaps that looked wrong to me.

At this point, there are still a few spots where I can see the dry pine base. But after this epoxy cures overnight, I'll put on another few wraps of tape, building the sides up to 1.5 to 2 inches high, lay in more cholla, and then pour the next two colors of epoxy. I'll probably set the base slightly off-level so that the epoxy pools more on one side. I'm guessing I'll have a total of four pours of two colors of epoxy (they mix a little, but the cholla will segregate the colors a bit, plus the first of two pours starts to harden before I get the second poured), and I'm leaning towards red and violet tints for the next batch.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Building the blank

Started making the pieces for another cholla bowl this morning, and figured there's been enough interest in what I've done that I should write it up.

The first step is building a base on a faceplate for my lathe. I've been aiming at bowls that are 6-10 inches in diameter, so I generally put a pine 1×6 on the faceplate, and then put a couple pieces of 1×6 across that to get up to the size I want.

Then I cut it round-ish on the bandsaw, and turn it round (and about 10 inches in diameter) on the lathe.

I stick blue tape on the joints. That helps keep the epoxy from running through the joints and making a mess in my shop.

Next, I stick a piece of blue tape around the edge of the base. Just one or two turns, but I try to stick it to the edge of the base as best I can. I'm going to be pouring epoxy into this and I don't want a leak.

I should note that I've already cleaned the cholla. If there's any material in the middle of a piece, I poke it out with a long screwdriver.

Next is putting in the cholla. In my first two bowls, I stood pieces of cholla on end. This time I'm going to try laying them circumferentially.

If the pieces go a little beyond the tape, that's ok. And if there are gaps, I plan to fill them with the next layer. So now it's time to mix up some epoxy. 50ml of System 3 Fast Hardener, 100ml of System 3 General Purpose Resin, and 22 drops of TransTint Aqua for the first pour. That makes a fairly pale almost sky blue.

Second pour is another 150ml of epoxy (5 oz), this time with about 35 drops of Aqua, and 5 drops of TransTint Lemon Yellow. Definitely green, but I think still thin enough that it'll let light through. I pour this aiming to hit areas that didn't get any epoxy in the first pour (cholla will form dams) and I concentrated on pouring over pieces of cholla that looked dry inside. I also stuck in a few more pieces of cholla (small broken chunks) to fill any small gaps that looked wrong to me.

At this point, there are still a few spots where I can see the dry pine base. But after this epoxy cures overnight, I'll put on another few wraps of tape, building the sides up to 1.5 to 2 inches high, lay in more cholla, and then pour the next two colors of epoxy. I'll probably set the base slightly off-level so that the epoxy pools more on one side. I'm guessing I'll have a total of four pours of two colors of epoxy (they mix a little, but the cholla will segregate the colors a bit, plus the first of two pours starts to harden before I get the second poured), and I'm leaning towards red and violet tints for the next batch.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Second pair of pours for the blank

Nothing too exciting in this one, but I want to document what I'm doing for my own records, too.

I went back out this evening and wrapped the blue tape an inch and change higher, rotated the blank 180 degrees so I would be pouring epoxy into the end that had almost none in it, and mixed up another batch of epoxy. This time it had 30+ drops of Aqua and I added 5 drops of TransTint Bright Red. That made a reasonable violet, though I maybe had just a touch too much blue.

After pouring that, I added some more pieces of cholla, trying to get them going a different direction than the ones they were on top of, and once I had about half of the blank built up that extra layer, I mixed another batch of epoxy with just the Bright Red. I think I did 8 drops. Then I poured that over the other side of the blank, trying to avoid mixing the two still-liquid pours too much. I put on three our four more wraps of blue tape as insurance against leaks, and moved the blank to the floor, just in case. Ten ounces of liquid epoxy leaking over the bench would be quite a mess. It wouldn't be pleasant on the floor either, but at least it won't ruin many tools if it leaks now.

The pieces of cholla that don't have any epoxy visible on the top of them will be where I concentrate the next couple colors / pours of epoxy. I think before I pour the next one, I'll make a mark around the tape at a final thickness for the blank, and I'll work on stacking cholla and pouring epoxy up to that level so I don't get a wildly unbalanced blank. I think I'm going to aim for something between 2.5 and 3 inches thick.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Second pair of pours for the blank

Nothing too exciting in this one, but I want to document what I'm doing for my own records, too.

I went back out this evening and wrapped the blue tape an inch and change higher, rotated the blank 180 degrees so I would be pouring epoxy into the end that had almost none in it, and mixed up another batch of epoxy. This time it had 30+ drops of Aqua and I added 5 drops of TransTint Bright Red. That made a reasonable violet, though I maybe had just a touch too much blue.

After pouring that, I added some more pieces of cholla, trying to get them going a different direction than the ones they were on top of, and once I had about half of the blank built up that extra layer, I mixed another batch of epoxy with just the Bright Red. I think I did 8 drops. Then I poured that over the other side of the blank, trying to avoid mixing the two still-liquid pours too much. I put on three our four more wraps of blue tape as insurance against leaks, and moved the blank to the floor, just in case. Ten ounces of liquid epoxy leaking over the bench would be quite a mess. It wouldn't be pleasant on the floor either, but at least it won't ruin many tools if it leaks now.

The pieces of cholla that don't have any epoxy visible on the top of them will be where I concentrate the next couple colors / pours of epoxy. I think before I pour the next one, I'll make a mark around the tape at a final thickness for the blank, and I'll work on stacking cholla and pouring epoxy up to that level so I don't get a wildly unbalanced blank. I think I'm going to aim for something between 2.5 and 3 inches thick.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Second pair of pours for the blank

Nothing too exciting in this one, but I want to document what I'm doing for my own records, too.

I went back out this evening and wrapped the blue tape an inch and change higher, rotated the blank 180 degrees so I would be pouring epoxy into the end that had almost none in it, and mixed up another batch of epoxy. This time it had 30+ drops of Aqua and I added 5 drops of TransTint Bright Red. That made a reasonable violet, though I maybe had just a touch too much blue.

After pouring that, I added some more pieces of cholla, trying to get them going a different direction than the ones they were on top of, and once I had about half of the blank built up that extra layer, I mixed another batch of epoxy with just the Bright Red. I think I did 8 drops. Then I poured that over the other side of the blank, trying to avoid mixing the two still-liquid pours too much. I put on three our four more wraps of blue tape as insurance against leaks, and moved the blank to the floor, just in case. Ten ounces of liquid epoxy leaking over the bench would be quite a mess. It wouldn't be pleasant on the floor either, but at least it won't ruin many tools if it leaks now.

The pieces of cholla that don't have any epoxy visible on the top of them will be where I concentrate the next couple colors / pours of epoxy. I think before I pour the next one, I'll make a mark around the tape at a final thickness for the blank, and I'll work on stacking cholla and pouring epoxy up to that level so I don't get a wildly unbalanced blank. I think I'm going to aim for something between 2.5 and 3 inches thick.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Second pair of pours for the blank

Nothing too exciting in this one, but I want to document what I'm doing for my own records, too.

I went back out this evening and wrapped the blue tape an inch and change higher, rotated the blank 180 degrees so I would be pouring epoxy into the end that had almost none in it, and mixed up another batch of epoxy. This time it had 30+ drops of Aqua and I added 5 drops of TransTint Bright Red. That made a reasonable violet, though I maybe had just a touch too much blue.

After pouring that, I added some more pieces of cholla, trying to get them going a different direction than the ones they were on top of, and once I had about half of the blank built up that extra layer, I mixed another batch of epoxy with just the Bright Red. I think I did 8 drops. Then I poured that over the other side of the blank, trying to avoid mixing the two still-liquid pours too much. I put on three our four more wraps of blue tape as insurance against leaks, and moved the blank to the floor, just in case. Ten ounces of liquid epoxy leaking over the bench would be quite a mess. It wouldn't be pleasant on the floor either, but at least it won't ruin many tools if it leaks now.

The pieces of cholla that don't have any epoxy visible on the top of them will be where I concentrate the next couple colors / pours of epoxy. I think before I pour the next one, I'll make a mark around the tape at a final thickness for the blank, and I'll work on stacking cholla and pouring epoxy up to that level so I don't get a wildly unbalanced blank. I think I'm going to aim for something between 2.5 and 3 inches thick.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Second pair of pours for the blank

Nothing too exciting in this one, but I want to document what I'm doing for my own records, too.

I went back out this evening and wrapped the blue tape an inch and change higher, rotated the blank 180 degrees so I would be pouring epoxy into the end that had almost none in it, and mixed up another batch of epoxy. This time it had 30+ drops of Aqua and I added 5 drops of TransTint Bright Red. That made a reasonable violet, though I maybe had just a touch too much blue.

After pouring that, I added some more pieces of cholla, trying to get them going a different direction than the ones they were on top of, and once I had about half of the blank built up that extra layer, I mixed another batch of epoxy with just the Bright Red. I think I did 8 drops. Then I poured that over the other side of the blank, trying to avoid mixing the two still-liquid pours too much. I put on three our four more wraps of blue tape as insurance against leaks, and moved the blank to the floor, just in case. Ten ounces of liquid epoxy leaking over the bench would be quite a mess. It wouldn't be pleasant on the floor either, but at least it won't ruin many tools if it leaks now.

The pieces of cholla that don't have any epoxy visible on the top of them will be where I concentrate the next couple colors / pours of epoxy. I think before I pour the next one, I'll make a mark around the tape at a final thickness for the blank, and I'll work on stacking cholla and pouring epoxy up to that level so I don't get a wildly unbalanced blank. I think I'm going to aim for something between 2.5 and 3 inches thick.

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Second pair of pours for the blank

Nothing too exciting in this one, but I want to document what I'm doing for my own records, too.

I went back out this evening and wrapped the blue tape an inch and change higher, rotated the blank 180 degrees so I would be pouring epoxy into the end that had almost none in it, and mixed up another batch of epoxy. This time it had 30+ drops of Aqua and I added 5 drops of TransTint Bright Red. That made a reasonable violet, though I maybe had just a touch too much blue.

After pouring that, I added some more pieces of cholla, trying to get them going a different direction than the ones they were on top of, and once I had about half of the blank built up that extra layer, I mixed another batch of epoxy with just the Bright Red. I think I did 8 drops. Then I poured that over the other side of the blank, trying to avoid mixing the two still-liquid pours too much. I put on three our four more wraps of blue tape as insurance against leaks, and moved the blank to the floor, just in case. Ten ounces of liquid epoxy leaking over the bench would be quite a mess. It wouldn't be pleasant on the floor either, but at least it won't ruin many tools if it leaks now.

The pieces of cholla that don't have any epoxy visible on the top of them will be where I concentrate the next couple colors / pours of epoxy. I think before I pour the next one, I'll make a mark around the tape at a final thickness for the blank, and I'll work on stacking cholla and pouring epoxy up to that level so I don't get a wildly unbalanced blank. I think I'm going to aim for something between 2.5 and 3 inches thick.

Click to expand...

Yeah, Eric. I usually only do the first pair on the first day, but I had some spare time this evening, so went ahead and did a second pair.

Thanks, Pottz. My guess is I'll end up using about a full quart kit (1.5 quarts of mixed epoxy) for this blank, so it's not a cheap experiment, but the results should be fairly good, based on what the folks who've seen my first two have said.

- Dave Polaschek

Click to expand...

DavePolaschek said:

Second pair of pours for the blank

Nothing too exciting in this one, but I want to document what I'm doing for my own records, too.

I went back out this evening and wrapped the blue tape an inch and change higher, rotated the blank 180 degrees so I would be pouring epoxy into the end that had almost none in it, and mixed up another batch of epoxy. This time it had 30+ drops of Aqua and I added 5 drops of TransTint Bright Red. That made a reasonable violet, though I maybe had just a touch too much blue.

After pouring that, I added some more pieces of cholla, trying to get them going a different direction than the ones they were on top of, and once I had about half of the blank built up that extra layer, I mixed another batch of epoxy with just the Bright Red. I think I did 8 drops. Then I poured that over the other side of the blank, trying to avoid mixing the two still-liquid pours too much. I put on three our four more wraps of blue tape as insurance against leaks, and moved the blank to the floor, just in case. Ten ounces of liquid epoxy leaking over the bench would be quite a mess. It wouldn't be pleasant on the floor either, but at least it won't ruin many tools if it leaks now.

The pieces of cholla that don't have any epoxy visible on the top of them will be where I concentrate the next couple colors / pours of epoxy. I think before I pour the next one, I'll make a mark around the tape at a final thickness for the blank, and I'll work on stacking cholla and pouring epoxy up to that level so I don't get a wildly unbalanced blank. I think I'm going to aim for something between 2.5 and 3 inches thick.

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