What'd I miss?? PLEASE comment

[JohnU]

I tried casting a bee's nest last year and it was a dismal failure. If you do try it I would suggest that you stabilize it with CA BEFORE you cast it. I failed to do that and the nest pretty much just fell apart. Perhaps alumilite would have been a better choice.

I recently cast a few blanks from a paperwasp next I had in my back yard. The first thing I did was put in a plastic bag a freeze for a few months. I cast is both alumilite and PR with success on both. Air pockets were a problem on a couple but my next batch I will remove the bottom floor and make it see through. Havent turned one yet. Been too busy playing with feathers. lol

Ed, sounds like you have some really good ideas. Ive always wanted to try and glue up some dirt, sticks, and leaves on a tube to resemble the ground, and then apply frozen dead bugs like a series of ants, beatles, or something unique and cast over it, so as you turn the pen you see the habitat.

How 'bout some dried toad stool or mushroom? Maybe some cannabis?

so just how did you get the name Smokey? lol

 

[RAdams]

ROFL...


AND YOU KNOW THIS... MANNNNNN!


How funny! I was gonna ask if anyone mentioned sgapetty? rotini to be more accurate?

Glow in the dark airsoft bb's.

regular airsoft bb's (variety of colors, BE AWARE, most of them are hollow inside damhikt)

BEANS.. not coffee beans... FARTY BEANS...

Can you cast styrofoam (sp)? little balls like in the weird pillows maybe?

Cigarette tobacco

A label cast... strip the outside layer from a battery.

nibs cast..

A CD, shiny side out, and then cast or CA or something

Offer something specific to him. A wood from his yard when he was a kid. Might have to get a chainsaw silencer if his family doesn't still own the property...

hope these help.

 

[el_d]

DEBO's comin............ hide your chain.

 

[simomatra]

How about some inlays of opals or precious stones?

 

[rockb]

Hi Ed.......the wave of the future....seashells.....er, maybe not. But, you might try some of the really small shells like limpets, only one side to them so they wouldn't trap air if casting. With the hollow shells, when you break 'em when turning, maybe fill them then. Depending on clear or opaque casting material, you might be able to get a "fossil" effect. I'm done...... : )

 

[TellicoTurning]

You could always cast kitty litter!

Mike

Or get in touch with Curtis and get a couple of his kitty poo blanks:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[Buzzzz4]

I'm thinking he needs a grass pen!

 

[workinforwood]

Show him some of the stuff I gifted you. There's nothing girly there and they are on a road of their own without question. It does not have to be so complicated as inventing something brand new.

 

[WildcatHollow]

Gold Leaf?

I use the "gold leaf" sold at Michael's to make resin jewelry for my daughters. The bag costs about $7, if I remember correctly. I'm still using the bag I bought last year. There are also a couple of other leaf metals that had an antiqued look to them. I'm wondering if you could mix up batch of resin dense with the stuff, so that it didn't have the room to "settle."

If you make a batch up, let me know. I'd be interested in purchasing one.

By the way, if all I wanted was to make one or two of my own blanks. Could I use the poly resin they sell at Michael's?

How many drops of hardener per ounce would you recommend?

I heard you could use PVC pipe as molds. Is that true?

Thank you.

Regards,

t.

 

[dozuki]

It would be expensive but how about whooly mammoth. You don't see alot of pens made from that. And it would be an instant antique with 10,000-50,000 year old ivory.

 

[PenPal]

Hi Ed

I have made a pen from Rebar for concreters, steelworkers. From three darts the brass with black knurling bodies, A pen in the shape of a spark plug top with white corian for the porcelain hex cut then to round ebony using a Streamline ring band for the thread in a modified Slimline with brilliant cocobolo lower ,Osage Orange with green Slim kit shape of cricket bails Aussie win Worlds Cup,I am kinda used to modifying Slims since they display wood better than a lot of other kits.

Also I expect to ship out the pen for you and your spouse early next week for our IAP swap, I will include some around 1/4 inch square pieces of timbers in species so you can dwell on what you can do with these. For my Dentist making a tooth pen two designs.

My mechanic gets a Sparky pen and a tyre guage pen, you could try cartridge and horn pens for your customer, find out passions, likes and dislikes, colours, patterns. For sports people baseball bat and clip, I have made bamboo with a bass fish clip for my friend who makes 10.000 dollar bamboo fly rods.I am making pens from Aussie Beefwood, Dead Finish looks like Ironwood, Australian Purple Heart scarce as hens teeth does not change colour in sunlight, Grass Tree (Pressii) also called in Aussie Black Boy by the Aussie Aboriginals has a wooden flower spike looks from a distance like an Aboriginal standing on one leg with a spear. from West Australia,3000 yrs old Huon Pine Burl, West Australian Lace She Oak, 4000 yr old just before it petrifies tight crimped Aussie Red Gum,
Try Golden Amboyna the rarer Amboyna,Aussie Pink Conkerberry,Australia has 700 Eucalyptus species. Euc Burl,Red Box Burl, Olive wood from Bethlehem, Grove Olive tree from wherever, Staves of French Oak etc, Could go on and on but check out Red Mallee, Brown Mallee both in burl form There are so many exquisite timbers all over the world a real lot of them available in the USA for roughly the same price as here, ie the Aussie timbers.

Have fun and enjoy the journey.

Regards Peter. PS I need your info to send stuff soon please.

 

[Chris Bar]

Interesting stamps cast in plastic or maybe pics of foods, flora and fauna in foreign lands (contact a radio ham who gets qsl cards...they might keep their stamps:wink: I do) and USPS has some beautiful stamps from time to time, small pics of family or animals or actual animals such as small snail shells, minnow bones, seashells, millipedes, did I mention food like dried chilies or sugar crystals on a string, small seed pods in cylindrical form (now is the time to find them outdoors or anytime in craft shops (beautiful stuff those seed pods). There are a few ideas (maybe too lame though)...hope you can make something work so I can steal your methodology :biggrin:.

 

[jskeen]

I seem to recall seeing a snake somewhere that was naturally bright red and yellow with black. I think that they are kinda rare though, not sure where you could get your hands on one.

James



R2 - You have listed the materials that I have done from Glimmerz N More. He has seen them all and purchased a couple. He does NOT want skins that are dyed. If you have access to some of those skins in their natural colors, I would like to know about it - there may be a trade (or outright sale, if you prefer) available. I can make the blanks, just need the skins. Is a scorpion skin large enough for a pen??? Haven't seen that. The small "critters" are also an interesting idea, but we have SOME of those here in the USA!

 

[dontheturner]

No leg pulling going on:
and another http://www.mini-lathe.com/Default.htm

Search for a taig lathe. Harder stone needs water to keep tools cool and to keep the dust down.

Hello Chasper, Regarding the mentioned www. mini-lathe showing the Seig lathes, in red finish, I have the identical lathe in regular use here in Thailand, which I purchased from the MAKERS - www. xendoll, who are located in China. I thought the Black Plastic drive wheels in the gearbox, looked rather familiar! They carry 80 teeth, and the right hand one, suffered from a sheared Woodruff key, as a result of my regular cutting of Acrylics and Polyester. I had to get it fixed here, which was not easy! It now has a nylon centre bushing. It also has the digital readout mounted upon the top. It is still a damned good lathe! dontheturner.