Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/04/19/watch-this-gorgeous-resin-sphe.html
…
4 Likes
I have very little personal experience with turning objects on a lathe, but I love how he eyeballed the shape on this piece instead of using a template. (This reminds me that I learned a new word watching Spanish language maker videos on YouTube last night - una esfera.)
2 Likes
Noice. 
Just got started on turning this one today:
Camphor Laurel / Western Red Cedar / Camphor Laurel.
8 Likes
Please post a shot when you’re done!
2 Likes
The fact that the resin-wood union will stand up to the lathe speeds with the force of the tools is an extremely useful piece of information.
Also the six-axes method to get a nice round shape.
Standard woodturning practice is to fill small cavities in the wood with superglue. It’s the duct tape of woodwork.
A fashionable woodturning trick in my neighbourhood is to hunt for antique half-rotten fenceposts (not hard to find in outback Australia; desert weather + termites), then fill them with resin in a similar manner to what’s in the OP.
2 Likes
Here we use a homebrew of diluted wood sealant (or even regular white glue if humidity isn’t an issue) mixed with ground chalk and colored with oxide powders to match the surrounding fibers. Superglue I have never seen … Either way, the difference is the surface area adhering to the wood vs the surface area being shaped by forces on a lathe - here the surprise us that you can invert that area and it still won’t break off.
Which has really got me thinking, know what I mean?
Your fence posts thing is awesomeness all around.
2 Likes
If I want to be fancy, I mix the superglue with powdered copper [1]. Comes up nice and shiny once you sand the piece; similar appearance to kintsugi.
[1] Actually, it’s more “fill the cavity with metal powder, add a bit of CA glue on top”.
3 Likes
BTW, have you seen this dude?
2 Likes
So, I responded before actually clicking the link because it sounded cool. But actually watching the video, that whole ‘duct tape resin mound’ technique is seriously handy, and pretty well removes the main hassle keeping one from messing around with resin fills in the first place.
Makes me wonder what I was doing in July and how I missed that post by Andrea.
Can you mix your copper powder into the resin without stirring overly and could it eventually oxidize inside the piece?
I haven’t done any proper resin work myself; I just use CA glue to fill small cavities. No mixing is required; the CA penetrates the powder well enough without it. It shouldn’t oxidise after the glue seals it.
You can do similar tricks with crushed stone:
3 Likes
That’s really nice looking. That’s ground turquoise stone and ca glue just dripped into the crevices and then finished as usual? Any typical finishing agents that would cloud the ca glue (diluting agents, etc)?
Chrysocolla crystals filling the cavity, then a bit of CA poured on top and finished with normal sanding.
No finishing agents, but it works better if you get low-viscosity specialist woodworkers CA rather than just ordinary superglue. The low-viscosity stuff flows like water.
Low-viscosity glue on the left, thicker stuff on the right.
2 Likes
Seriously, so far a handful of ideas for stuff to make/repair.
I’ve also remembered I’ve still got the trunk of a small walnut tree in the garage.
1 Like
Looks sweet. This kind of stuff makes me wish I had a lathe (and thus also lived in a huge house with room for a workshop. Then I remember all the upkeep that would require, and then I stop wishing I had a lathe.). Hope that guy has a good way to dispose of all that plastic spaghetti, though.
1 Like
Work in progress:
The blue tape is to stop drips from a bit of glue I put in to help hold the rim together while I’m cutting it. Those cavities will eventually be filled with copper.
3 Likes
Wow! Lovely!
I’m curious - do you use copper fill for a specific reason? I know it’s more ductile than, say, resin. Does it hold a seal better with wood expansion and contraction?
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
