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Post by tauster on Sept 24, 2019 14:37:55 GMT
Cool! Thanks for clarifying US Customs (Canada Customs, New Zealand Customs, etc...) takes seed importation very seriously... I would hate for any crafter to be charged with a federal offense for importing crafting supplies... I've watched Border Patrol, seeing how a few different nations deal with such things. I am m-u-c-h more careful going through Customs, now -- never lie on the customs form! That is a serious offence! Be honest, and you won't get fined; lie, on the form, or to the officer, and you will be lucky if all you suffer is a fine of hundreds of dollars! I did not realize some of the foods I brought home could be so dangerous -- or how serious the offenses are... Thank you, again. Cheers!
Thanks for the advice. Seems like I won't include anything grown in future crafting material parcels sent to the americas then...  |
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Post by tauster on Sept 26, 2019 18:06:59 GMT
You know what those seeds would be perfect for?
Tentacles of Displacer Beasts! 
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Post by tauster on Oct 3, 2019 17:10:07 GMT
Here's a first experiment including the pot marygold seeds: Tentacles with barbed hooks. Or hooked barbs. Hooked and barbed thorns would be great too, or thorny hooked barbs, or... yadda yadda.  |
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Post by sgtslag on Oct 3, 2019 19:01:56 GMT
They have a lot of potential, for sure. Cheers!
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Post by tauster on Oct 13, 2019 12:02:40 GMT
I started stumbling over those geekgasm-provoking 'dice books' soem months ago, and the trend seems to pick up speed. There are countless variants on pinterest, etsy and even kickstarter. I won't buy any of these, but from the first moment I was sure that I'd try to make one, some day. So here's a quick sunday project - that went better then expected.
The goal of the first prototype is to go through all the steps and see what works, how it works and where I need to improve. Basically, to get to know how to make a dice book. The goal is not to come up with a beautiful end result (although that would be a bonus). So I used a scrap piece of pine board and made a rough layout.
When I knew where to place the dice holes, it was off to the drillpress.
Then I used a handrouter to carve out the dice rolling pit. This was a bit tedious as I did the straight lines by hand, which of course resulted in not-so-much straight lines, plus a few pits that will need to be covered/repaired before laying the pit out with felt or leather.
The cavity for the player miniature turned out much cleaner. I got my first hand router only this summer and don't have much practice under my belt, so a clean result is very motivating.
The hinges:
And that's where iI am so far. The CA glue under the Neodyms needs to cure, the other side of the book will get some screws in to meet the magnets. Oh, and I have to remember where I stashed the felt and/or leather...
[update]
..aaand then I botched it: I thought that instead of leather or felt I might as well use a thin layer of texture pin-rolled styrofoam. This might have worked, but then I got the idea of filling all the holes with a layer of colored epoxy resin, and went for it.
It might even have worked out, but I made too many little splashes, so I covered all inner surfaces with colored resin, to hide the faults. The colors are still moving around in the resin while it cures, so the final look will be visible only in a few hours after it has hardened up. I would have preverred the smooth look of wood but hey, it is a prototype, so... lesson learned, I guess.
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Post by tauster on Oct 14, 2019 15:49:22 GMT
The resin is cured so that's it - I declare the prototype finished. What's interesting to note is how much the color changed during the curing process. Compare yourself with the pics from the previous posting: It's gone from 'mostly transparent, with some blue swirls' to 'so deep blue it is almost black'. I didn't expect that. And: The pigments left an ugly surface effect. I could add an additional thin layer of clear resin, but the resin has already reduced the height of the compartments so much that there isn't enough space for most miniatures, so I'll leave it as is.
The magnetic lock is quite weak the way I did it. I didn't use magnets on both sides because it was difficult to perfectly line up the magnets, so I used screws on one side. I didn't have shorter screws with a larger head, so I ended up with a relatively weak contact area. For transportation, I'll probably secure it with additional rubbe bands (which is kind of humiliating). I probably won't be using resin again to fill out the recesses, or if I do, I will have to take take a lot more and work more carefully. One splash of colored resin is enough to ruin a until-then perfect piece! 
I still declare it a success, just because I learned a lot. This is my first dice book, and I will probably make more in the future. I now know how some things are not done, and some mistakes to avoid in the future. And I already have some interesting design ideas... |
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Post by sgtslag on Oct 14, 2019 16:16:00 GMT
For prototyping, Pine is acceptable. For a finished product, I would recommend a hard wood, such as Hickory, Cherry, Mahogany, Padauck, Purpleheart, Bloodwood, Zebra, or even Wenge. Pine has too many faults. The other woods are harder, much more durable, and easier to finish. I would suggest a simple clear coat, after staining, if necessary.
Hickory is very hard, at 1850 Janka scale, and it will take any color stain you apply to it. Padauck and Bloodwood, with a clear coating, will have a 3-D grain effect, which is quite beautiful.
Pay careful attention to the oxidation effects on these woods: Padauck, Bloodwood, Purpleheart, and Wenge. It will alter their color, dramatically, as the oxidation process progresses. Be sure to seal them (around seven coats of clear coat, eventually, using an outdoor quality of clear coat, for durability) when they are oxidized to the color that you prefer. Cheers!
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Post by tauster on Oct 14, 2019 17:05:15 GMT
Wow, I certainly didn't expect that level of professional wood knowledge around here. Thats what I love about this community! Thanks a lot, I'll keep that in mind and do some research when the time for making the real things has come!
Random thought:
One way to avoid faults would be to avoid regular shapes: If the dice rolling pit isn't a rectangle but some irregular shape (a kidney for example), no one would see the less-than-stellar level of router experience.
Of course, if I have to route the pit with several passes, I should start with a slightly smaller pit so that I don't have to exactly follow the first passes contour... Well that opens up a hole new can of worms, design-wise!  |
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Post by skunkape on Oct 15, 2019 13:09:00 GMT
tauster , rather than using rubber bands, why not make some straps with buckles? Just attach them to the box with screws and hide the screw heads with either the round wooden caps that are normally used for covering screw holes in things like selves or some other kind of cap. Just attach them with a small amount of E6000.
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Post by sgtslag on Oct 15, 2019 13:55:48 GMT
tauster , what little I know of wood, was gained working with my nephew, a professional carpenter of exceptional skill, building custom gaming tables, and Dice Towers, and running a KickStarter with him. He shared with me his expertise on the woods, and I researched them a bit, on my own, as well. However, I am no expert, just a wannabe, with a little bit of expert knowledge. He sprays seven layers of outdoor quality varnish on his Dice Towers, and his tables. My Padauck Dice Tower is now 2-3 years old, and it has not shifted in color -- the oxidation process is not progressing, yet. It is still a fiery orange-like color. I lobbied for using Hickory wood for all of his tables, as it is 10x stronger than White Oak (1,360 Janka scale), and it is a bit harder (1,820 Janka scale), as well. Hickory will take any stain you apply to it. If you want Cherry (995 Janka scale), I recommend using a reddish stain on Hickory: it will look like Cherry, but it will have the strength, hardness, and durability, of Hickory. Hickory comes in two grades: standard (with several knots, and considerable grain variations -- quite beautiful, but best for table sides and legs, not tops, nor boxes/chests of any kind), and high grade (virtually no knots, more consistent wood grain patterns, but more 'plain jane', IMO, suitable for table tops, chairs, boxes, etc.). For small projects, like your's, any wood can be used. The hardness of the woods is variable: Padauck -- 1,780; Purpleheart -- 1,860; Bloodwood -- 2,900; Zebrawood -- 1,575; Mahogany -- 800; Wenge -- 1,630. It's fun to drop dice into Dice Towers of the various woods, side-by-side: the harder the wood, the higher the pitch of the dice tumbling through! You can hear the difference, very clearly. Expect the exotic woods to be more expensive. They're available in small boards, perfect for your project. My son and I picked out our pieces for our Dice Towers, which led to the KS, later. My son's Wenge wood planks cost around $80, 2-3 years ago. I think my Padauck planks ran around $50-$60, for just the wood. You will have to visit your local wood supply shop, to price what you want, and need, for your project. The exotic woods have unique odors, when cutting/drilling. I don't remember the specifics my nephew shared, but some of them smell of an outhouse, to put it politely.  Don't worry about that. Choose the wood that pleases you, and run with it. One trick he shared, was that when the Purpleheart, Wenge*, and the Padauck darkened, with oxidation, he put them in the dash of his truck, in the sunlight. The heat brought back their gorgeous colors, by the end of the day! No need to heat them in an oven, just give them greenhouse heat, in a vehicle's cab, with the windows rolled up, on a sunny day. Cheers! *: I think Wenge actually lightens up, with oxidation. It starts out very black, with the grain variations difficult to see, but as it oxidizes, it becomes two different shades, light and dark, looking like chocolate. It is gorgeous wood. I have to remind myself that I cannot take a bite out of my son's Tower -- it looks sooo tasty!  I need to start going to sessions with the Choco-haulics Anonymous group again...
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Post by margaret on Oct 16, 2019 2:28:46 GMT
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Post by tauster on Oct 17, 2019 18:15:26 GMT
Fors and Cale have encountered more monsters than they could remember, and survived them all (or have they...?), and not finally they hit the motherload: Gold, silver and diamonds piled higher than some wizard's towers!
There must be a catch, but as long as it lasts, the two won't question their luck.
The German discounter Penny has some nice xmas- and winter-themed scatter decoration stuff on sale this week. Each of these bags is priced at 1.99€. The golg and silver bags are 500gr, and the diamonds are 100gr. I would have found the number of diamonds more useful than their weight, but even uncounted I'm confident that they will last me for years.
The gold & silver is just large enough to be used in treasure heaps, to fill out treasure chests or to be stuck into rock walls, making great nuggets.The diamonds are a bit large, probably about twice as large than a human-sized head, so I'd use them as single centerpieces of a treasure pile, or as magic items. They're availabel in the silver and gold.
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Post by margaret on Oct 18, 2019 18:41:32 GMT
What a great find! The gold and silver small gravel type seems to be called "vase filler' in the USA, although a quick search didn't find anything as nice and nuggety over here. I will definitely keep looking, though.
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Post by tauster on Jun 11, 2020 12:44:14 GMT
The creepyness reminded me of Pan's Labyrinth, in my opinion one of the best 'dark faerietale' movies.
One commenter on instructable remarked that they are inspired by the artist Hirotoshi Ito. I have absolutely no clue how he worked the stones, or if that even are stones, but they sure not look like conrete. Wow! Long story short, I shot me the silicone teeth mould on ebay, made some hotglue moulds, got a bag of old zippers... and then the project stalled. For months, if not years. Now, after moving my craft room to the attic, I made a pact with myself that for every new project I start, an old one must be finished.
The living rocks are not finished yet, but I got a good start. Not sure I should show them the kids though... I started with cutting a large egg out of styrofoam for one of the 'eye' variants. It is extremely light, which will change once it is covered in concrete, but still... not cool. So I went in the garden and found a good-sized rock. The mouths were primed with a flesh tone... ...then some of them washed with dark purple (i.e. my usual flesh color theme).
Others were primed in light brown/beige and washed with dark brown and black tones, to give them a more earthy look. I already love how they stare at me! The texture around the eyes was done by crinkling baking parchment into the still-warm and flexible hotglue, then carefully making more folds and crinkles. Carefully tear away the paper when the glue is hardened. The bodies were shaped with tin foil. Not especially eco-friendly, but hugely practical. *sigh* I decided that the ones with the jaws wide open should have something unexpected inside: Eyes. Tentacles would have worked too, but eyes roll even better with the whole theme.  That's where I am right now: I am waiting for the concrete and concrete pigments to arrive, as I need those for another garden projects (concrete pillow stepping stones). The Living Rocks will be hidden in plain sight around the house and in the vegetable patches. I'll cover all colored areas with a two-part clear epoxy resin, which is waterproof and will make those areas look wet, which is an added bonus.
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Post by sgtslag on Jun 11, 2020 15:55:31 GMT
Those are... Disturbing. Very dark humor to put them into your gardens. Could result in a Police visit if people think they're human remains! Hilarious stuff! Cheers!
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Post by tauster on Jun 11, 2020 17:16:55 GMT
Those are... Disturbing. Very dark humor to put them into your gardens. Could result in a Police visit if people think they're human remains! Hilarious stuff! Cheers!
I plan placing a few directly at the front porch. Looking forward to funny looks from the postmen, and women. |
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Post by sgtslag on Jun 11, 2020 19:06:18 GMT
You're sick! Sick! Sick! Sick!!!...
I love it. Cheers!
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Post by erho on Jun 12, 2020 13:45:41 GMT
Nuke it from orbit as they say, but it looks good from waaaay over here.
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Post by tauster on Jul 8, 2020 11:18:55 GMT
Finished the Living Rocks, huzzah!
Sculpting the concrete had been one in three shifts.
Detail shots
You really want to ring the bell with these two beauties greeting you, right? The other stones will get equally strategic places in the garden.
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Post by erho on Jul 8, 2020 20:27:11 GMT
Damn Mimics!
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Don't worry about that. Choose the wood that pleases you, and run with it.
I need to start going to sessions with the Choco-haulics Anonymous group again...
