|
Post by beetlewing on Aug 1, 2014 0:56:10 GMT
Recently had some roof work done on our house, and stumbled upon a fantastic source of flock for gravel, rubble, etc: Shingles. The pile on the left is the gravel/sand stuff that's on the shingles. (Rub 2 shingles together to remove) The pile on the right was created by crumbling an old shingle, which is awesome for a mix of bigger and smaller bits. In the background, you can see samples of 3 different shingles. They come in a huge assortment of color schemes.
|
|
|
Post by DMScotty on Aug 1, 2014 2:52:34 GMT
Cool idea.
|
|
|
Post by skunkape on Aug 1, 2014 16:20:14 GMT
I saw where someone was using shingles to make roads. You can carve wheel ruts in them for dirt roads, carve the surface to make cobblestones, create concrete with cracks by painting grey and carving cracks in them. Been meaning to pick up some, but I have yet to find somewhere that sells them singly. Don't really want to buy a whole package because I don't think I'll need that much road surface!
|
|
|
Post by adamantinedragon on Aug 1, 2014 16:23:33 GMT
Those piles of rubble look great. Be aware that most asphalt roof shingles contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which some studies have shown to be toxic. So I wouldn't recommend doing a LOT of this.
|
|
|
Post by beetlewing on Aug 2, 2014 4:59:07 GMT
Those piles of rubble look great. Be aware that most asphalt roof shingles contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which some studies have shown to be toxic. So I wouldn't recommend doing a LOT of this. Bah - that's only dangerous to people who live in California
|
|
|
Post by tauster on Aug 2, 2014 7:14:46 GMT
Those piles of rubble look great. Be aware that most asphalt roof shingles contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which some studies have shown to be toxic. So I wouldn't recommend doing a LOT of this. Shingles are a great idea craft-wise, but I would never use them, for the health reasons you described. I don't have any problems using garbage (as long as it's cleaned), but anything that would put the risk of me, my gamers or my kid in danger is a definite no-go.
|
|
|
Post by adamantinedragon on Aug 2, 2014 13:59:04 GMT
Hmmm... that makes me wonder.... with all the dire warnings I've seen associated with materials that are rather commonly used by crafters (styrene, paints, glues, sealants, cheap Chinese plastic, etc.) coupled with the sort of snacks I tend to eat while crafting (ding dongs, cheet-ohs, pizza rolls, candy bars...) I wonder why Marvel hasn't yet created a super hero who's origin story involves too many long hours in a toxic basement stew of crafting chemicals and food coloring and preservatives. They could call him "Craft-man" and his super powers could include the ability to spontaneously spew gallons of hot glue and paints to subdue nefarious criminals. Given a supply of cardboard Craftman should be able to build just about any conceivable structure in mere moments.
Coming soon to a theater near you, The Awesome Craftman and his nemesis, GarbageMan....
|
|
|
Post by tauster on Aug 3, 2014 7:56:36 GMT
Hmmm... that makes me wonder.... with all the dire warnings I've seen associated with materials that are rather commonly used by crafters (styrene, paints, glues, sealants, cheap Chinese plastic, etc.) coupled with the sort of snacks I tend to eat while crafting (ding dongs, cheet-ohs, pizza rolls, candy bars...) I wonder why Marvel hasn't yet created a super hero who's origin story involves too many long hours in a toxic basement stew of crafting chemicals and food coloring and preservatives. They could call him "Craft-man" and his super powers could include the ability to spontaneously spew gallons of hot glue and paints to subdue nefarious criminals. Given a supply of cardboard Craftman should be able to build just about any conceivable structure in mere moments. Coming soon to a theater near you, The Awesome Craftman and his nemesis, GarbageMan.... Craftman?¿!? You're surely right, there are lots of crafting materials most of us use regularly that aren't exactly healthy. I don't really want to think about the polystyrene fumes I have inhaled while using the hotwire saw, even if I sat right beside the open window... Still, for me personally stuff containing tar like those tar shingles are something of a personal red line I don't want to cross. I know it's silly because it gases out much less unhealthy stuff than melting polystyrene or the spraycan fumes, so I don't claim to have a rational argument here... Btw: Has anyone noticed that mercury has such a nice, silvery sheen? *smashed a dozen thermometers and collects the quicksilver* ...oh and look, it's liquid too! A blob of this stuff on the battle field would be a great silver slime monster, right?
|
|
|
Post by beetlewing on Aug 3, 2014 14:51:38 GMT
I would think that covering the tiny bits of shingle with a layer of acrylic paint would protect the hands from any chemical danger... Once painted you'd only be touching dried acrylic paint.
|
|
|
Post by adamantinedragon on Aug 3, 2014 16:07:33 GMT
When I was a kid, I used to play with mercury quite a bit. It was fascinating. I had a little bottle I had collected from different sources (not just thermometers, mercury is used in switches too, and in fact the amount in a switch is usually more than the amount in a thermometer).
Perhaps I got lucky, perhaps I am a ticking time bomb with an inevitable mercury poisoning explosion waiting in my future, but at least so far all those hours of rolling mercury around in my palm or pouring it on my desk and poking at it with my finger seems not to have caused instant death.
I do think that the vast majority of health warnings are disproportionate to the actual risk, but the reality is that you are probably rolling the dice when you mess with them and while the vast majority of people might get off untouched, you might end up being the statistical anomoly that led to those dire warnings in the first place.
|
|