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dworx

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Posts posted by dworx

  1. Posted

    Firstly on clay,

    Clay deposits in the lows of the soil layers, if you want to find clay you have to dig through the topsoil, which can be deep,shallow, or non existent. The clay may also be deep, shallow, non existent, but that doesn't mean it isn't 20 cm's away or a meter etc. If not go to a river and dig around, clay is every where..

    The refractory capability of clays is your next concern, but not really a big concern, the lighter the color of the clay the more refractory, but as you said its not going to be used too often, so build it, use it, look at lining did it check or crack etc

    The sand you use, I would go with a coarser sand, river sand is good and adds to refractory you could also add some finer beach sand to the final lining but wash it first.

    The straw, I would leave the straw out totally, better to use just sand at 80% clay 20% maybe mould bricks, build over a wooden form, and burn the form out when fully built and dry, or mould your oven again a form but if you want a dome??? Do it all on site.

    Reasoning straw is proven to cause more cracking than it is believed to prevent, sand will not dramatically change volume I.e. expand / contract so less cracking.

    Inner lining, using same clay + sand + perlite or similar mix up a mortar that when your oven is built dried and the form is burnt out render the inner wall, this will give your strong she'll a softer but higher refractory lining. This is cheaper than tubs of fireclay I.e. the commercial render you use to repair fire places, and will definitely do for a pizza oven.

    Refractory is the ability for a material to reflect heat, keep its strength and shape, so it will keep the heat in the oven space.

    Pm if you want more details.

    • Like 1

  6. Posted

    The chinese had two criteria for selecting jade carving. The first was that the carving had to be so perfect that no mortal could have carved it. The second was that the carving (abstract or not) should imbue life, that is you could imagine taking your eyes off it and it moving. These are things I try (sometimes successfully) to put into my work.

    The only other piece of advice I have is "make it look handmade, not homemade".

    I havent finished that last one yet as it developed a crack- so yes Im worried but Ive got some fancy epoxy to stabilise it. Cracks cant be helped sometimes, though one can plan around those present in the initial stages.

    Ill be very happy when its done and in one piece- I do like to push the material to its limits :)

    Yeah I can estimate the time it will take pretty well and I only charge what I quote. PM me if you're keen.

    So just out of interest - [sorry quoting you from a different thread] - would this be deemed by you homemade or handmade and does this allow for you to meet the two chinese criteria or is this piece a failure because its not perfect??

    How much will this piece cost to buy?? or is this a piece you won't sell because it isn't perfect???

  12. Posted · Edited by dworx

    How do you propose Amz makes it worth her while? Lets say 2 hours labour at $25/hr, $10 in materials and a small profit of $20. Would YOU buy a loph bead for $80? Let the poor girl enjoy her hobbies for fucks sake!

     

    Just to put it in perspective Psylo there are small carvings called netsuke that have become collectable and some are tiny like beads, others like alittle smaller than matchbox cars etc. Some of these sell for thousands, so $80.00 is not a lot when your talking carved semi precious stones.

  13. Posted

    yeah I suppose, after all money isnt everything, what i meant was if you wanted to make sales you could easily sell what you make here and the money could fund your next carving? You dont need to profit to excess, just enought to buy you equipment etc and cover your true costs like consumables - diamond bits, emery cloth, polish, jade etcetc

  15. Posted

    'nito

    You would love a dear friend of ours teo that used to mod the cacti forum. Carves from bone amazing jewellery. I wear a piece I've never taken off since I've had it. He's an artist, like yourself. I'll hook yas up if u have fb or whatever he would prob even trade with you.

    Very talented chicky.

     

    'nito how about a photo of your piece?

  17. Posted

    Hmmm, choosing Jade.. i suppose it depends on what i have in mind to carve. Like the Loph' beads, i am trying to source some Jade with just the right shade of green. Usually when i get a new piece of jade, i just want to work with it to see what a bit of polishing will reveal. You know the old saying, "dont judge a book by its cover", well, its the same with jade. It appears all dull, and plain,until you start carving away, and a bit of polishing, and you see the beauty within. Jade is a great stone to work with, so its not hard to choose the right piece for the Job, as any piece of Jade can end up looking great. As mentioned earlier though,I inspect each section before i start carving, to make sure there are no faults/cracks. A real bit of art can be created out of a rough slab of stone, how awesome is that . :)

     

    So how many hours do you put into a carving say something as big as the infinity or if you dont know that one one that is pictured ???

  24. Posted · Edited by dworx

    good feedback. Im still inclined to go a cheapie. For example the Ozito can be ad for $50, and includes 180+ pieces. Might have to trawl throug some hobby forums, see what the consensus is.

    http://www.bunnings....e--Rotary+Tools

     

    Edit to add 1] sorry Amz this should be in another thread it distracts from your thread and your art :)

    Many Apologies :)

    Psylo,

    Virtually everything is made in china..... black and decker is also Dewalt and most big names have a home version, all made in china, You will hopefully have more luck buying a big name but it is just a name, and you can also have luck buying the cheapies like GMC [they were good value if faulty in 12mths get replaced etc] I bought a Rhino brand angle grinder from Bunnings for $11.00 15 years ago it has worn one set of brushes out but came with a second set, My dogs chewed the lead off it but I replaced the lead, and its still running, I have also bought others and used them both exxy and cheapiesbut dearer than $11.00 and the only one i have currently is the rhino, the rest burnt out. I use angle grinders a fair bit :). Point is you could buy Ozito and get 12-24-60 ++++ months out of it or you could buy and get 3mths and need to replace [ and just cause one burns out wont mean all the cheapies are shit]. Alternatively you could buy say teh dremel and it might last you teh shorter period or the longer period?? I have a dremel and it is burnt out - IT lasted under 1 year. For my money the best investment especially if you are starting off is to go cheap if you like what you do then you can start looking at dearer equipment and make an informed decision, you already know what you want from the tool. You may chose to keep going cheap and sacrificing the illusive guarantee of teh dearer products, and by that i mean that most exxy tools are not replaced but sent away for repairs and not everything is under warranty and may cost more to repair than its worth, you could buy another one for $50 more for example. I having had Dremel have also looked at the Ozito and when i have the cash spare:) I will probably get one. I like cheap tools for the value I have got from them a few have burnt me but most I feel have earnt there purchase price. The GMC product was really good although sometimes it took three tries to get the right one :)

    If you want to carve the Ozito will work for you, if you feel the tool is loading up ease back on the pressure, the diamonds work better with light pressure anyway, same with the wood burrs that you will get with the rotary tools usually. Here is similar looks a bit chunky but $20.00 lol.

    http://www.bunnings....ol-kit_584.aspx

    With Jade, Crystals, Glass etc things like Glass heat is a curse and can cause heat fracture so if you apply too much prressure you will get too much heat even under water sometimes and then the peice can crack even with out inclusions and faults in the rock etc So start cheap, get a feel for your material and your tool :), and have fun.....

    Oh and if you dont want to risk expensive material start with soft rocks river pebbles etc, some of them polish up really nice and are beautiful just people dont value them:)

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