F.C. wrote:Hey Mike, do you have access to American Pennies, or perhaps Zinc annodes used on boat hulls in salt water? I'm still work'n toward giving you something fun to do that may spark some interest in your area toward your developed talant at casting metal.
That would be cool Frank
Sunday here and a lot of places are closed but I have been given a contact number for cheap zinc anodes, I'll give these people a call tomorrow plus I'll check out the local scrap metal merchant and see if he has anything
Damn hot and humid here, I have no doubt your up to your butt in snow and ice lol
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm
Frank this may sound like a dumb question, when using ammonia for Verde green can you put a clear laqaure on the finished product or would it be durable enough on its own, plus I have read somewhere that you shouldn't use copper base metals for food stuffs, is this correct
Mike
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm
mite5255 wrote:Frank this may sound like a dumb question, when using ammonia for Verde green can you put a clear laqaure on the finished product or would it be durable enough on its own, plus I have read somewhere that you shouldn't use copper base metals for food stuffs, is this correct
Mike
A verde green patina will continue to "age" and ultimately turn all solid color. Ideally, once you obtain the effect you want, wash it repetedly to remove any ammonia chemical (using a soft bristle paint brush to softly scrub with) then, like with any other patina, either clear coat it once it dries or brush on a coat of carnuba wax to seal it. As for copper based metals, yes, it's best not to use it for food products. It's not necessarily the copper that's the problem as it is the other alloys in the bronze, or brass, that can have a health effect on the body.
F.C. wrote:Hey Mike, do you have access to American Pennies, or perhaps Zinc annodes used on boat hulls in salt water? I'm still work'n toward giving you something fun to do that may spark some interest in your area toward your developed talant at casting metal.
That would be cool Frank
Sunday here and a lot of places are closed but I have been given a contact number for cheap zinc anodes, I'll give these people a call tomorrow plus I'll check out the local scrap metal merchant and see if he has anything
Damn hot and humid here, I have no doubt your up to your butt in snow and ice lol
Not much snow here, Mike... maybe three or four inches is all. Last year we had near four feet accumulated by this time of year. I was plowing with my 4-wheeler dang near every night. By March I near run out of places to push it into, HAHAHA. I was actually shove'n it out into the street (which was plowed every other day by the local municipality) then after blocking half the street in front of my house with it i'd run length wise back and forth on the street plow'n slices of the drift I made along the length of the road's shoulder on my subdivision. Sadly, the dang street plow would then come back through and redistribute the snow and shove it back into all our driveways again to keep the width of the street clear. When spring finally came it took near into early summer before all the packed snow finally melted. Last winter was a real pain in the ass. This year, though, looks like spring break-up will be sweet and quick. But, without enough snowfall the rivers next summer will be running low and could, if we donl't get sufficient rain, limit the annual return of salmon that run up the rivers to spawn. Such is life, I suppose.
Weather wise, though, we've been getting our fair share of damn cold temperatures. Sixty below zero in the interior of the State this evening. Eleven below zero at our house here in South Central part of the state (Palmer/Butte, Alaska). In our area, too, we've also had gale force winds blowing along with the cold temps. Sure makes ya appreciate the warm indoors. It's times like these I tend to wonder why it is I keep wanting to live up here. I've moved south a few times in 30 years but within a year's time I'm back again 'cause I can't stand live'n in a cluster-fuck environment. I dearly love living in a frontier environment.
F.C. wrote:Hey Mike, do you have access to American Pennies, or perhaps Zinc annodes used on boat hulls in salt water? I'm still work'n toward giving you something fun to do that may spark some interest in your area toward your developed talant at casting metal.
That would be cool Frank
Sunday here and a lot of places are closed but I have been given a contact number for cheap zinc anodes, I'll give these people a call tomorrow plus I'll check out the local scrap metal merchant and see if he has anything
Damn hot and humid here, I have no doubt your up to your butt in snow and ice lol
Not much snow here, Mike... maybe three or four inches is all. Last year we had near four feet accumulated by this time of year. I was plowing with my 4-wheeler dang near every night. By March I near run out of places to push it into, HAHAHA. I was actually shove'n it out into the street (which was plowed every other day by the local municipality) then after blocking half the street in front of my house with it i'd run length wise back and forth on the street plow'n slices of the drift I made along the length of the road's shoulder on my subdivision. Sadly, the dang street plow would then come back through and redistribute the snow and shove it back into all our driveways again to keep the width of the street clear. When spring finally came it took near into early summer before all the packed snow finally melted. Last winter was a real pain in the ass. This year, though, looks like spring break-up will be sweet and quick. But, without enough snowfall the rivers next summer will be running low and could, if we donl't get sufficient rain, limit the annual return of salmon that run up the rivers to spawn. Such is life, I suppose.
Weather wise, though, we've been getting our fair share of damn cold temperatures. Sixty below zero in the interior of the State this evening. Eleven below zero at our house here in South Central part of the state (Palmer/Butte, Alaska). In our area, too, we've also had gale force winds blowing along with the cold temps. Sure makes ya appreciate the warm indoors. It's times like these I tend to wonder why it is I keep wanting to live up here. I've moved south a few times in 30 years but within a year's time I'm back again 'cause I can't stand live'n in a cluster-fuck environment. I dearly love living in a frontier environment.
I have never seen snow, I could not imagine what 60 below feels like Brrrrrr, and I don't think I want to find out, I'll live with this hot humid beer drinking weather . Do you go salmon fishing or is there to much competition from those monster bear fuckers . Speaking of bears I'm about half way through the book , man those bears sure are mean fuckers
I don't think you would like to live were I live frank, I'll PM you my address so you can check it out on Google earth
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm
ALL bears can be quite ugly and tempermental given the right circumstances. They lack the understanding that man is at the top of the food chain, not the other way around. However, in their perfect world, as well their own opinion, they feel those rolls are reversed and that we are the tresspassers and fair game. Some, given the right conditions, will exercise that opinion quite assertively... one must always be prepared for such an encounter, albeit they are few and very far between happenings. When I took my boy out on his first moose hunt (age 9) I sensed we were being tracked by something that had no fear of our presence. I quietly ordered my boy to chamber a round and remove the safety then gave quiet direction for him to alter our course (keeping him in front of me out of concern he might accidently nudge the trigger out of hightened anxiety). My intent was to turn the table on what I perceived might have been a brown bear (grizzley, as it were, 'cause we were well inland) and give "it" the sense he'd been detected and now was the one being stealthfully pursued. It worked... in fairly short order we come across the bear's foul scent (pretty much like sour piss, semi rotted meat combination as they readily eat things they kill "after" they bury it and let it rot to their desired taste). This bear was mature. A younger one would have bolted and run once they realized they were no longer in control. Once I knew (using my boy's better hearing ability) the bear had altered his direction and was again attempting to circle behind us I altered our plan again and basically pinned off the bear's retreat to backtrack and forced him into a situation where he had no choice but to make a bolted dash across a waste deep 200 ft. wide river which from the time we heard him hit the water and hauling ass we made a direct assertive course back toward our truck and broke camp and left the area. No Moose will hang out where there's the scent of a Grizzley lingering about. And brown bear taste horrid... even the smell of the meat cooking will gag a maggot.
F.C. wrote:ALL bears can be quite ugly and tempermental given the right circumstances. They lack the understanding that man is at the top of the food chain, not the other way around. However, in their perfect world, as well their own opinion, they feel those rolls are reversed and that we are the tresspassers and fair game. Some, given the right conditions, will exercise that opinion quite assertively... one must always be prepared for such an encounter, albeit they are few and very far between happenings. When I took my boy out on his first moose hunt (age 9) I sensed we were being tracked by something that had no fear of our presence. I quietly ordered my boy to chamber a round and remove the safety then gave quiet direction for him to alter our course (keeping him in front of me out of concern he might accidently nudge the trigger out of hightened anxiety). My intent was to turn the table on what I perceived might have been a brown bear (grizzley, as it were, 'cause we were well inland) and give "it" the sense he'd been detected and now was the one being stealthfully pursued. It worked... in fairly short order we come across the bear's foul scent (pretty much like sour piss, semi rotted meat combination as they readily eat things they kill "after" they bury it and let it rot to their desired taste). This bear was mature. A younger one would have bolted and run once they realized they were no longer in control. Once I knew (using my boy's better hearing ability) the bear had altered his direction and was again attempting to circle behind us I altered our plan again and basically pinned off the bear's retreat to backtrack and forced him into a situation where he had no choice but to make a bolted dash across a waste deep 200 ft. wide river which from the time we heard him hit the water and hauling ass we made a direct assertive course back toward our truck and broke camp and left the area. No Moose will hang out where there's the scent of a Grizzley lingering about. And brown bear taste horrid... even the smell of the meat cooking will gag a maggot.
You can have those sort of encounters on your own I'll live with our 3 mtr (9.8 ft )snakes , 2 mtr(6 1/2 ft) lizards and 2 mtr kangaroos, plus the occasional drop bear any day
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm
See if you can aquire some "cupric nitrate", it's a blue crystaline material that readily disolves in water (very caustic stuff, though, so avoid breathing vapors, skin contact, eye contact, etc., and don't use it indoors where there is any exposed steel or you'll notice a bit of rust begin to form over night). But, it's the best thing since sliced bread for achieving some beautiful patination of a variety of green colors. Mix yourself up some in a plastic or glass jar, first fill have with water, then add the crystals till they will no longer disolve. If you have some laying on the bottom and not disolving add a pinch more water till they do disolve. To use it just heat your bronze with a torch and just hot enough for it to boil water but not "HISS and SPIT" when it's dashed upon the surface with a paint brush. You'll see what I mean as you practice. But, do this outdoors with the breeze going cross from right or left which ever your preference. this way you will assure yourself you won't be caught into any vapor accumulation that could rust levi buttons and zippers, or glasses frames. When you have the heat too hot it will actually turn white, then suddenly turn black if you're quick to see the change and assess what additional time you applied the torch in one place too long.
But in my opinion, the best thing to use for a beautiful verde green patina is cupric nitrate. The amonia, in my opinion, makes it too moldy green for my tastes and it's rarely consistant over the entire piece of metal. Some folks thinks that's aesthetically better and more appropriate, but, like women.... ya gotta wonder what it is some bloke sees in some gal sometimes... to them they're the hotest babe on the planet... in my eyesight I cringe at the contemplation. LOL...
As soon as things return to normal here I'll get some
Gave both the ashtray and the dish a bit of a wire brush and the dish received a few coats of clear, I like the results
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm
