September 24th, 2006
Another successful “Group Writing Project” comes to an end at Problogger and it’s time to list what I think has been the most beneficial to my growth as a blogger. That doesn’t mean that the ones that didn’t make my list were not worthy but the ones that did meet my criterion for the “Best” are the ones that I have listed.
This list of 343 submissions surpasses the last mass writing project and to be honest it has taken a lot of time to read everyones post and more, which leads me in having to backtrack and read quite a few of the posts again, just to refreshen my mind after information overload.
My thoughts on this project leads me to list first the posts that are outside the normal scope of what Problogger is about, those posts that have nothing to do with internet marketing and making money online. They are the ones that I enjoyed the most in this group writing project. They were the ones who spoke about their hobbies, their families or day to day experiences.
- How to be a parent and still have fun.
A charming post on how to relax a little with your two year old. I can relate to that having two young children myself. Everything was doable when we had one but now it is a challenge with both, as the eldest one now does not take naps and it is all go from morning till night.
- How to save money at the grocery store.
In these times where every penny counts Shannon passes on her tips on reducing your grocery bill. Our household uses these coupons on specific items but I’m sure if we tried there would be a lot more savings to be had. Our primary goal is to save on good cuts of meat when they are on special. Buy in bulk and freezer wrap for those occasions when you have a large dinner party, hence reducing the cost.
- Position your fish tank for properity and growth.
This is a post that states all the obvious failings of many aquariums and the corrections. The idea of having a great living window in your own home can be very appealing with the right know how. Nice post with a Feng Shui twist.
- Teaching your children how to save.
I like this post a lot especially as I have small children. It is always hard to determine the best course to take when teaching savings and I think this is a great start, savings and spending money gives the best of both worlds.
- 7 comments on kayak photography; how did you shoot it?
A good tutorial on visualizing the image without the camera and not to be afraid of taking numerous shots to get the picture. It doesn’t have to be a professional camera to do the job but your willingness to learn your camera and what it can do.
Although I have only chosen five, there are plenty more that could easily have fit the bill. In this group writing project there are no losers only winners and with that I’ll look forward to the next one. Great job everybody!!!
September 18th, 2006
Yesterday I received an email from a fellow sculptor regarding what was the best solution for sharpening wire tools. Julie wanted to know what oilstone to use and was there any particular make or brand that was best.
I thought this would make an ideal start for the now famous “Problogger Group Writing Project” that everyone anticipates each month.
You may well ask, “What is a wire tool?” These particular tools are used in the sculpting industry for working fine details mostly relating to the industrial arts such as automotive clay modeling. They are most widely used when modeling interior detail parts and apertures.
This type of tool is constructed from spring tempered wire or music wire which will hold a keen edge without blunting quickly, making it ideal for the abrasive nature of the industrial modeling clays. Wire tools are available through a handful of specialized tool suppliers and when you receive them they are normally ready to go, straight out of the packet.
So, we have a quick synopsis of what the wire tool is all about and you can appreciate that once one of these hardened tools become dull then it has to be sharpened in some way.
There are several ways that can be used to sharpen these tools and each method has its own set of merits and this will all depend on whether you purchase the tools from a supplier or end up making your own.
Your choice will eventually determine the best course of action but we will start with, if you decided to make your own with round straight spring tempered wire.
The most common methods of sharpening are:-
- Files
- Oil stones
- Diamond stones
OK, we’ve bent the wire to the desired shape and have epoxy resin the wire into the wooden handle. To take the wire to the next step we have got to place a flat around the area we deem to be used for cutting the clay. To retain the most strength in the wire we should not lose more than half its thickness so filing or grinding the flat is a critical process that should be done without haste. If grinding, do not grind it too hot or the molecular structure of the wire will be changed from being very hard to soft, in other words you would have annealed the wire making it more malleable.
Once we have achieved that flat around the outer edge we now have a half circle in profile. This would in itself cut the clay but to fully realize the potential of the tool it needs to be shaped to a triangular cross section. The best way I have found to achieve this is to file from the leading edge on both sides to create a central peak thus giving you a triangle in shape.
The critical stage in filing is the intersecting corners, care must be taken so as not to undercut the side element of the wire tool. Take plenty of time and use a triangular Swiss file to make the corners crisp, the width of the wire should remain constant and not waver due to undercut. The straight cutting edge will be the controlling factor when sculpting delicate areas.
With the cutting faces filed in, the bottom face of the wire tool can be honed with an oilstone or a diamond stone. This you do by rubbing the flat face on the oilstone, be sure to use oil to eliminate clogging from the grindings. You will notice when the edge is sharp by the small burr that forms on the edge. This can be remove by lightly running a fine Swiss file parallel along the face of the cutting edge.
With existing purchased wire tools the majority of the work has been done and it is a simple case of honing the bottom of the tool with a fine oilstone such as an Arkansas or Washita stone. These natural stones are used primarily on woodworking edge tools such as plane blades, chisels, carving gouges and even good quality cutlery.
The Washita stone is the coarsest of the natural stones used for sharpening, with the Arkansas ranging from coarse to fine. With these stones you can acheive a remarkable edge which is very desirable with fine carving knives.
For the purpose of sharpening the wire tool, it is just as easy to use one of the combination stones that are available on the market such as a Norton or India stone.The same method is used as in the sharpening of the home made wire. The fact that the purchased wire tool is machined makes it that much easier to refine the edge. If your choice of sharpening system is the diamond stone then I would use a combination of coarse and fine on the same plate. A very good system is by DMTsharpening systems and I would use the combination of blue one side (coarse) and red (fine) on the other side for a good flat stone.
For getting into those tricky areas they have a Diafold® compact folding file in both coarse and fine grade and this will sharpen the face just as good as any oilstone without the additional mess of the oil as this file is used dry. Whatever your preferred sharpening system is, the methodology is the same, retain the structure of the wire without undercutting to preserve strength.
These specialty tools only need to be made or purchased once and with the proper care they will provide service for a lifetime.
September 14th, 2006
In a previous article I spoke about the impending move from sulphur based clay to sulphur free clay due to the adverse effect to circuit boards that are now manufactured for todays computers. The seriousness of this effect is such that our company has now transitioned to Y2Klay by Chavant to assure warrantees of computer equipment will remain uneffected.
Now this transition period was put on the fast track, there’s no point in prolonging the inevitable so I am now at a point where I can give you an overview of the product in question.
Y2Klay has been a product that Chavant has been perfecting over the last ten years and the main attributes are:
- Sulphur free, therefore reduces its corrosive ability.
- Less odor, no more smelly clothes through working with the clay.
- Light weight, a potential reduction in weight by 40% leading to less cost in shipping.
- Good working temperature (135°F or 57°C)
- Excellent milling properties
The first thing that struck me was the color, it has the color of dark tan boot polish and when handled, a very waxy consistency. It feels hard and dry to the touch and the most important question to be answered is, will it stick to itself.
The manufacturer has assured me that the properties of this clay are very good and it will adhere to itself without additional heat. With that said, I’m always a little cautious when this type of statement is made, primarily because the inconsistencies that surround the manufacturing of the product. Even though there are numerous guidelines set for the vendors that supply the raw material the bandwidth may range from one extreme to the other so I’m sure there are plenty of missed heartbeats while producing each batch especially during these times of inconsistent oil prices.
For us to move forward with this new clay we first had to eliminate any cross contamination, several ovens were stripped down and totally cleaned out before reloading with Y2Klay and preheating the material to 135°F or 57°C. The intention was to model a complete model and see how it goes, no testing just get the job done. The application of the clay was easy enough, a very smooth consistency and it did adhere to itself with no problems but that was in the warm state, how will it perform when cold.
The next process was to mill the model via the Tarus mill, Chavant’s claim was true to form, the clay cut cleanly with no sticking to the milling cutter and no tearing of the clay. Small areas that were missing during the packing of the model were recovered with clay after first keying the surface with a clay rake. The clay blends in nicely but make sure you use some force when applying so that it becomes one with the underneath surface. Remilling of this area shows no sign of delaminating which is good, so far it is an improvement over the previous sulphur based clay.
Once the milling is finished it’s hand tools only, rakes, finishers and steels. The first impression is, it’s a harder clay than the I307, needing sharp tools to cut the surface smoothly without skidding over the top. Frequent sharpening on the diamond stone to hone the edge of the steels will no doubt require the teeth to be filed in on a regular basis. The surface of the clay cleans up crisp and the detail edges hold firm, no breaking away of the clay. This was an important factor for us, rebuilding edges is time consuming.
My overall impression of Y2Klay for this first project is, it performed exactly as stated, the working temperature is a little lower with no hotspots in the clay. It applies well even though it feels a little dry and adhesion is not a problem. For me this is a success but this was only a small project, the real test is to come, when we start on a fullsize model.
