A Disaster

[Samfire]

I'm sure we all have failures when scroll sawing, but I've just had a disaster.
I have been doing a bit of inlaying with polymer clay and everything's been going well. For one of my projects I purchased a small wooden pot and inlaid some harebells into it. The photo below gives you an idea of the scale.

For my latest project, I ebonized a piece of oak for the lid of a box and cut out a design that I hoped, when the clay had been inlaid, would look like a bit of pietra dura. I stuck the lid in my newly purchased oven; set it for the usual thirty minutes and this is what I came back to.

My own fault, I should have purchased an oven thermometer and checked the calibration of the oven before I used it.
Sam

 

[boysie39]

don't despair thats a lovely piece you have made with the flowers .
And as you should know (from your other hobby ) there is always one that gets away ,

Thanks for showing .

 

[gilljc]

what a shame, that is lovely! actually still looks kind of nice, maybe just not what was in your head......

 

[martinka]

I bet your heart was in your boots when you saw it. Is it possible a bit of gentle sanding or polishing might recover it to a certain extent?

 

[Claymore]

.........

 

[Kierri]

Aw, Sam! I think it looks lovely and some of the worst accidents become the most beautiful creations. I think it's beautiful and has an old antique kind of feel, Victorianesque.

I could only hope of that standard. The consensus of the group speaks volumes.

Kierri xx

 

[CHJ]

By any chance is the discoulerationn on the surface,would it sand off.

 

[Samfire]

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I did try to save it but the clay is burnt right through. I even tried removing it but it is stuck like a tic to a terrier. It is now in the wheelie and I will make a new lid.
Brian, regarding your resin idea, I will check it out again, but one of the reasons I went down the polymer clay route was the cost, lots of colour for very little outlay.
Regards
Sam

 

[marcros]

do you get and shrinkage with the clay, or problems with seasonal movement of the wood?

 

[Claymore]

.........

 

[Samfire]

Hi Brian, thanks for the idea about the Milliput I haven't come across that product before. I may give it a go one of these days, but having lashed out cash on a new oven for my workshop I want to give it a chance to redeem itself. I sent for an oven thermometer from Amazon, but after I clicked the 'buy now button' I found out the delivery date might not be until the 9th of December. So, I spent yesterday cutting trial pieces, filling them with clay and firing them at various temperatures. I think I have sorted out the problem, the only trouble now is that my wife thinks I'm an expert with the oven and wants me to start baking her some bread.
Regards
Sam

 

[Chippygeoff]

I spent several months trying out various resins. At the end of the day it was a very costly exercise. The epoxy resin was probably the worst and most expensive. I had better results with polyester resin but no two mixes were ever the same despite mixing the two parts accurately. drying times varied considerabley , despite adding chemicals to prevent shrinkage it still happened and I could never get anything perfect so gave up the idea but now I am very much intersted in polymer clay.

 

[Samfire]

Hi Geoff, I looked at resins and even bought a book about some stuff called Inlace, but it would have worked out very expensive. You can get a small block of polymer clay for just over 2 quid and try it your domestic oven. Be careful with the temperature though because the fumes are toxic if you burn the clay. The problem is the curing instructions say to bake for 30 minutes at 130c for clay which is 6mm thick, but they don't mention any other dimensions. Anyway, good luck if you do have a go.
Regards
Sam