Sand Shading Veneer Hot Plate What Are You Using?

[richard poitras]

For those of you that do sand shading on your veneer projects what kind / brand / size/ wattage of hot plates are you using? I currently have a hot plate that has one of those smooth tops but it takes forever for it to heat up and when it is on it cycles on and off and doesn’t keep the sand hot enough and is a real pain to get good results. I am currently using a cast iron skillet and using about a ½’’ to ¾’’ of sand in the bottom. I did try it on my gas stove and it worked great, but the stove is in the house and I am out in the shop. Basically I am not looking for a gas unit. An electric one would be most user friendly out in the shop. Any suggestions would be help full.

Thanks

[Van Huskey]

I won't be of any help since I use gas but just throwing in my 2 cents anyway. I use a "crawfish burner" which outside the gulf coast probably won't mean much but it is similar to but not exactly the same as what they sell to fry turkeys with. I use a large cast iron skillet for the sand. It can put out HUGE amounts of BTUs and can heat it quick and keep it just the right temp, what gas is best at. I tried several hot plates, I bought them all at Salvation Army type stores and was never happy, then realized I had the perfect solution sitting idel all along. Point being if you or a someone you know has a turkey fryer or similar you might get some good non-holiday season use out of it.

[jerry cousins]

i use a solid top electric hot plate (don't know about the wattage) but i do not use a pan - just put the sand right on the burner - seems to work fine. i do put the unit on a large cookie sheet to catch any sand that falls off.
jerry

[Mike Henderson]

I used to use an electric hot plate but I found that it often didn't get the sand hot enough. Now, I use a Coleman white gas two burner camp stove (I just use the main burner). I need to change my tutorial to indicate that I no longer use an electric hot plate.

Mike

[Michael Mayo]

Apologies for hijack but can someone quickly outline what this process is and what it is used for? Newbie here so be gentle........:)

[Jerome Hanby]

Lets you add some "shading" to a small piece by basically charring it a little in the hot sand. used for inlay pieces (think adding a little shadow to the edge of a leave).

[richard poitras]

Now, I use a Coleman white gas two burner camp stove (I just use the main burner).

Mike

I see Paul Schurch used the same gas stove in the new Fine Wood Working magazine that just came out as well.
Mike I made two or the sand shaded fans this weekend to try out (per your tutorial sand shaded fan (http://www.mikes-woodwork.com/Papers/Making%20a%20Veneer%20Sand%20Shaded%20Fan.pdf) tutorial) they came out very nicely
.
Thanks Richard

[Van Huskey]

Apologies for hijack but can someone quickly outline what this process is and what it is used for? Newbie here so be gentle........:)

Richard included the link to Mike's excellent tutorial, and mentioned the article in the April FWW magazine, there are also tons of videos on sand shading on you tube, one of the 2nd season of Rough Cut had sand shading in it as well.

[Mike Henderson]

I see Paul Schurch used the same gas stove in the new Fine Wood Working magazine that just came out as well.
Mike I made two or the sand shaded fans this weekend to try out (per your tutorial sand shaded fan (http://www.mikes-woodwork.com/Papers/Making a Veneer Sand Shaded Fan.pdf) tutorial) they came out very nicely
.
Thanks Richard
Paul has his connected to the natural gas line so it easier to use - you don't have to mess with the white gas or pump it or anything else. But I did get the idea for the Coleman stove from him.

His also is a bit bigger than a regular gas Coleman stove and gets really hot if you turn it all the way up. The burners are almost as big as the Crawfish boiler that Van mentioned earlier - not quite but almost.

I did go just now and edit that tutorial to say that I now use a Coleman stove to heat the sand. Thanks for reminding me to do that, Richard.

Mike

[Van Huskey]

Mike, down here the initial judgement of manhood can come from the size of your burner, so being a transplant and not wanting to be caught lacking I got a 260,000 BTU burner, but comes in handy bringing a 162 quart pot to a boil! Well it only runs about 185,000 with the standard (all they can sell attached) regulator but with a 40 psi regulator (don't try this at home kids) it kicks it up to the 1/4 million BTU range, fully cranked up it sounds like a jet fighter that just hit the afterburners. But don't get me started about my previous neighbor that attached a 80 hole "ring burner" around a jet burner (prefered for crawfish) and pumped pure O2 into the ring burner, that thing was on a whole other planet!

[Mike Henderson]

I'm familiar with the crawfish boil (or crab or shrimp boil) because I'm originally from New Orleans. But I left the area a long time ago. Back then, everybody seemed to have about the same burner and connected it to natural gas or a propane tank (they may have used a burner out of a hot water heater. They were all home made back then.) I guess people can find all kinds of ways to compete.

But the burner with the O2 injector sounds awesome.

I don't remember any real problems with the older units - we'd start them early and have the water boiling when we were ready to put the crawfish (or crabs or shrimp) in. It's really a social event. You sit at the table peeling the food and drinking beer. It takes time to peel things so there's a lot of talking and joking going on - and people generally didn't over eat because they ate so slowly (peeling takes time). Your body would register "full" and you'd stop or really slow down (peel for someone else).

I remember those times fondly. I came from a large extended family so there were lots of people at the event.

Mike

[Alan Lightstone]

Very nice tutorial, Mike. I definitely have to try this.

[richard poitras]

Anyone tried an electric skillet/fry pan?

Ralph Bagnall wrote in his book “Sand Shading Mastering the Hot Sand Method for Shading Inlays” that he uses one? Not sure how even of temperature the sand would be due to the design of the heat element on the bottom. I would think you would have hot spots and cooler areas.

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/public/5MKfBubjQCLVYBz2_D5zD8rMAryKcgSN53PMlkIxPem1h6rjFE kGWYZ2UieUgnReBiNwgB63KO2PK7UnQcrWs23G5vYyqxXg_f8t hRcd3kz9QPbjGQ7NqEBElzT31kcPJIEnlWFfUgLVqz5NJThwwD CUhevDrsEB3Sg0Gu8 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/products/catalog?q=electric+fry+pan&hl=en&cid=17160942949774103037&ei=H0pVT5rcIILvmAf_s9DxDA&ved=0CHIQ8gIwBw#p)