No 51 - The Ant Pool

[James Combs]

What do you do with a piece of walnut full of Ant caverns and tunnels?
Edit: This pic shows the other half of the block I made the Ant Pool from.
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Well if you are really impressed with Alan Trout's pressure casting of burls with voids as I am, you try to imitate his process. Here is hoping that the imitation is flattering. I only have a standard paint type pressure pot, 2 gal I believe. This pretty much maxed it out as far as being able to get it into the pot.

Black Walnut with major ant tunneling and caverns. Finished it stands 8.5" tall and is just over 4" wide at its widest point. Hollowed to about 3/16" and full 8" depth. I was afraid to go thinner walled because some areas of the casting resin were starting to "rise" above the outer surface at 3/16. I was afraid it might come out. And yes I know that the curve has flat spots. I consider this one a prototype and paid most of my attention to the molding and casting process. The opening is 1-3/8" and the hollowing rig used was the Minnie Monster.

Here it is rough turned.
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Here I am making the mold from old pine scrape. Then after the molding and casting process cutting the mold away.
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This is the result. You might want to critique the photos of the finish vase also. I just upgraded my Paint Shop Pro from Version X2 to X4. The X4 version has HDR(High Dynamic Range) built into it. I set my camera to take a series of 3 photos, 1@-2 stops, 1@normal and 1@+2. The HDR function combines the best parts of the three shots. I let it use it's auto settings on these but in the future I think I will use fixed presets. Each of these are a little bit different in color but not bad for a first effort. The closest to what my eyes see is picture 1 but even it is a little warm.
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As always C&C welcomed.

[Roger Chandler]

holy smokes JD...........now you are cooking with gas! That turned out well........congratulations!

[Mike Campbell KS]

Absolutely stunning. Great job.

[Jamie Donaldson]

Way cool! I think the color combination is outstanding as well!

[Steve Vaughan]

That turned out great! I'm putting this info in my brain to do this some day. Did you use the Alumalite? And, what do you use to color it with? And you mention a pressure pot. Is this put under pressure? Or is there a vacuum in the process? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really trying to wrap my mind around this cause its such a cool looking process.

[Scott Hackler]

Lookout Alan! This turned out very cool. I love that swirling blue color. The form itself is a little different but works with the color.

[Mike Tilley]

Great job Alan really nice piece

[Baxter Smith]

Great color combo! Congrats on getting the prototype so well done JD!

[John Keeton]

JD, I think you have done a fantastic job with this!! Great work, and for a prototype it is excellent.

[Bernie Weishapl]

James that is a beauty. Really nicely done.

[David E Keller]

Pretty cool, JD! The colors work quite well together, and the finished turned out nicely. The form is a bit off for me with the low waist and straight collar, but overall, it's a really cool piece!

[Cory Norgart]

Nice!!!! Very cool process,, that is unbelievable... Thanks for sharing....

[Josh Bowman]

Fantastic job JD. Unbelievable what you did with that wood.

[Dick Mahany]

Now that is...COOL...not to mention ingenious !

[dan carter]

Very nice. This is a good color combination. James, you did good.

[Dan Forman]

Now there is your proverbial silk purse! Really nice job.

Dan

[Mike Cruz]

I love it! I don't see how it could have turned out any better!

[Sid Matheny]

I love it too but don't think any ants could do that to walnut!

Sid

[Doug W Swanson]

That looks great, James! Now I've got some more things to try.....

[Rick Markham]

James great looking prototype. I too have been following Alan's work, as well as your other castings you have been working on. I'm sure I will pick your brain, if ya let me, soon about some of it.

I'm not sure how I feel about the HDR thing. I've just recently have been exposed to it, so it's new too me. I think it works in some respects. But I also believe that if you meter your camera with an 18% gray card ($10 at any camera store) Then switch everything to manual, put those same settings in and shoot that way, you will get true color of the subject (might have to use one of the "filters", provided in the white balance setting in your camera, according to your what your light source is)

HDR from what I have seen in professional photos, is just enough "off" that my eyes catch it nearly right away. It makes a big visual impact in landscapes in an artsy kinda way, but it's noticeable. If you meter with the gray card (in the same place as the subject) and you have the right filter selected on your camera, you will get a perfect exposure! Digital cameras are great, but they don't get their own settings even remotely close to right. They have made everything so simple that very few people understand exposure. Those of us that have actually shot 35mm film in an SLR actually had to use exposure, we all have an advantage, those young(er) folks missed out on that. Now you can fix almost anything in photoshop, or you can just make the camera shoot the perfect exposure, and then you have WAY less work to do. :) I'll be excited to see where you go with the HDR, I can imagine if you set up the perfect exposure and then used it, it might be impossible to tell it was even used.

(My photo professor this semester is a genius! He's a professional photographer as well, a no nonsense, no bs, less is more kinda guy, on top of being an excellent teacher. I LOVE this class, and have learned an amazing amount already (and can apply it too) I plan on taking his full range of classes that he teaches! I look forward to sharing everything I learn with y'all... Oh yeah, he does woodworking too, so I brought him 3 of my latest forms to check out!

[Alan Trout]

James.

Are you using PR? if so that may be your trouble with the resin lifting. PR shrinks quite a bit. I have been working on a couple of piece myself and the one I hollowed yesterday is a 1/8" or a little less with no issues.

Either way you did a good job. Nice work

Alan

[Michelle Rich]

spectacular vase!

[Russell Eaton]

I always look forward to seeing your pieces. This is no different. Very nice color combo, and it looks good with the form you chose.

[joel nucifore]

Just WOW what a pc love it, mind is spinnig thinking of what you did......

[Bill Hensley]

Impressive! You nailed it. Can't imagine the color combo being any better.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Great job ALAN, Oh wait, you're not Alan but your work looked so good I thought you were. All kidding aside Jimmy, that looks really nice. Sweet color combination. I'm sure it was fun to do.
faust

[Barry Elder]

Great save, wonderful prototype! I know you put a lot of work into this piece and it looks to be well worth it!

[Jim Burr]

You sure nailed that James! You are going to find some lifting with wood/poly combo. I did several worthless wood blanks and they all lifted or separated in spots. Alumilite may work better for you. Regardless...you tore it up!

[Harvey Ghesser]

Beautiful work for a prototype!

[Bill Wyko]

Absolutely extraordinary. You've reminded me that I have a nice oak burl that I was afraid to turn due to the inclusions. Now there may be hope for it. You really pulld off a masterpiece with this one.

[Tim Rinehart]

Nice work James...you are to be commended on not just a nice piece, but on experimenting with something few do well enough to post about!
Love the colors and swirl, and certainly compliments the wood.

[Tom Winship]

Really nice, JD. You continue to push the envelope, don't you?

[James Combs]

My goodness, I didn't expect so many comments. I usually like to reply to each comment individually but since there are so many I am only going to respond directly to the ones that asked a question or seemed to be expecting a reply. For the rest of you just know that I thank you and appreciate each and every comment. Please respond a gain if I missed any ones question in the following.


That turned out great! I'm putting this info in my brain to do this some day. Did you use the Alumalite? And, what do you use to color it with? And you mention a pressure pot. Is this put under pressure? Or is there a vacuum in the process? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really trying to wrap my mind around this cause its such a cool looking process.
Thanks Steve, yes the resin is Alumilite, the water clear. In many of the casting threads I have read(mostly on the IAP) most of the casters use the standard clear Alumilite. I will probably give it a try for the next one. The only coloring I used was three different colors of pearlescent powders the Perl Ex brand. Mostly it was the Blue/Green, some Purple, some White, and some Gold. Picked them up at Hobby Lobby. I pressurized the pour to 45psi but no vacuum.


Great job Alan really nice piece
I am not Alan but I appreciate the mistake.;)


Pretty cool, JD! The colors work quite well together, and the finished turned out nicely. The form is a bit off for me with the low waist and straight collar, but overall, it's a really cool piece!
I didn't particularly like the shape either after it was done but I laid it off to the distraction of the new process.


I love it too but don't think any ants could do that to walnut!
Yes it was definitely ants, the big half inch long black ones. The first time I cut into it as a stump those critters were running every where, at least the ones that stayed out of the way of the chain saw blade.:D Even found a couple dead ones inside it when I was turning it.

Sid


James great looking prototype. I too have been following Alan's work, as well as your other castings you have been working on. I'm sure I will pick your brain, if ya let me, soon about some of it.

I'm not sure how I feel about the HDR thing. I've just recently have been exposed to it, so it's new too me. I think it works in some respects. But I also believe that if you meter your camera with an 18% gray card ($10 at any camera store) Then switch everything to manual, put those same settings in and shoot that way, you will get true color of the subject (might have to use one of the "filters", provided in the white balance setting in your camera, according to your what your light source is)

HDR from what I have seen in professional photos, is just enough "off" that my eyes catch it nearly right away. It makes a big visual impact in landscapes in an artsy kinda way, but it's noticeable. If you meter with the gray card (in the same place as the subject) and you have the right filter selected on your camera, you will get a perfect exposure! Digital cameras are great, but they don't get their own settings even remotely close to right. They have made everything so simple that very few people understand exposure. Those of us that have actually shot 35mm film in an SLR actually had to use exposure, we all have an advantage, those young(er) folks missed out on that. Now you can fix almost anything in photoshop, or you can just make the camera shoot the perfect exposure, and then you have WAY less work to do. :) I'll be excited to see where you go with the HDR, I can imagine if you set up the perfect exposure and then used it, it might be impossible to tell it was even used.

(My photo professor this semester is a genius! He's a professional photographer as well, a no nonsense, no bs, less is more kinda guy, on top of being an excellent teacher. I LOVE this class, and have learned an amazing amount already (and can apply it too) I plan on taking his full range of classes that he teaches! I look forward to sharing everything I learn with y'all... Oh yeah, he does woodworking too, so I brought him 3 of my latest forms to check out!
Thanks Rick, this is some great info. I will be getting a grey card, only just found the setting in my camera that allows it's use, at least that's what I think it is for, haven't tried it yet though. Camera is a Cannon PowerShot SX10 IS.


James. Are you using PR? if so that may be your trouble with the resin lifting. PR shrinks quite a bit. I have been working on a couple of piece myself and the one I hollowed yesterday is a 1/8" or a little less with no issues.
Either way you did a good job. Nice work
Alan
Thanks Alan, yours is the one comment I was looking forward to the most. The resin is Alumilite water clear, the lifting I experienced was not that the resin was loose from the wood which I have seen using PR but more like it may have still been a little soft when I hollowed and the cutting tool pushed it out a little causing a slight bump on the outside of the form. It only did it in about three small places. Didn't seem to bother the large expanses of resin. I used a sanding block to flush those three spots even with the surface. Question, how did you treat the inside of your forms? Mine was very rough inside after hollowing so I mixed up abut a quarter cup of the blue resin and poured it inside the form and tilted and turned the form until the insides were coated with the resin then sat it vertically until the resin set. It may even hold water now.:D Another question, do you have any trouble with voids in the resin when you remove the mold. I may have let my resin jell too much before pouring it because I had a lot of "missed" holes and voids in the wood with no resin or not enough resin?


Great job ALAN, Oh wait, you're not Alan but your work looked so good I thought you were. All kidding aside Jimmy, that looks really nice. Sweet color combination. I'm sure it was fun to do.
faust
Like I noted above, I am not Alan but I appreciate the mistake.


You sure nailed that James! You are going to find some lifting with wood/poly combo. I did several worthless wood blanks and they all lifted or separated in spots. Alumilite may work better for you. Regardless...you tore it up!
Alumilite does a better job of adhering to wood then PR. See my response to Alan's comments above. My problem was not separation but more of a ballooning of the resin in a few smaller spots. My "lifting" comment was a little misleading.


Nice work James...you are to be commended on not just a nice piece, but on experimenting with something few do well enough to post about!
Love the colors and swirl, and certainly compliments the wood.
Thanks Tim, I am more into trying anything new then doing repetitions so this fit the bill well.

[Rick Markham]

James, I'm not familiar with that model of Canon cameras. (I shoot with a canon T2i) the gray card will work. It's "old school" technology, but does the same thing as the fancy dancy $500 professional light meters! If you can see your camera's settings (and have a true manual mode) then it's super simple to use, you put the camera on automatic (flash turned off), fill the entire field of view through the viewfinder with the gray card (in about the same place as the subject) and depress the button halfway. The camera will automatically meter on the card. You can then write those settings down (or remember them all) and set the camera to manual and stick all those settings back in and shoot!

Now if you don't have that luxury of seeing your settings, then you have to use the 18%gray setting in your white balance, again meter in the same location as your subject, and with the proper lighting filter set in the AWB, you will get the true color of your subject. It's actually pretty amazing the difference that it makes. It will take a great picture and make it an unbelievable one. :) Let me know how it goes.

[James Combs]

James, I'm not familiar with that model of Canon cameras. (I shoot with a canon T2i) the gray card will work. It's "old school" technology, but does the same thing as the fancy dancy $500 professional light meters! If you can see your camera's settings (and have a true manual mode) then it's super simple to use, you put the camera on automatic (flash turned off), fill the entire field of view through the viewfinder with the gray card (in about the same place as the subject) and depress the button halfway. The camera will automatically meter on the card. You can then write those settings down (or remember them all) and set the camera to manual and stick all those settings back in and shoot!

Now if you don't have that luxury of seeing your settings, then you have to use the 18%gray setting in your white balance, again meter in the same location as your subject, and with the proper lighting filter set in the AWB, you will get the true color of your subject. It's actually pretty amazing the difference that it makes. It will take a great picture and make it an unbelievable one. :) Let me know how it goes.
I was scanning my owners manual last night and it says to use a white card but I assume its the same result. Still have to read the details but it will be a couple days before I can get to it. Church business meeting coming up tomorrow and as the treasurer I am busy getting reports ready for the meeting. Just stop in here(SMC) for a few minutes to get away from numbers for a little bit.;) I will let you know and probably show the results after I get back to photographing.

[Ken Glass]

James,
That's a Beauty. The process sure justifies the end piece. The colors are vibrant and I like the form as well. Well Done.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Looks like you really know how to make a mess! Beautiful colors and your photos bring out the depths of the color variations! Looking forward to seeing where this takes you! Nice - real nice!

[James Combs]

James,
That's a Beauty. The process sure justifies the end piece. The colors are vibrant and I like the form as well. Well Done.


Looks like you really know how to make a mess! Beautiful colors and your photos bring out the depths of the color variations! Looking forward to seeing where this takes you! Nice - real nice!

Thanks guys but most of the credit goes to Alan Trout's inspiring castings of burls with voids. I still have a long way to go before I can even think about matching his standards.