Are the glowy rings self-powered (radioactive)?
No, its solar charged strontium aluminate powder. Iâm not brave enough to play with Tritium vials just yet.
I thought strontium was slightly radioactive?
Yesterday I officially finished a tray I made per my wifeâs specifications. It is about 15" by 10" with an interior depth of 3/4 inches. Cutting was done on the Multicam CNC using a 1/2 inch down cut bit to clear most and a Bowl & Tray bit (that provides the rounded interior angles) to finish pocket. For the bottom edge, I used a 1/4 inch roundover bit on a handheld router. âLogoâ on back was done on the CNC with a 60 degree v-bit. Sanding and mineral oil by hand. Sheâs thrilled with how it turned out!
Plan is eventually to do both a smaller and larger version in other hardwoods that will nest.
Apple and ritz to help with size, not because I was hungry.
Youâre supposed to use the internet-standard-banana for scale.
I had to double check, but it is not- There are two types of Glow-in-the-Dark (GITD) technology in use today, one is Zinc Sulfide and the other newer form is Strontium Aluminate with Europium as an activator. This powder (or crystal) is a non-radioactive phosphorescent pigment produced from rare-earth elements and provides an extreme long-lived afterglow.
You could always print one (preferably out of yellow ABS)âŚ
But could you print it in 1:12 scale??
I would think you could on the resin printer and still capture the scale detail.
Continuing casting bronze pieces. The shiny seahorse and rabbit I did a month ago (or so). This month I did the other seahorse and the dog but Iâm not finished polishing them yet. I also did the two square fasteners.
Some questions:
- What furnace did you use to melt it?
- Did you buy raw bronze or scrap?
- What was mold material?
Very cool. Thanks
The black jewelerâs furnace in JSM gets just hot enough to do a pour of bronze if youâre quick. About half the time the metal starts going solid before I can finish pouring but I think Iâm getting the hang of it.
I didnât use scrap bronze, I used bronze casting grain purchased from Rio Grande jewelry supply. They advertise that it is 90% copper and 10% tin, so I donât have to worry about it having zinc or lead in it like I would if I used scrap. I could possibly make my own bronze using copper electrical wire and lead-free plumbing solder, but the Rio Grande stuff casts pretty clean and doesnât cost too much.
Mold material was jewelerâs investment and it was done as a lost wax cast. Iâve done casts using other things, like plaster of Paris mixed with sand, homemade sand casting, Petro-bond sand, and Delft clay.
Thank you -
Found it on their site, the âAncient Bronze Casting Grainâ Like that it is Zinc free.