Alphabet Snake Complete

[don in brooklin on]

In a previous post, I was able to get help from Russell AKA Birchbank and came up with the pattern for the head and then I matched to the SSW article and added my own letters.

Thank you.

I am quite happy.  Cut in Baltic Birch, Finish is just food coloring.

 

 

 

[JOE_M]

Please explain the food coloring finish. I've got a project that needs coloring and what I've been doing is just a big pain in the butt.

[orangeman]

An idea: adhere  some black vinyl stick-on letters and then spray with a lacquer finish. Letters are very difficult to remove after the finish is applied.

bb

[Scrolling Steve]

That turned out great !

[MTCowpoke22]

Looks awesome! Might have to try that one.

[orangeman]

5 hours ago, JOE_M said:

Please explain the food coloring finish. I've got a project that needs coloring and what I've been doing is just a big pain in the butt.

I've been using food coloring for 8 years now and I a still perfecting the technique. Many variables go into a nicely colored project. For starters I would not use pine or poplar as they are too soft and result in end grain bleeding onto the surface. I use only soft maple and use a durometer to test for hardness before I buy. There are numerous varieties of maple classified as "soft maple" - some harder than others. I just had to experiment with the hardness readings to find a number below which I would get miserable results. Then there is the dilution situation. Water vs alcohol. Alcohol changes the color in several colors. Some colors you can dip and others need to be wiped on with several coats. As you can see there are many variables and I haven't even mentioned drying techniques. One of these days I intend to write up my compilation of techniques and hopefully SSWC magazine will publish. Remember, nothing difficult is ever easy.

I see that the author used Baltic Birch and I have found that Baltic Birch is easier to color than maple. Hopefully the author of this thread can chime in and provide insight.

 

[JOE_M]

29 minutes ago, orangeman said:

I would not use pine or poplar as they are too soft

Thanks, The projects already cut out in pine so I guess food coloring is out as an option.

[lawson56]

Now that is 1 Smart looking Snake.Fantastic job.

[DWSUDEKUM]

Very nicely done and very colorful.  Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

DW

[don in brooklin on]

I am just experimenting with food colour and we just put a few drops in some water.  It seems you have to make fairly strong.  Just dipped in left for a minute or so and then turned over and put on wire racks to dry.  Did not wipe.  Turned out what we expected.  The red could have been brighter but the boss was happy.

 

I have done pine quite recently and it turned out even brighter.  The 2 yellow ones below are food colouring.  The red is Keda dye.  (I not sure it food save so I did not use as I think these may hit a mouth.

[GPscroller]

That turned out great, really cute.

Jeff

[wombatie]

Your snake looks great love his smilie head.  Great work with the colors too.

Marg

 

[Birchbark]

Yep!  That turned out great, you made it work.  Really nice.  Thanks for sharing that with us.  If the boss is happy...  

Russell

[Dave Monk]

I really like it. A fun learning tool.

[newfie]

Great job Don thanks for sharing 

[Gonzo]

I really like this. And, like Dave M said, a fun learning tool. 

[heppnerguy]

Colorizing can be fun and it can become discouraging, I guess if one is going to colorize something they might find it best to try it on a piece of scrap from the same wood as the project, first

Dick

heppnerguy