Babbitt Demo 6-2006

Russ Babbitt's club demo - June 17, 2006 - text by Al Geller

Surface Enhancement
    Russ’s demo & talk on surface enhancement was extremely well prepared and organized. He demonstrated all types of enhancements including dyeing, inlaying, carving, piercing, burning, and surface texturing.
    Russ briefly discussed that he plans out his projects thoroughly by mentally constructing them, watching videos, and practicing a technique on a sample. He also refers to books and articles for additional tips and ideas. He distributed a resource list for tools, materials and videos. Many of the videos are in the club’s library and available for loan to members.
Inlaying: One can inlay all types of items in turnings. Russ demonstrated incising 2 grooves in a disk with a parting tool (approximately 1/8” deep) and filling one with colored epoxy and another with brass key fillings (from a locksmith’s shop) set with thin CA glue. After curing, he cut off the excess material with a skew to reveal color full lines. He “re-ground” the brass filings in a coffee grinder to get the grit finer and to create an inlay which is more uniform. The epoxy was very easy to remove.
Applying designs on to turnings: Russ showed us how to transfer any type of laser printer or Xerox copy on to wood. Do not try this with ink jet copies. Place the image face down against the wood. To transfer the image use a “Chart-Pak Blender Pen” or Q-tip soaked in xylene to release the toner. Remember the image transfers as a “reverse” image with this process.
Dyeing: Russ had some examples of pieces he had colored with dye. He put a curly maple partially turned platter on the lathe. The rim was finished turned and sanded. He applied rubbing alcohol to the surface to raise the rain and to allow the dye to penetrate deeper into the surface. The dye was applied with paper towels; allowed to dry and re-sanded. He would add the same or another color for more depth and intensity. He did this several times and then finished the surface with Deft spray lacquer. Use aniline dyes with alcohol for faster drying time. Where the dye penetrates the grain and goes out to a rim or edge, he uses a black felt marker to create a thin line to cover this “bleeding”.
Wood Burning – Pyrography: Russ uses the Detail Master/Sabre IV. The hand pieces he used have fixed tips (not interchangeable) which heat up immediately and the heat setting can be accurately controlled. Experiment with scrap wood pieces to obtain the proper heat settings.
    Russ burned in several designs showing how to get a clean edge by using the #6A (bent wire) tip and then burning the interior of the design. He also showed an adaptable tip with 2 screw parts which hold the wire and you can bend it to create your own design which could be burnt into the wood. A ball tip burner can be used for fine detail work or for signing your work. If scorching occurs, sand it off carefully with fine sand paper.
    Russ also demonstrated using a butane “pencil tip” torch to blacken the wood. For sharp edges, cover the unburned wood with cardboard or thin metal sheets. Use a fan to blow away the smoke.
Carving – Piercing – Texturing: Piercing is done with a dental type air turbine operating at 350,000-400,000 rpm. Their 1/16” shank bits are good for piercing and very light texturing since they have very little torque resistance. Use used dental burrs (obtained free from your friendly dentist). For safety, hold the hand piece like a pencil and rest your fingers for stability against the work piece. If you are plunge cutting grasp the hand piece with your thumb in a forward position to act as a stop reference to get a consistent depth.
    Carving is done on low speed machines such as Foredom, Dremel, Wecheer, or enclosed pencil dye grinders with flexible shafts running at 16,000 to 35,000 rpm and 1/8” to ¼” shank burrs. The burrs are high speed steel or carbide available in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Use a firm grip on the hand piece as the burr may catch or skate on the wood. You can obtain a reciprocating (in and out motion instead or rotary) handpiece for these tools and carve with chisel type bits. Russ chucked a rounded nail in the reciprocating handpiece and textured a wood surface.
    Russ demonstrated the Dennis Stewart chatter tool with end grain hard maple. He used the tool by drawing the tip across the wood starting at the center axis and ending at the rim along a “7:30” angle. He showed the effects of the chatter tool by highlighting them with marking pens. With the pens he uses light colors first, does the chanter work and then uses dark color accents.
    If you missed his demonstration, check out the video and learn a lot from the master. Photos are below.

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