When mixing shellac in the traditional ratio 0f 1:8 for a 1 lb cut, is the 1 oz measure of shellac in the flake form or in the ground form?
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I've always thought 1 oz weight is 1 oz weight - whether in feathers or lead...
I use shellac buttons and just weigh them out and would do the same with flake or grind. Do you instructions indicate the 1oz is a volume?
Well I would have thought so too. However, I realize, because of this thread, the error of my ways. I fill my container, say a pint jar, with reducer. I put flake into a 1 oz cup, without weighing it, and grind it. (After all, I didn't weigh the jar.) It fills less than half of the 1 oz cup. So, I grind more to fill the 1 oz. cup. I'm now thinking I have twice the cut I thought I had. Soooooo, I've gone to the metric weight method suggested in your thread.
If you're trying to have a 1 lb cut, why are you going to switch to metric? Mixing Avdp and metric is asking for trouble. Work with one or the other- that way, you'll never need to make conversions. If it was supposed to be by volume, all of the literature should say "by volume" instead of just "1 lb cut", mix 8 oz. of shellac with a quart of denatured alcohol", etc. If you decide that you want to necessitate conversions, try this site:
Welcome to OnlineConversion.com
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
highfigh,
It's really easy to convert shellac to metric. Instead of lbs/gallon, of course its kgs/liter; but where folks go wrong is after that point. Instead of an American hog bristle brush, one must also use one made from European badger hair. Then working fast, in place of covering square feet/ minute , it's furlongs per fortnight.
Just my .02 Euros worth.
Ray
"Then working fast, in place of covering square feet/ minute , it's furlongs per fortnight."Aw, crap! I was working in kilo-hectares/blue moon! No wonder it wasn't covering as well as I thought it should.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Sure it's easy enough. Seal Coat which in US is 2 lb. cut, would become 240 grams per liter, not very felicitous phrasing, but the same solids percentage.
Still to convert the Seal Coat to 1 lb. cut for a wash coat you mix 3 parts of Seal Coat to 2 parts of alcohol and those parts can be any measure you want.
But nix on the badger hair brush instead of Chinese bristle. Modern chemistry provides a better solution, Taklon Gold, a very fine synthetic bristle found in watercolor wash brushes. Doesn't hold a lot of shellac, but lays it down in very smooth thin coats without brush marks.
Working fast is still right, but more than speed it's steadiness--never stop, never go back. But even steadily, 1 furlong per fortnight is a bit slow to move the brush, working out to 1 centimeter per minute.
Edited 9/4/2007 11:08 am ET by SteveSchoene
1 cm per minute.
Man! The brush would harden in place!
Rich
it's furlongs per fortnight..Good ONE! I had a good laugh.. Always good to laugh once-in-awhile!
Do you instructions indicate the 1oz is a volume?
1 oz can be a volume too (or am I stating the obvious?). For pure water, an ounce of weight equals an ounce of volume.
Considering a pint of crushed flakes would weigh a lot more than a pint of whole flakes, I wouldn't use volume to measure my flakes at all.
If you buy your bags in full pound increments, split the bag up to determine how much you need. If you have a 1 lb bag but you only want a pint. Divide the flakes into 8 small piles and use a single pile for a pint. This would be a one pound cut.
The traditional measurement is based on pounds of shellac dissolved in 1 gallon of alcohol. With 16 ounces avoirdupois per pound and 128 fluid ounces per gallon you get your 8 fluid ounces and 1 ounce of weight.
If you don't want to weigh the flakes, you can fill a container (say a pint jar) and fill it half way with the flakes, then fill to the top with alcohol. The result will be in the neighborhood of 2 lb. cut. Except when using to control staining when you want to be able to repeat results, the pound cut is not at all critical. If it feels to thick add alcohol, etc.
I saw this posts and I thought of an old saying I heard someplace.
A quote on "A penny a pound the world around".. Old Abe Lincoln?
Something about..
Abe wanting to by something. When asked the price of whatever (It was light in weight) the shop keeper said "Everything is a penny a pound the world around".. Abe thought a bit and said I want a pound of nails for that price!
I sure wish I knew where I heard this from. Anybody out there know?
Sorry, I just had to.
See Tips on Making a Shellac Pad
An easy-to-make applicator lets you put down thin, even coats of shellac with Peter Gedrys
As I recall, the ratios are not that important.
Just a thought on my part.
The quote I grew up hearing was, "A pint's a pound the world 'round." This because 16 fluid ounces of water (i.e. - volume measure) weighs a pound (weight measure). I never heard any dead presidents invoked in connection with this mnemonic.Bill
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