My humble attempts with CD 3D-long

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skiprat

Passed Away Mar 22, 2022
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In a Skip in Wales
This isn't intended as a vendor review, just my efforts using another members new products.
I recently acquired several of Creative Dimensions new 3D blanks and like several people so far, I was a little duanted. Like any really good blank, you just don't want to mess it up.
I decided that on the first few, I'd go down the dye route using food colouring. I've never used dye of any sort before and originally bought the wrong type. Don't buy the ones labelled as 'Natural'
I also don't have a particularly steady hand at painting.
After reading someones 'Dye Test' on wood using either vacuum or without, I saw that the dye penetration was actually very thin if just painted on. I thought I could use this to my advantage.

Please don't judge these CD blanks by my so-so finished efforts. The colouring is my work, not theirs.

First one I tried was a gift blank Charlie included. It has the IAP logo and my name on it. The logo is complete with the small text and even the fine globe rings.
This is the blank that I used the wrong dye on. It was a really horrible grey with a slight blue tint. I washed this mostly off and re-applied the new stuff, so even now the colour isn't great.


I simply painted the entire blank in the blue dye and then CA'd it flush.
My theory was that I could simply sand down to reveal the high spots, then CA again.
I think I would have preferred this particular blank to have been engraved in the negative rather than with the raised image. I don't think blanks without the ultra fine detail ( text and globe lines) would be a concern though.

Sanding back down wasn't too difficult with a little care not to over sand.
I sanded down at one area at a time once I got close. I stopped sanding around the globe lines perhaps a little too soon to reveal them all, but I was worried that the adjacent blue area's were getting thin.

This blank wasn't all that challenging at all. Perhaps paint may have been a better option for this one though. But I did want to see the wood grain below the blue.

Now that I was feeling much more confident, I had a go with one called The Argyll. for those not familiar, Argyll is an area in Scotland and has a blue and green tartan. Other colours are seen but I don't think they should be called Argyll.

First I dyed the recessed area with green and the red stripes. No matter how careful I applied the dye, the wood sucked it along the grain like a sponge:eek: into the areas that I didn't want it, but I knew that it should sand out. I wonder if the wood was wet with water first, if this capillary action could be controlled more?
Then I CA'd it flush and then sanded down to reveal the raised sections and applied the blue. The sanding got rid of most of the red that bled, but there are a couple of 'thicker' lines.
Once the blue was on and CA'd, it was a simple case of sanding down again.

I don't think that using dyes will ever give razor sharp definition like segmented parts, but I think I'll stick with dye for the next few, now that I'm a bit more familiar with it.

These blanks are nothing to be scared of and make a very pleasant change from just slapping some CA on a nice bit of wood. I really enjoyed doing them and already have more adventurous plans for the others:biggrin:

I seriously applaude Creative Dimensions for having their really cool stuff publically 'proofed' and a honestly hope that no-one is deterred from trying them because of my learning curve or even that from others.:wink:
 

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NewLondon88

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Sweet!!
You have far more patience then I, trying that argyle pattern like that!
(Half blind with coffee shakes and the attention span of a goldfish)
I'd have made a mess of that blank. How long did that take you?
 

skiprat

Passed Away Mar 22, 2022
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How long did that take you?

About an hour and a half tops.:biggrin: And the Argyll one has already dissapeared into my better half's bag. She's gonna need a suitcase soon!!!
I think she eats them for snacks.:rolleyes:

What do you or anyone else think about the idea of wetting the blank to try and prevent bleeding. I'll try it anyway tomorrow and see. I think I might just need to apply an extra coat to compensate for the dilution.:confused:
 

B727phixer

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Wow Steven I think you have done a fine job. I also appreciate you taking the time to share your learning curve. Thanks for sharing!:biggrin:
 

Pioneerpens

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They look Great!!! Argyle must have been tedious, but came out beautiful!
Love the IAP one, are they available to buy??
i'd like to get me some of them if the are.
 

NewLondon88

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I'm not sure.. the dyes scare me because they can wick so easily. That's why
I tried the paints. The larger size of the pigment grains compared to dye grains
means they don't bleed as much. I'd going to try Phunky's idea of using CA to
block the color from bleeding. But I also like a light touch with some almost
dry paint on your fingertip as the lathe is spinning.

I suppose some thin CA on a spinning blank would protect just the highlights till
you color the rest, and then it can be taken off with a light sanding, too.

I dunno.. haven't had much time to finish them myself.. too busy burning them!
 

jaywood1207

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Woodstock, Ontario, Canada.
What about using markers? I have used sharpies with success before for dying curly maple. They will bleed so you might want to put a coat of CA on first but if using the extra fine point you could control it a lot better than fingers or brushes.

What you have done looks good.
 

BRobbins629

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If you come up with an idea to prevent dye bleed in woods - patent it. Has bit me even on epoxy or pr inlays. Have tried to seal with CA with moderate success. Seems like some pigments are more prone to bleed than others. Red was my worst. Blue not so bad. Have tried solid and liquid pigments in several types of epoxies, urethanes and pr.

Otherwise - well done as usual.
 

LEAP

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Nice! Very Nice! It's great to see what happens when creative minds meet. I've yet to try one of the CD creations but they are high on my list. Charlie is only about an hour away, maybe he'll let me go raid the seconds pile. I wonder what it would look like if he dyed a blank like the IAP logo before putting it through the laser.
 

Mark

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Both are really nice. You did them proud. I love the IAP pen. That is one I'd like to add to my daily carry collection.
 
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johncrane

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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Stev !
The first one turned out good, the second one so so, but 'A' for effort mate! that 's not a easy thing too do,i've had a go at dying and didn't have much luck,i hope you had the gloves on.:eek::wink::biggrin:
 
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