Meet the Marblewoods; wood marbling tips

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Bob in SF

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They come from a long line of blah blanks - but decided to up their game.

Meet the Marblewoods - Dad, Junior, and Mom.
They chose Fall colors.
Junior aspires to a colorful life and career; steps:

Unexciting blanks turned as usual.
Sanded up to 600 grit.
Wiped clean with denatured alcohol.
Alum applied with a foam brush (recipe: 2 tbs. of alum, stirred into a quart of warm water using a wire whisk), dried overnight; vacuum save the dried blanks if you anticipate > 48 hours delay in order to avoid oxidation/weakening of the alum/mordant).
Make your size/thickened water for the marble painting (recipe: wire whisk-stir 1.5TBS methylcellulose (methocel) + 1 TBS ammonia into 64 oz. warm water, then add 1 tsp of white distilled vinegar to somewhat neutralize the solution; let set over night to debubble).
Carefully drop Golden High Flow acrylic paints onto the size/thickened water with fan brushes or home made brushes (improvisation is a good thing - toothbrushes, whisk broom fibers, etc.).
Rake the colors together slowly with a home made rake (Tpins, balsa wood, dowel, etc.) - stop when you like what you see.
Silicone stopper the top ends of the blanks.
Wiggle the blanks down through your painting.
Clear painting away from the submerged blank to ensure a clean vertical exit from the size.
Pull the blank up and out, then immediately but gently rinse the marbled blanks in clean water.
Rejoice for an instant - but don't rest on your laurels at this early stage in your marbling career.
Hang the blanks up to dry x 24 hours.
Do another marbling if you like, but be sure to re-alum first (referred to as overmarbling by those in the biz) - the trio below was single-marbled.
Return blanks to the lathe - apply CA finish (I used Bob Smith super thin x 3 layers, Bob Smith medium x 2 layers, then 1 more layer of super thin, followed by Novus 3, then Hut Ultra Gloss plastic polish).
Assemble, rejoice very briefly, but don't disturb the other animals or scare the other blanks:

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Happy Saturday to all - Bob

PS: I know that some are awaiting the sand marbling mini-tute - but I've just come up with a few more ideas - fun ahead.
 

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RKB

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You are a true artist Bob, very nice. Always look forward to your posts . :biggrin: Thanks

Rod
 

magpens

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I don't know whether to be amused or amazed !!!!! . I think I'll go for both !

Keep on surprising us, Bob !!!!!

I sometimes try to imagine you getting creative in the OR ..........
 
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Woodchipper

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Very nice job and thanks for the detailed tutorial. The blanks look great!
The rodbuilding supplier, Mudhole, also has the paint for marbling and a video on the technique. It's a bit different than Bob's.
 

Bob in SF

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Stepan (VotTak) - Thanks for picking up my error about alum (just fixed it) - now reads:

"Alum applied with a foam brush (recipe: 2 tbs. of alum, stirred into a quart of warm water using a wire whisk), dried overnight; vacuum save the dried blanks if you anticipate > 48 hours delay in order to avoid oxidation/weakening of the alum/mordant)."

I've tried various brands of alum and favor Dharma Trading Company's brand of aluminum sulfate - here for $3.49 (US$) per pound:
https://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/alum.html

Wear gloves because alum is a bit caustic.

Happy Sunday to all - Bob
 

mecompco

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Bob, those look great! Any particular wood you prefer? I'd think the lighter the better and a tight grain structure? Thanks!

Michael
 

Bob in SF

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Michael - you got it right - lighter color and tighter grain, the better - and as noted - sanded to 600 grit - no sanding sealer in order to keep the wood thirsty - alcohol clean up before alum.

PS: I've modified my metal marbling by use of an intermediate layer of watercolor ground - will post it shortly.

- Bob
 
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Marcros

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Hi Bob,

Thank you for your write up. I have joined IAP as a result of these, and to ask a couple of questions if I may.

Some may be obvious if I had tried this, but as yet I haven't.

I follow your instructions, but don't quite get:

Wiggle the blanks down through your painting. is this vertically, or at an angle? does it matter as long as they get covered, and will be obvious when I try it? What does the wiggle do?

Clear painting away from the submerged blank to ensure a clean vertical exit from the size. is this to stop it getting an additional coat on the way out?

Pull the blank up and out, then immediately but gently rinse the marbled blanks in clean water. do you dip into clean water, or run under a gentle tap?

Does the wood type matter, since it gets coated or could a mahogany type wood risk showing through?

How much allowance on the pre-turned blanks do you allow for the paint and subsequent CA coats? I assume that you turn them slightly small to compensate?

On your other thread, are you marbling straight onto the brass tubes? it didn't look like it on the picture, but the write-up suggested otherwise.

Thanks again, it is hugely appreciated

Mark
 

Bob in SF

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Hi Mark - Hope this helps:

I follow your instructions, but don't quite get:

Wiggle the blanks down through your painting. is this vertically, or at an angle? does it matter as long as they get covered, and will be obvious when I try it? What does the wiggle do?

Answer: Wiggle or don't wiggle - your choice - wiggling adds variety of line/tone - and you'll develop your own style. Dip vertically or obliquely - just get them covered.

Clear painting away from the submerged blank to ensure a clean vertical exit from the size. is this to stop it getting an additional coat on the way out?

Answer: Yes

Pull the blank up and out, then immediately but gently rinse the marbled blanks in clean water. do you dip into clean water, or run under a gentle tap?

Answer: Dip into clean water, gentle back and forth motion

Does the wood type matter, since it gets coated or could a mahogany type wood risk showing through?

Answer: I like the lighter colored fine grain woods, but show-through is fine for the esthetic value of combining natural grain with marbled figures - can add a lot of interest.

How much allowance on the pre-turned blanks do you allow for the paint and subsequent CA coats? I assume that you turn them slightly small to compensate?

Answer: Slightly small is right - less than 1/32"

On your other thread, are you marbling straight onto the brass tubes? it didn't look like it on the picture, but the write-up suggested otherwise.

Answer: I posted a mini-tutorial about marbling on metal by using an intermediate layer of Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground. I'll post a direct marbling-to-metal technique soon.

Mark - this marbling stuff gets pretty addicting once you start, and I'm not aware of any 12 (or more or less) step program to break the addiction - be warned, beware, but have fun.

- Bob
 

Marcros

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thanks. I will blame you if I get addicted.

I am not sure what products we can get over here but there must be some similar if your brands are not available.
 

Bob in SF

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Thanks, Mark Ligget - not sure if I've started a trend - but this stuff is fun.

My wife halted my plan for a full body sized marbling tank setup - unfortunate, and almost too late:

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Have a fine weekend.

- Bob
 

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Bob in SF

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Thanks, Chris - I'll prototype the process with a mask and snorkel- well away from my wife's surveillance - otherwise she might get a bit caustic.
 
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