I have several pine cones that have opened up beyond using them for casting blanks. I found a report that claims you can boil the cones for 15-20 minutes and they will close into tight position. Anyone done this? Before casting I assume they need drying, will they reopen? Does this even work?:question:
Pine cone question
- Thread starter tomtedesco
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jttheclockman
Member
budnder
Member
I tried playing around with this a few months ago. What happened was... yes, they open up when dry. I tried putting them in a PVC tube, then letting them dry, but they just never seemed to dry out enough that way (casting fail). What did sorta work was wrapping a wet paper towel around them for a day to get them to soften a bit such that I could force them into a tube.
In the end, I settled on just letting them be bone dry, squaring them off with the bandsaw to a size that I could force them into a casting tube (even dry they have a little give). A few of the petals brake off, but it didn't seem to be noticeable in the final result.
In the end, I settled on just letting them be bone dry, squaring them off with the bandsaw to a size that I could force them into a casting tube (even dry they have a little give). A few of the petals brake off, but it didn't seem to be noticeable in the final result.
1080Wayne
Member
Best approach is to stabilize them when fully dry and wide open , then carefully sand them down to the desired diameter for casting . Stabilization hardens the scales enough to allow sanding without breaking them off .
Female pine cones!!! No wonder they are such a pain to work with. LOL Don't tell my wife I said this.
