Steve K Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Very nice job Dodge. Thanks for sharing Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.V.Reeve Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Dodge... No TSP. As you found out it's too harsh. Quick run down: we clean the bones as much as possible, sometimes lightly simmering them. The we use either Sal-Soda (actually a "mordant" used in dying fabrics) or we use Hydrogen-Peroxide (H2-O2), but we get that at a beauty supply store where it comes in different "Volumes" (strengths). We use Volume 20, which is strong but controllable. It degreases and whitens the bones. Sometimes multiple treatments are needed. Oh yes... safety first with bone dust... stinks really well, too!! If you want to pursue it more my wife would be happy to make a tutorial and send it to you. The pics show a few things... The little knife I made for the wife. It has bone scales and black fiber spacers and brass pins and some file-work. The bone was found, so it was cleaned by Ma Nature. It polished up like ivory on the edges. The long flat piece is a weaving shuttle. It also feels like ivory. I sliced that on a bandsaw (free-hand) and shaped it (gently) on a small belt sander, then by hand. The bird skull shows how H2O2 can whiten bones. Sorry for the not-so-great pics. I need a better camera and bone is a really hard thing to get a good picture of... must be the way it reflects light, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 John, Great looking pieces. I don't plan to do any more bone in the near future, but if your wife is willing, that might make a great tutorial for the IFI BPs. Its not blacksmithing, but it relates. I bet a lot of folks here would be interested. Get in touch with Glenn for PB details Photos don't look that bad. But one thing that causes a photo of anything white to lose detail is too much flash. A trick I just discovered is to cover the flash with a fiber dryer sheet. Fold it until you get the desired exposure. Bracket the photos; i.e. Take the same photo with varying layers of dryer sheet. After you download to you computer you can see which is best. I did a lot of bracketing when I used to shoot film. That could get expensive, but with digital.... BTW you can get good pics with the cheapest of cameras. Just need to learn its capabilities and how to break rules of light and exposure. I currently use a $99 Nikon from Walmart :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 John, lay out the steps, take photos, add a little text where needed and send it to me. The blueprints are open to any subject or project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.V.Reeve Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Dodge... Thanks for the tips on photo shooting. I have a little Kodak (2.0 megapixel). I sometimes (actually, often) shoot with the flash turned off, and play with lighting. I try to shoot with same background, lighting, distance, etc... just seems the camera is inconsistent some days... or maybe the operator is about a half a bubble off plumb those days... Glenn... Thanks. I'll get started on that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 With digital photography you can play with the camera to get the right combinations without having to PAY for film or prints. Keep the good ones and delete the rest. You should try all the combinations the camera offers, flash, no flash, close-up, not so close up, etc. You should also practice the techniques of good photography. Shoot at as high a resolution as the camera offers so you then have enough pixels to take the image to the computer and use soft wear to help the image where it is needed. The computer is not a substitute for good photography, but instead a tool to improve things a bit. Two of the things that will improve your photography more than anything else you can do is to use a tripod. This will force you to include or exclude things in or out of the photo. It holds the camera steady and allows you to concentrate on the image. The other is to use a background. This eliminates the clutter, and shows the viewer what is important. The background should be neutral in color and without patterns. A large piece of brown cardboard is all that is needed. If you have specific questions, contact me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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