A Few Odd Questions

[BeltedKingfisherGriffin]

Hello,

I was just wondering if anyone knows where to find some realistic dinosaur woodburning patterns, preferably downloadable, lest I resort to drawing some myself. x_x

Also, I want to make some runes for my friend--could I use a woodburner on things like stones and gemstones (like quartz, amethyst, moonstone, carnelian, etc.), or will it turn out bad/ruin my points/might the stones explode?

Any advice, opinions or direction to helpful sites would be appreciated. I've searched around but couldn't find much of anything.

Thanks!

[Wes Leitch]

First off, I highly recommend not woodburning on stone. Stone is not known for its burning potential. Gemstones are not a great idea either. If you are looking for a good medium to burn your runes, I highly recommend tagua nuts. They are like a vegetable based ivory substance. They will look quite ornate. Leather is another popular medium if you are not wanting to burn on wood.
Besides searching the internet for dinosaur patterns, i would recommend the children's section of the public library. Many of the children's books will have less detail, so the pattern will be much easier to transfer. Once your pattern is transferred, then you can start adding your detail back in.

[Ron D]

try here for the pattern,if anyone got one susan would www.carvingpatterns.com

[AlArchie]

Griffin, here's a link to Lee Valley's soapstone. This is a stone that is easilly carved with regular carving tools, although I would not recomend using your best tools.

They sell a 3"x5" block for around 15 bucks, that should yield 5 stones to carve runes into.

If you have a source of calcite near you, that can also be carved quite easily. You should be able to scratch pure calcite with your fingernail. It can be found in some nice rhomboid crystals, too.

Minnesota pipestone is also soft enough to carve, although a little rough on tools. I'd suggest using rasps, files, hacksaws, and old tools on this stuff, as it is a mite abrasive.

Some shales are also soft enough to work with steel tools.

Al
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,250,43298

Al

[squbrigg]

Most stone can be carved, though slowly and with different tools than your woodcarving ones. Actually, it's more scraping than carving. You can use a power carver (Foredom/Dremel) to carve stone, say diamond burrs to etch in your image or runes. Sandblasting is also an option, though the equipment for set up is expensive.

Forget using a burner, some paint in the scratches or groves will help show up the image. You can achieve great detail from stone, depending on the stone, different stone has properties like different woods do.

I can link you to a stone carver friend if you need more detailed information, just ask?

Bob

[Thor]

Another option for the runes is to use a branch from a fruit tree (preferably one that is blooming at the time it is harvested). Then, you'll need to let it dry out or they will split pretty badly after you get them finished. I cut mine at an angle to give me more surface area to carve the runes into.
Then, after carving or burning the runes into them, one method considered authentic by some, is to turn them red (supposedly, this was done with the blood of the rune user) with paint.
Most of what I've researched about runes is that they are precious to the person who possesses them, and perhaps never even handled by any other person in order to absorb the essence of the reader and better be able to interpret situations.
Take it or leave it. I simply find it fun to find this stuff out.
Mine cracked by the way, and I never did learn how to read them. I didn't use blood either.
Thor

[BeltedKingfisherGriffin]

Wes: The tagua nuts do look really ornate. That'd be perfect if I could carve up some fake shark vertebrae so she doesn't have to worry about how the animal died. Thanks for the idea!

Ack, I didn't even think about using my books. If I can't find any patterns I'll do that.

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Ron: I haven't found any there so far, just tons of other patterns I want to try now. Thank you for the link!

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Al: Fetishes can be carved out of some of those soft stones, right? That link will be useful for another project I have going, if not for the runes. I think I'll buy some just to experiment. Thanks!

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Bob: A link to your stone carver friend would be great. If all else fails I want to go back to my original plan using stone or gemstones.

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Thor: The tree branch runes look like the old set she has now, and she loves them. But could a discarded antler be cut like a branch, I wonder? I'll probably need to search around a taxidermy site about that.

That's how she treats her runes, except she doesn't mind friends handling them. I'm not involved in this kind of thing myself either, but she has an alter, crystal ball, a mortar and pestal, etc, and it's fascinating. I want to learn how to read them too.
Thank you!

[AlArchie]

Antler can be cut easily with either hand or power tools, but it STINKS like heck when you do! Then it can be carved, easiest with power, or incised and treated like scrimshaw. Really pretty when done up like buttons.

Al

[BeltedKingfisherGriffin]

That's pretty much the effect I want if I use antler: button or coin-sized pieces. Is the inside of an antler solid or porus? Like, if I wanted to burn symbols onto them, would I be working with uneven textures and stuff?

And does the antler vs. power tool smell linger on the finished pieces? :|

[BobD]

The inside of the antler is porous...and you also need to wear breathing protection when carving it. Antlers attract all kinds of nasty bacteria...which collect in the dust and would love to find a happy home in your lungs...

Bob Duncan
Technical Editor