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WillRockwell
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« on: March 05, 2010, 12:37:57 am » |
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After months of resisting, I've come to the decision to use an animal skull in the construction of a desk lamp. These rawhide skeletal lamps have been flying off the shelves, and they're fun to make, so here comes another. Perhaps you would like to assist in the construction. Here's a picture of the skull and a sketch of what I have in mind. The base would be much steamier of course. I don't actually have a base at the moment, but I did buy two dog chews today and have them soaking as we speak. The skull is from a Florida land tortoise, found years ago while looking for fossils in phosphate hills. I always thought it had a nice smile, and will look quite evil with rawhide wings spread around him. What is the best way to tint the rawhide, so it is not so pale?  |
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jringling
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« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2010, 12:49:34 am » |
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looking for fossils in phosphate hills I am very jealous... I have heard the stories about Florida fossil hunting... I am limited to walking the beach along rivers looking for Miocene and Eocene fossils... ray pallets, shark's teeth, croc teeth, etc... Best find to date is a 2 7/8" megaladon in real good condition... |
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steampunk22
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« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2010, 06:51:14 am » |
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Any sort of dye should work, if you have access to pigment you could use aniline dye for a pretty long lasting effect.
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Steamworkshop
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« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2010, 06:55:50 am » |
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I can't wait to see this completed.
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Thaddeus Maxmilien Grey
Deck Hand
 United States
Mad Man of the Ether
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« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2010, 07:27:55 am » |
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this may sound crazy but ... Coca-Cola is a great way to age anything. Leave that rawhide in a pan full of coke for a few days and it will make the rawhide look a lot more like the color of bat wings. My cousin (who is 1/4 native american) used to dye bones for chokers this way. The longer you leave your rawhide in the coke the darker it will get.
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WillRockwell
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« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2010, 11:40:15 am » |
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this may sound crazy but ... Coca-Cola is a great way to age anything. Leave that rawhide in a pan full of coke for a few days and it will make the rawhide look a lot more like the color of bat wings. My cousin (who is 1/4 native american) used to dye bones for chokers this way. The longer you leave your rawhide in the coke the darker it will get.
Now that is interesting |
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NazT
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« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2010, 12:06:39 pm » |
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I can't wait to see this completed.
I second this. Very interesting! |
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Endeavour Cull
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« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2010, 02:54:36 pm » |
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Ahhh...Will is off again!  Dog chews...never thought of that one. How big would that be when unfolded? |
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rollin45
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« Reply #8 on: March 05, 2010, 04:00:42 pm » |
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I think if I were in possession of such a skull, I would see if I could make some good castings and use those for the lamps, rather than the real deal ??
rollin'
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WillRockwell
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« Reply #9 on: March 05, 2010, 05:16:21 pm » |
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Ahhh...Will is off again! Dog chews...never thought of that one. How big would that be when unfolded? a large one is about a square foot of rawhide. After this project I think I'll purchase the raw material online - this place has not only hides but skulls and bones as well http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/Buckskin.html |
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Steamworkshop
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« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2010, 06:46:25 pm » |
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Endeavour Cull
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« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2010, 06:52:10 pm » |
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I see a volunteer for a nice lamp.  |
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WillRockwell
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« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2010, 11:57:21 pm » |
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OMG that would flatten out to a huge piece of rawhide.
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akumabito
Immortal
 Netherlands
Mundus Patria Nostra!
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« Reply #13 on: March 06, 2010, 12:02:23 am » |
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I see a volunteer for a nice lamp. I don't know, wouldn't the fur block out most of the light? I think he might object to the lightbulb being inserted as well.. |
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Der Tinkermann
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« Reply #14 on: March 06, 2010, 04:05:43 am » |
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OMG that would flatten out to a huge piece of rawhide.
Either that or the dog is really small....... |
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WillRockwell
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« Reply #15 on: March 06, 2010, 01:34:49 pm » |
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I've purchased the brass and copper tubes for the armature and the rawhide, and I'm off for a weekend of design and construction. Photos forthcoming.
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Pinkfearie
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« Reply #17 on: March 06, 2010, 03:30:28 pm » |
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Looking forward to seeing this completed. I saw quite a few of your creations in Oxford at the steampunk Exhibition. Very pwetty and shiny.
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"...the flimsy tarnished-silver light of dawn glinted sharp off the aft smoke stacks of the Anioa's Peregrination as she swung starboard to close in on the plodding merchantman to her east. Quartermaster Nimrod Blampkin was roused from his sleep..." Vice Captain Windles log entry.
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Endeavour Cull
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« Reply #18 on: March 06, 2010, 03:47:17 pm » |
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All the amazing builds from other people bring me on lots of ideas, but once i get inspiration from a piece of art (i've seen here on BG and the web) i always have the feeling i'm stealing their idea.
The difficulty is to be original in the concept. You,Will,have that originality. You always seem to find a different way to look at things.
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architect
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« Reply #19 on: March 06, 2010, 08:35:40 pm » |
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Ahhh...Will is off again! Dog chews...never thought of that one. How big would that be when unfolded? a large one is about a square foot of rawhide. After this project I think I'll purchase the raw material online - this place has not only hides but skulls and bones as well http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/Buckskin.htmlyou might look around those prices seem a bit on the high side even compared to tandy online prices |
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WillRockwell
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« Reply #20 on: March 07, 2010, 09:38:42 pm » |
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Looking forward to seeing this completed. I saw quite a few of your creations in Oxford at the steampunk Exhibition. Very pwetty and shiny.
Excuse me, you saw my creations at Oxford? To my knowledge, I have had nothing displayed at Oxford, though I would dearly wish to. |
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WillRockwell
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« Reply #21 on: March 08, 2010, 01:28:52 am » |
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Here's an update on this weekend's work. I finished the armature, the soldered brass and copper frame that holds the skull and the wings. I soaked the rawhide overnight in root beer (didn't have cola) and got a nice color out of it.  designing the armature was the hard part  here it is basically finished, the skull will attach to those two rods in the middle  I attached the rawhide and left it to dry with wrenches piled on it to hold the shape  the project will continue, and maybe finish, next weekend |
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« Last Edit: March 08, 2010, 01:30:34 am by WillRockwell »
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The Inventor
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« Reply #22 on: March 08, 2010, 05:30:02 am » |
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Wowz
Not only am I envious of your ability to create amazing stuff, and sell it.
But now I'm more envious that you get to walk fossil beds and pickup such amazing stuff !
I am a collector of fossils ( which are pretty rare in Oregon ).
And would love at some point to try collecting them from all over the US.
This will be a cool lamp I'm sure.
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WillRockwell
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« Reply #23 on: March 08, 2010, 01:28:35 pm » |
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Wowz
Not only am I envious of your ability to create amazing stuff, and sell it.
But now I'm more envious that you get to walk fossil beds and pickup such amazing stuff !
I am a collector of fossils ( which are pretty rare in Oregon ).
And would love at some point to try collecting them from all over the US.
This will be a cool lamp I'm sure.
Thanks for the kind words, but the tortoise skull is not a fossil, it just happened to live and die in an area containing fossils. The phosphate hills in Florida were heaped up in the early 20th century by phosphate miners, then they grew over and became the only hilly terrain in Florida. When I was a kid we enjoyed exploring in these places. There are so many fossils in these areas that after a heavy rain the fossils can be found sitting on top of eroded columns of dirt. Mostly you find fossilized doogong ribs and vertebra, but there are also giant sharks teeth and mammoth parts. |
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WillRockwell
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« Reply #24 on: March 15, 2010, 02:04:33 pm » |
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BOO!!  more pics to come |
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