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Though not here, many in the turning community are pumping me for my technique. One wanted to know about my marketing. This was my public reply.
Many have asked how I dye my forms, here's the deal. 11 months, many shop hours, countless hours in the vacuum tank, soaking and in the oven. 12-15 gallons of Cactus Juice, ounces of dye, a toaster oven fire that darn near burned the house down, many, many failures and a boat load of support from my wife, Lynn. Major support from my friend Marie who passed in May. Marie was in her final stages of cancer when she asked me to turn an urn for her and basically forced me to take payment. I used that cash for my initial investment, I just wish she was still around to see my success. Bottom line, you take wood, stick it in CJ and dye, suck it, cook it and turn it! If you don't like the outcome, start over! I've had a ton of international recognition and I'm still not at the point where I want to be.
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(09-26-2019, 10:40 AM)AnthonyYak Wrote: Though not here, many in the turning community are pumping me for my technique. One wanted to know about my marketing. This was my public reply.
Doesn't come easy in a search, but someone out west (?Colorado?) at least 20 years ago was injecting aspen trees with dye using spiles. He was a turner, so maybe those here or on other sites may remember. My saved copy vanished two HD crashes ago.
In spring sap rises, taking color with.
Better to follow the leader than the pack. Less to step in.
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The outcomes are beautiful--and the method you describe is the path i'm on (except for the gift of a friend like Marie--heartwarming). My toaster oven fire was in a detached garage, and thankfully no structural damage either. The heat rise in those is crazy, even after shut down with a temp controller. I basically had to set my controller at 154 F to maintain 220 F, and at that the temp would rise to about 340 f AFTER the toaster oven turned off. I've switched to an old lab oven, and the temperature control is much better with the analog dial, once i learned where to set the dial on mine to achieve 220 +/- 3 for preliminary drying, and also to get real steady 190 F to minimize push-out of the CJ.
No more toaster oven for me--for anything ever!!
Thanks for sharing your work!!
earl
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(09-26-2019, 11:54 AM)MichaelMouse Wrote: Doesn't come easy in a search, but someone out west (?Colorado?) at least 20 years ago was injecting aspen trees with dye using spiles. He was a turner, so maybe those here or on other sites may remember. My saved copy vanished two HD crashes ago.
In spring sap rises, taking color with.
What I start with and what I end with
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(09-26-2019, 10:40 AM)AnthonyYak Wrote: Though not here, many in the turning community are pumping me for my technique. One wanted to know about my marketing. This was my public reply.
Many have asked how I dye my forms, here's the deal. 11 months, many shop hours, countless hours in the vacuum tank, soaking and in the oven. 12-15 gallons of Cactus Juice, ounces of dye, a toaster oven fire that darn near burned the house down, many, many failures and a boat load of support from my wife, Lynn. Major support from my friend Marie who passed in May. Marie was in her final stages of cancer when she asked me to turn an urn for her and basically forced me to take payment. I used that cash for my initial investment, I just wish she was still around to see my success. Bottom line, you take wood, stick it in CJ and dye, suck it, cook it and turn it! If you don't like the outcome, start over! I've had a ton of international recognition and I'm still not at the point where I want to be.
I think it's called intellectual property and if I were you I'd protect it with my life. Now that you're doing this full time you don't need a bunch of copycats underselling you! I'm really amazed at the outcome and if you're still trying to improve the process I can't wait to see those results.