# First Clay Attempt



## PeteG (21 Mar 2015)

Nothing too exciting  when I first saw the base with the dove it was for a Celtic Cross on the Steve Good site, the base also had lettering.
But I thought the Dove would look quite good filled with a white clay. I spent around 25-30 minutes warming and playing around with the clay
by hand, and then baked for 27 minutes around 100C. I left it over night and popped both sides on the belt sander the following day.
The wood is Sapele with one coat of Wood Silk.


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## Claymore (21 Mar 2015)

love the dove from above Pete 9-) great cross too  
Brian


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## nadnerb (21 Mar 2015)

Nice work Pete, where did you get the clay?
Regards
Brendan


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## jamiecrawford (21 Mar 2015)

That's quality mate! Top of the class


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## PeteG (21 Mar 2015)

Claymore":h9rbx0n0 said:


> love the dove from above Pete 9-) great cross too
> Brian




Thanks Brian, I used the clay you recommended  



nadnerb":h9rbx0n0 said:


> Nice work Pete, where did you get the clay?
> Regards
> Brendan



Hello Brendan  I bought it from Amazon several weeks back, it's come down in price since! http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000N6K5WE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00



jamiecrawford":h9rbx0n0 said:


> That's quality mate! Top of the class



Thanks Jamie  I like things with large internal pieces to cut out...I should have spent a bit more time sanding, but I didn't have my glasses on and everything looked OK at the time


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## bodgerbaz (22 Mar 2015)

PeteG":jd6q7kxk said:


> Nothing too exciting  when I first saw the base with the dove it was for a Celtic Cross on the Steve Good site, the base also had lettering.
> . . . the Dove would look quite good filled with a white clay. I spent around 25-30 minutes warming and playing around with the clay
> by hand, and then baked for 27 minutes around 100C. I left it over night and popped both sides on the belt sander the following day.
> The wood is Sapele with one coat of Wood Silk.



Nice piece of work Pete. That sounds straight forward enough - softening a small amount for about 1/2 hour rubbing by hand then pushing it into the dove cut out. Presumably the 27 minutes at 100C was non-fan oven? 27 minutes seems quite precise. How do you know when it's ready and does the heat affect the wood (apart from making it hot of course). 

Re: the bandsaw blade we discussed recently, mine arrived in the week :wink: 

Barry


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## PeteG (22 Mar 2015)

Hello Barry  I hope I didn't sound like I know what I'm doing :lol: The instructions give a maximum of 30 minutes at 110C, so I knocked 10C off as we have a fan assisted oven.
I don't know if it made any difference to the Dove, but when I've made a corned beef ash with a pastry top, for some reason the pastry browns a little more on the right, so I
placed the base so the Dove was on the left at 9 O'Clock. The oven was pre-heated before it went in, and I only picked 27 minutes to make sure I didn't go over 30 minutes  
What I couldn't see in the instructions was any information on adjusting baking times for the thickness or depth of clay, the base is 18mm thick so with the excess clay I left top and bottom
the clay must have been somewhere around 20-23 mm thick, may be a little more. I left it over night before sanding but I reckon it's more down to luck than anything else 
that it happen to come out OK. I think if I was using it around 10mm think I'd bake a small test piece first.
The wood was fine, no burn or heat marks on it. I did think going back to our conversation on moisture content and re-sawn timber, if I had used a piece of re-sawn would
I have to leave it a couple of days before baking! 

Did you go for a Fastcut B/S blade Barry, did Ian make it to the recommended length or did you ask for one a little shorter?


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## bodgerbaz (22 Mar 2015)

Very good instructions - as ever. Thanks Pete I might give it a go now you've blazed a trail ;-)

Yes I went for the fastcut blade the exact length of the one it was shipped with and the Record recommended spare so it should fit fine. I didn't call Ian as I found the right size on the web site and thought a long chatty phone call from Germany might cut into my beer money ;-)

Thanks again for your help x 2

Barry


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## essexcowboy (22 Mar 2015)

that looks great and love the effect, would air dry clay be any good use it to make models and bits with grandkids might save you some time


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## Claymore (22 Mar 2015)

Milliput white is ideal for this and doesn't need baking


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## jonluv (22 Mar 2015)

Really nice work Pete the Dove raises the piece up a level--- not a great lover of fillers but this is the best use of filler I have seen--- well done

Jon


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## Chippygeoff (22 Mar 2015)

Essex cowboy. Air dried clay would not work as it shrinks as it goes hard. Polymer clay would be about the best but leave it flush front and back as it does swell slightly as it hardens. Also don't forget to put a few groves in side the cut outs, I use a dremel tool with an engraving bit, otherwise the clay could fall out as happened to a few things I made before the penny dropped.


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## PeteG (23 Mar 2015)

bodgerbaz":2sutk4rb said:


> Very good instructions - as ever. Thanks Pete I might give it a go now you've blazed a trail ;-)
> 
> Yes I went for the fastcut blade the exact length of the one it was shipped with and the Record recommended spare so it should fit fine. I didn't call Ian as I found the right size on the web site and thought a long chatty phone call from Germany might cut into my beer money ;-)
> 
> ...



You're very welcome Barry  



jonluv":2sutk4rb said:


> Really nice work Pete the Dove raises the piece up a level--- not a great lover of fillers but this is the best use of filler I have seen--- well done
> 
> Jon



I really appreciate your comments John  I was tempted to get a little carried away and put four Doves around the base, but one kept it nice and simple.



Chippygeoff":2sutk4rb said:


> Essex cowboy. Air dried clay would not work as it shrinks as it goes hard. Polymer clay would be about the best but leave it flush front and back as it does swell slightly as it hardens. Also don't forget to put a few groves in side the cut outs, I use a dremel tool with an engraving bit, otherwise the clay could fall out as happened to a few things I made before the penny dropped.



I thought of that Geoff, but as I hadn't seen it mentioned before, or wasn't paying attention, I didn't think it was needed. I hope my Dove doesn't fly off


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## Cordy (27 Aug 2015)

Hi Pete
Have you made any more objects with clay ?

Earlier I put a brown dove into an Oak cutting board
Photo tomorrow

Cheers
John


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## PeteG (29 Aug 2015)

Hello John  I've only used it on crosses, mainly the one with the dove, but I've also used it on the Celtic Cross. It doesn't really show up on the white background but
the six ovals are clay inlay. 
A dove in a cutting board sounds interesting John. Did you drill holes inside the dove before filling?


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## Cordy (29 Aug 2015)

Yes Pete, I drilled a couple of holes and slipped in two brass screws protruding a little to prevent clay slip.

Considered warming the Oak first but didn't 

can't post piccys for a few days; main 'puter packed up ~ waiting for new one ... On ancient iPad ATM
John


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## Cordy (2 Sep 2015)

Here is the Oak cutting board; 200 x 300 mm x a good inch thick, 3 coats of Danish Oil


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## bodgerbaz (2 Sep 2015)

Very professional and nice looking work Cordy. Well done.


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