Color Cement Handicraft 14

Color Cement Handicraft 14

SMALL SECTIONS OF GLASS can be better separated after the glass cutter

has been used if small pliers or dull nippers are used to grip the

glass. Hold the largest piece of glass firmly between the fingers and

with the nippers grip the glass close up to the line of division and

with a quick downward turn of the nippers it will divide the glass along

the line produced by the cutter.

 

The sections of glass when all cut may be trimmed to truer forms by

using a corborundum stone or file.

 

AFTER THE GLASS HAS BEEN CUT, place a tracing upside down on the table

and a glass over the tracing. The tracing on the underside of the paper

should be visible through the glass, and of course is reverse in

position. Take each piece of glass and touch the right side with glue

and place it onto the glass over its location defined by the tracing.

Assemble all the glass in this way, all the pieces being glued face

downward onto the glass. Mother-of-pearl, metals, etc., can be assembled

the same way, and the fact that they are thinner than the glass need

make no difference as their surfaces all resting upon the glass will

result in their being all the same level on the completed tile.

 

THIRD STEP: POURING THE CEMENT. After the glass has been glued and left

remaining for several hours (to permit the glue to dry) the retaining

bars are placed on the glass, at the proper distance from the cut

sections and cement is then poured into and over the glass mosaics until

the required thickness of tile is secured. This mixture may be color

cement or the neat Portland cement, care being taken to pour it in

slowly from the center to avoid formation of bubbles.

 

FOURTH STEP: FINISHING THE TILE. When the tile has set for several days

it may be removed and an incised line made around the edge of each glass

mosaic. Place the tile in water to harden for several days. Remove and

let dry, then give the entire surface a gasoline wash of gray or other

color. A slight polishing of the surface will finish the tile. It will

be found that the moisture has softened the glue so that the whole tile

releases from the glass surface. The cement should be rubbed off of any

of the glass parts if it has encroached until the entire edges of the

glass mosaics are visible. This should be done before the tile is placed

in the water to harden.

 

[Illustration: Mosaic Tile Method]

 

[Illustration: Mosaic Tiles]

 

[Illustration: Mosaic Stone Tiles]

 

 

 

 

[Illustration]

 

CHAPTER 12

 

Flower Boxes and

Other Straight Forms

 

[Illustration]

 

 

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO PRODUCE FLOWER BOXES in color cement and the

methods equally apply to other straight-sided objects that are to be

hollow or act as containers.

 

MOLDS MADE FOR STRAIGHT-SIDED OBJECTS have the advantage of permitting

the joints of the molds to come on the corners or junctures of the

straight sides; thereby making the entire elimination of any joints

remaining on the object (from where the molds come together) an easy

matter of removal.

 

ONE OF THE WAYS TO PROCEED IN THE MAKING OF A FLOWER BOX is as follows:

Take any ordinary good proportioned small wooden box, or block of wood

of the right shape, and place a thin layer of modeling wax over the

surface until it is smooth and evenly coated. Model the design desired

on the four sides, avoiding, as has been before cautioned, having

undercut or overhanging portions.

 

THE DESIGN MAY BE SECURED WITHOUT MODELING by taking the box and

covering the sides with cut cardboard designs, the cut sections

producing the motifs or the spaces between the cut and applied portions

being the motifs. In either case the cut sides of the portions applied

should slant so that the widest portion of any opening formed where two

applied pieces come together will be widest at the top. The reason for

this is to prevent locking of the plaster which will be poured over the

surfaces to produce the molds.

 

IF THE CARDBOARD IS USED FOR THE DESIGN after the glue is dry, the

entire surfaces of the portions to come in contact with the plaster is

given two coats of shellac, the second coat to be given after the first

coat is dry. The shellac should be permitted to dry well.

 

TO MAKE THE MOLDS the box with the design is turned upside-down and a

mold is made of the bottom first. This is done by surrounding the four

sides with wooden retaining walls so that the sides extend at least an

inch above the edges. Into the space formed by the four projecting

walls, plaster is poured and permitted to dry. This will result in a

slab of plaster to reproduce the bottom of the flower box in the final

cement casting. If legs or irregular portions are on the bottom, the

mold should include these portions.

 

As soon as this bottom section is hard, the keys are bored into it and

one of the sides is next molded. When molding the sides, turn the model

so that the plaster is poured onto the sides and not so that it is

poured alongside the surface. This is done by turning each side to be

molded so that it is horizontal or flat.

 

WHEN ALL THE MOLDS ARE MADE and dried they are ready for casting the

cement box. They should be placed in water until all parts have absorbed

moisture. Next they are oiled well and assembled. If more than one color

is to be used, the molds for those sides to have color should have the

color cement placed on the molds while the surfaces are flat. When this

color has set sufficiently to permit the sides to be placed upright,

without the color running, the sides should be assembled with the bottom

mold and the whole set tied together ready for the pouring of the

cement.

 

THE FIRST MIXTURE OF CEMENT should be a thick mixture, just as thick as

will run easily when the mold is rotated. The first mixture of cement

should be of neat cement and may have color mixed with it. It is poured

into the mold or placed in with a spoon, and the mold is rotated slowly

until the mixture has covered all the inside surfaces. The surplus, if

any remains, is poured out from one of the corners.

 

THE SECOND MIXTURE OF CEMENT should be poured in after the first layer

has set. This usually takes from an hour to half a day depending on

climatic conditions. The second mixture should be of sand and cement and

of a thinner mixture than the first. This is necessary as the first

layer will absorb moisture very rapidly from the second layer and

therefore it should be very thin.

 

THE LAST LAYER OR MIXTURE should have color in it also and is added in

the same manner as the second mixture, after the previous layer has set.

This is the finishing layer and the color should be arranged to be in

harmony with the outside color. A harmonious color will be one that is a

lighter value of the outside color or it may be color that is

complementary to the outside color.

 

THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER in making pottery or boxes

where the molds are rotated. One is that the mold to be rotated should

not be shellaced. The reason for this is that the plaster molds must

absorb some water from the cement mixture to produce the thin lining or

inside coating. The second thing to remember is to pour the surplus

mixture in the second rotation from the side opposite that the first

surplus mixture was poured. As the lining is inclined to be thicker

where the pouring out occurs, using an opposite side for the second

pouring out will equalize the lining of color.

 

THE SECOND METHOD TO PRODUCE A FLOWER BOX is by spreading the color in

the mold with a knife, pressing it up against the sides with a palette

knife or small trowel. This is possible because the opening is large

enough to permit seeing the sides. Where the opening is small such as

that in a vase or jar with tapering sides it cannot be done this way and

the method of rotation must be relied upon.

 

WHEN SPREADING THE COLOR CEMENT or lining, the mold should be turned so

that as the mixture is placed and spread a flat surface is being worked

upon. This makes it easier to work and insures the cement adhering to

the mold. After the sides are fully covered, a thin mixture may be

poured into the bottom and this whole mixture (the bottom and walls)

permitted to harden.

 

IF DRAIN HOLES ARE NEEDED in the bottom of the flower box, two cylinders

of clay or modeling wax may be placed upright in the bottom of the mold.

These cylinders should be long enough to protrude above the bottom layer

of cement that is poured in, and after the cement layer has hardened,

they may be removed. This is preferable to endeavoring to drill the

holes out of the bottom after the box is removed from the mold which

might result in breaking the entire box.

 

AFTER THE BOX IS ENTIRELY DRY it may be given a gasoline color wash or

rubbed with a thin color cement wash and after the color has become

partly dry, the surplus rubbed off with a cloth. A wax rub given with a

soft cloth and floor wax afterwards will smoothen up the entire surface

producing a velvety surface.

 

THE THIRD WAY TO PRODUCE A BOX in color cement is by pouring, and the

method is as follows: When making the molds instead of making the parts

as usual, make a mold part for the top instead of the bottom, as the

pouring mold is made upside down.

 

When the four sides and top portion of mold are ready, they are

assembled and the metal inside mold is placed inside of the plaster

mold.

 

THE METAL INSIDE MOLD is a metal pattern which when folded together

represents the inside space of the box. Within this metal pattern or

box, strips of wood or plaster should be placed to keep the metal or tin

form in shape when the pouring of the cement commences. A good way to

secure a perfect fitting brace inside of the metal form is shown in the

working plate accompanying this chapter.

 

When this metal box with enclosed bars is placed in the right position

within the plaster mold, the cement mixture is then poured into the

spaces between the outside mold and the metal box until the space is

filled. Then the cement pouring is continued until the top of the metal

box is covered adding enough more to form the bottom. It will be thus

seen that the metal box must be planned low enough so as to permit of a

bottom space.

 

TO FINISH THE BOX, it is turned over after the cement has sufficiently

hardened and the plaster, or wooden bar, is removed. The sides of the

metal box are folded inward and the entire box removed. This will leave

the inside of the box free for the smoothing or scraping of faults or

filling in of bubble holes which can easily be accomplished before the

cement has entirely hardened. The outside portion of the plaster mold is

then removed and the flower box appears complete except for the surface

coloring or finishing as may be desired.

 

OTHER SQUARE-SIDED OBJECTS may be similarly treated, in some instances

the shapes or proportions requiring different handling. For instance, a

very long narrow box could not be easily produced by rotating and should

be made by the spreading or pouring method. Large surfaces or very long

surfaces should be reinforced by the placing of wire cloth in the walls

when the cement is poured in.

 

TAMPING OR PRESSING OF CEMENT is done by using cement and sand of a

consistency like wet sand. This is placed into the mold and pressed

firmly with a blunt stick, and a mallet can be used to tap these wooden

chisels so as to press the cement well into the apertures. This results

in a very firm surface and is particularly good for large boxes and

containers. Care should be taken that the molds are firmly fastened

together and the molds should be watched occasionally while the tamping

is taking place to see that they do not spread.