Material identification Any idea what material the below leotard is made out of? It is shinier than any material I have seen before, and want to make another bit of clothing partly out of the same material.

Metallic Spandex

See some samples at Google Images


How to preserve comic pages drawn by pencil? I bought pieces of comics that are drawn with pencil, and I’m afraid that they get blurred. How can I preserve them? Can this be done the same way as with sketches?

There are a number of ways to preserve pencil drawings.  This question is explicit in distinguishing that the drawings were purchased, which introduces another consideration.
A common way to preserve pencil drawings is with a fixative.  How can I protect my pencil & charcoal drawings once complete? goes into recommendations and discussion on that approach.  A fixative works to protect it, but it modifies the surface, and can change the appearance a little.  For acquired works, the fixative would be something the original artist did not apply, and would be an alteration of the work.
If you just want to keep the work for its value to you, protect it any way you like. But if investment/resale value is a consideration, or it's a historical work, your applying a fixative to it could seriously degrade its value.
In this case, a better way to preserve it is to either store it in acid-free, archival quality flat files between layers of glassine paper, or have it professionally framed behind (UV-resistant) glass so it can be displayed and enjoyed.
For completeness, plastic sleeves were also suggested as a means of protection, but Allison C advised that smudging can result.

This is a summary of the comments (primarily by rebusB, Erica, and Gwyn) from within this thread and the linked chat discussion.


What kind of glue to make a magnet adhere to wood? I've had these two small wooden heart magnets given to me a year ago, but over time, both hearts have fallen off their magnets. They seem to be attached by a thing sheet of some kind of clear glue that obviously can't hold in the long run (it's taken them both several months to fall off).

If there a particular kind of glue I can use to make the magnets hold together for good?

Magnets are notoriously glue-resistant.

There are sticky soft magnets used e.g. for refrigerator magnets, which would kinda work on the glue front, but they are pathetically weak.

You could try two-ingredient epoxy for other magnets; it tends to stick really well to pretty much everything and if it won't, you can practically encase anything with it.

But I believe the best solution would be to forgo the glues and obtain some tiny neodymium magnets with a hole:

These are very strong, so even a tiny one can support your heart, and they can be affixed to a surface with a nail or a screw, making a very strong connection.


What criteria should I consider for choosing paper for watercolor pencils I have been researching about the types of paper that are well suited for watercolor pencils. But so far, I've come across hot, cold, and rough pressed paper. I'm not entirely sure if these are the only options and how they're different from each other.

What are some factors to consider when choosing paper? With some paper I've used  the paper wet and when I draw over it with a watercolor pencil it pills severely (or would that happen with any watercolor paper?). I would rather not have that quality in a paper.

Is there paper that provides tooth for detail, but that also accepts water and layers of color well enough to not pill? What are my options?

One of the first things you’ll want to remember is that you should always be using archival quality acid-free paper. Also, the heavier the paper, the less the paper will wrinkle when wet. In fact, after about 2mm of thickness one will generally be speaking of board, not paper.

Hot pressed papers (and boards) are smoother than cold pressed, and although there are many pulp options, you should really consider 100% cotton rag. Don’t try and be a hero saving the environment - use virgin non-recycled materials.

Many artists attach their watercolor paper to a wooden board with masking tape along all the edges. This prevents the paper from curling too much, however I never liked the fact that the tape generally rips off the top surface of the paper. That’s why I spread acid-free bookbinder’s PVA glue across the back of 350g cold-pressed paper and bond to the smooth side of a sheet of Masonite (HDF) reinforced with a wooden struts, all of which is later used as a backing plate to attach the frame.

My advice specifically for your use case is to use the pencils only when the paper is dry - otherwise you really run the risk of damaging the surface. That and to start using a brush.


How to calculate the shadow direction, size, and transparency? Suppose I want to draw a shadow of X. How do I know what should be the EXACT

size of the shadow
direction of the shadow
transparency of the shadow.

Of course, it all depends on the light source. But how do I "calculate" it?

There have to be some formulae and measurements, because every time
with the same light source in the same position, exactly the same shadow will
be created.

So, how to calculate the shadow direction, size, and transparency?

This is about drawing. I intend to draw a shadow of an object on paper.
You can assume a simple light source like a candle in your answer.
Diagrams will be appreciated.

This can be a somewhat complicated process, to draw shadows in perspective. There are many great resources, but I'll show a simple demo here.

This is using a single light source and a simple box form.

Here are the construction steps I used to create that final image:

Lay down your horizon line and choose your vanishing points (VP).
Draw your shape (here the blue box) in perspective. Use standard perspective technique, connecting points on your shape to the relevant VP. Make sure you draw the hidden part of the object (the back), because that can affect the shadow shape.
Assign a place for your Light Source. This is up to up. The horizontal distance from your object will determine the rotation of the shadow. The vertical distance from the horizon will affect the length of the shadow, with greater distance shortening shadows (just like at high noon).
From your light source, draw Shadow Perspective Lines to the top vertex points of your shape.
From your Horizon Light Point (AKA light vanishing point) draw the Shadow Perspective Lines connecting to the bottom points corresponding to the points from step 4.
Find the intersection of the SPLs from vertexes connected by common edges.
Connect these SPL intersections. They are the boundaries of your shadow.
Connect the remaning SPL intersections to the ground-level vertex of the object by following your SPL to the horizon light vanishing point. (Usually, you don't have to think about it and just connected it to the logical corner.)
Shade in between those boundaries you just made.

Things get more complicated as your shape gets more complicated, is not resting on the ground, or has curves. The guide I linked to earlier has information on casting shadows from the air, and onto other objects instead of the ground.

You can cast shadows of curved objects by creating a shadow map of the box you could draw around your perspective object. The Virtual Instructor has some examples of shadows of circular and spherical objects.

For more information, you'll want to find resources regarding drawing in perspective, and especially shadows in perspective.

Multiple light sources and ambient light will further complicate your drawing. Getting this done correctly may be less a matter of calculation and more a case for studying how shadows work in the real world. Observation and reference will be your best friend there, especially as you learn about how light and shade works.


Alternative to Shapecrete - moldable concrete that is workable like clay I am looking for a product like Shapecrete which appears to no longer be made.  According to the website shapecrete.com the product looks like it is a type of concrete that can be worked like clay. Thus, it is easier for making rather thin walled sculptures (ex: they have a youtube example of making a hollow birdhouse).
In contrast to clay, it seems to air-dry very hard and has the appearance of concrete.
I never used it myself, but I particularly like how the texture seems to have those tiny air bubbles like regular concrete.

This question is premised on a particular cement product that could be handled like clay but appeared to dry looking like poured concrete.  It turns out that is not the case.  So the "simplest" answer is that the question is based on bad assumptions.  However, depending on actual requirements, the objective of the question could have full or partial solutions.
ShapeCrete
Start with the product that triggered the question.  The example you saw on the ShapeCrete web site is easy to misinterpret.  After a lot of investigation, it appears it was an anomaly, and not quite what it seemed to look like.  Getting into all the details would be tangential to this answer.  But if you want to exploring that example, what it appeared to be and why, the technique used, or how to reliably get readily-visible bubbles in ShapeCrete or a similar product, that would be great fodder for a separate question.
The key points are these:

It's a cement product.
It can be mixed to be pourable, in which case it will have the bubbles of poured concrete but not the surface texture.
It can be mixed to handle like clay, in which case the result will look like clay.

It is no longer available.  But if what it does is useful to you, yes, there are alternatives.  I found an equivalent competing product: SculptCrete.  There may be others.  Note that neither ShapeCrete nor its competitors will dry to look like poured concrete when used like clay.
DIY Mixes
There are also DIY cement mixes that handle like clay.  They typically have a surface texture like concrete rather than like clay.  So a DIY mixture may be close enough for some applications, or could be a good starting point to replicate the look of poured concrete.  Do a search on "diy concrete clay".  You'll find videos like Making a Concrete Mix that Works Like Clay and How To Make Concrete Clay At Home.  Each recipe will have different characteristics, depending on the purpose.
Concrete appearance
The characteristic appearance of poured concrete comes from two aspects:

Surface texture (smooth and grainy)
Surface bubbles

The surface texture comes from the component sand of a certain particle size.  That can be easily replicated by using a mixture that contains sand of similar size.  Clays use a much smaller particle size and result in a smoother surface.  However, you can start with a concrete mix and modify it to handle more like clay (most of the DIY concrete clay mixes), or start with an air dry clay and add some sand to make the surface texture similar to concrete.
Bubbles are a characteristic of poured concrete.  Pouring it into a mold results in some of those bubbles being on what will become the surface when it is demolded.
By its nature, clay-like materials do not have surface bubbles, at least of a size that looks like poured concrete.  You can do things to get bubbles into the surface.  On material that is wet, soft, and barely clay-like, it's easier to do and there are more ways to do it.  On material that is firm, dense clay, there are limited ways to modify the surface to produce bubble pocks, but it can be done.  If the material only has to look like poured concrete and doesn't have to actually be concrete, there are more options.
Basically, the requirement for handling like clay is the opposite of the requirement for surface bubbles.  The more clay-like it is, the fewer options there are for getting bubble pocks into the surface.  It's worth examining the requirements for a specific project in detail because there are trade-offs that can make the project a lot easier if some of the requirements aren't critical.
How to get a specific kind or type of clay-like material to look like poured concrete would be a discussion for another question.


What medium should be kept beneath the paper for papercutting? Natural conclusion that we can draw from this question about cutting small circles is that it is obvious the cutting tool or implement would need to be very sharp to be effective.

I used to use cemented floor for placing the paper for such papercutting when I was a child.

Since the tools would be that sharp they are going to affect the working surface below the paper. Another concern would be the paper moving around on that working medium.

Considering the above factors, what medium should be kept beneath the paper when papercutting?

Self healing cutting mat

I use this for all my craft cutting. You want to be sure that the surface you are cutting on is completely uniform so as to not cause your cutting hand to hesitate or jump. These mats are for just that.

Also has the added feature of not cutting up your parent's table. They are usually textured on both side to prevent both the mat and the work from moving around. This also allows the mat to be flipped over and use the other side thus extending the life of the mat. It will eventually wear out though.

You can usually find these in a variety of sizes to suit your need. Some companies make ones small enough that you can keep in a book if you travel.

There appears to be, or at least used to be, a small mystery about what these mats are actually made of. One manufacturer describes it as:

  unique composite PVC vinyl material


What type of sealer is this? Where I studied, in the printroom, there was a large bottle with the label 'sealer' on it (it seems that they transferred the contents of most products they used from the original containers to their own and labelled them accordingly, for safety reasons).

We used it mainly for collagraphs (and sometimes for sealing problematic relief blocks).
It was a farely thick fluid of a light brown colour.
It didn't take long to dry, as far as I remember.
It made the surfaces waterproof.
Once dry it couldn't be remover with turpentine/white spirit, it needed some stronger solvent.
It didn't have toxic vapours, if it had any scent at all it was
quite faint.

Does anyone know what it was?

Sounds like it could be shellac, possibly suspended in mineral spirits. It might also be damar varnish - but really that is speculation. Why don’t you track down someone from the place and ask them?

They probably had very large containers that were hard to work with, so they would put them in more “handy” jars,
.


How to support heavy weights when constructing chairs with cardboard? I am trying to design a real cardboard chair for a project I have in my engineering modeling course. The chair should be able to support a weight of 250 pounds. I think we are free to use any type of cardboard in the project

How can I use available cardboard to make suitable legs? Would cylinder tubes be stronger than rectangular box legs made of glue layers of cardboard (possibly corrugated)?

Does anyone have experience using cardboard in props or floats that would have an idea on what works for supporting heavy weights?

You don't specify what kind of processing is permitted on the cardboard, if any, but if you have relatively free rein I'd recommend investigating papier mache - it has been used historically for furniture making so could represent a very viable option for making chairs out of cardboard.

Options range from a very basic and functional version made from essentially cardboard tubes glued together, to very ornate items such as seen here:

From papiermache.co.uk

At the most complex end of the scale, paper and cardboard can be glued in layers to make a material which is almost as strong as wood, and can be cut, carved and sanded in much the same way.  This is very time consuming and can require specialist equipment so it's not particularly practical for hobby applications, but it goes to show the kind of strength that can be obtained.


Alternative for wickes PVA glue in america I was watching a tutorial on youtube for getting a plastic finish with smooth on's 65D plastic and Wickes PVA glue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDwQg6CX25A (5:40 roughly)

I can get the smooth on product but wickes does not sell/deliver to the US.

The PVA glue is beneficial because it gets tacks why introduced to moisture which is helpful to give the smooth on plastic something to better adhear to when painting on.

Is there an alternative glue that could be used?

PVA is one common type of wood glue (one global example is Gorilla wood glue), though the product in the video is the cheaper builder's PVA which can be mixed into plaster, or diluted and used as a primer or dust-reducing coating for concrete.  I'd expect it to be a little thinner than PVA wood glue, but the latter can be diluted with water.  PVA is sold as white glue (Home Depot), but go by the formulation not the colour.

You can buy PVA primers as well, or even a lot of kids craft glue, but having watched a little of the video I suggest just using a PVA wood glue (ideally one sold for interior use only as you want a little tackiness).  The kids craft glue tend to be thinner as well.

PVA glues are largely interchangeable (though in some cases some are stronger, and you don't want too much water in many woodwoodworking projects)


What are distinct facial features that can be considered while drawing an Indian and Caucasian teenage girl? What are the distinctive features in the face of an Indian and Caucasian teenage girl which makes them distinct from each other?
I'm a beginner artist struggling to draw two distinct adult girl characters from imagination.

A few things that I've learned so far are the following:

The skin tone and color of hairs will be the major factor.
The nose will be narrow in Caucasian face and little wider in Indian type.
The bottom eyelid will be more prominent in Indian type than the other.
The eyes will be little sunken in Caucasian type.

I'm wondering if any other difference in details like cheek bone, mouth, chin etc. would help me in drawing the character accurately.

Here are images of the averages of faces of Caucasian and Indian women.
They are based on images of individuals of an older age than what you're looking for, but should still give a good idea of the major lineaments of women at younger ages:

On the left is an average of young Caucasian women made using this online tool.
In the middle are the two pre-averaged 'portraits' of both Indian and South-Indian women.*
On the far right is an average based on the middle two made in Photoshop.

Impressions:

The shape of the face of Caucasian women is more elongated.
All facial features of Indian women are larger in relation to the size of their faces.
The mouths of Indian women are more plump: their lower lips especially are more pronounced, and the corners of their mouths lie deeper (and/or their cheeks are rounder).

As a side note, I'd like to suggest that in conjunction with (or instead of) this rather theoretical approach, you might want to draw live portraits of individuals. This way, you'll learn to see the individual characteristics, and keep your observations (and artistic interpretation) from being pre-informed.

* source
- These photographs are part of research conducted by Drs. Lisa DeBruine and Ben Jones at the Face Research Lab at the University of Glasgow Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology.
- Rather than downsizing all images, I've enlarged the three images on the right to be of a size similar to the left most image. This might misleadingly emphasize a sharpness of the features of the Caucasian average.


Keeping thermoplastic from sticking to models Sometimes, when making things with thermoplastic (I have Thibra; the other big brand here is Worbla), I want to be able to use other objects as models (like if I need a small cone I could wrap it around a sharp pencil, or if I'm making something that needs to fit onto something else, or making a mold of an existing object, etc.).
But about 90% of the time it ends up sticking very strongly to the model I've molded it around. I've had this problem with an unexpected range of materials, including (but not limited to): aluminum (polished and rough), mild steel, stainless steel, tool steel, brass, copper, wood (of varying porosity, from walnut to maple), ABS, PVC, LDPE, HDPE (the most surprising), polypropylene, polyester resins, polyurethane resins, polyurethane finishes, and on and on.
Name it, and I've probably made a hot gooey mess on it. With thermoplastic. (You're disgusting, get your mind out of the gutter!)
So that's a long way of asking: How do I keep this stuff from sticking to the models?
I've tried removing it in various stages of cooling, but, it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I've never used the stuff, but it has a reputation for sticking to everything.  Have you tried a release agent?  I'll offer some speculation on what should probably work (the first things I would try in your situation).

If the shape of the object lends itself, wrap it with oven parchment paper.  That's impregnated with silicone, takes high temperatures, and not much sticks to it.
If you aren't worried about preserving surface detail, dilute silicone caulk with mineral spirits to a thin paint consistency and coat the object with it.  Give it a few days to completely dry and cure.  It won't be very durable, but you may get several uses out of it before you need to peel off the coating and apply a fresh one.
Dust the object surface with powdered graphite or talc.
Coat the object with WD40 unless the solvents will attack the object, in which case, just apply a coating of oil or a thin layer of petroleum jelly (Vaseline).
If the object won't melt or distort, dip it in melted wax and use a hot air gun to melt off all but a very thin layer of the wax.  The hot plastic may melt more of the wax or bond with it, but it should still release from the object.
If you can't get a decent layer of graphite or talc to cover the object, coat the surface with WD40 or oil.  Use that film to hold a good dusting of graphite or talc.

You may need to try a few different things to find what works best on a particular surface.
Another thing that might help release it: stick it in the freezer overnight.  The plastic will become less elastic and you might also get differential shrinkage of the plastic and the object.


Information regarding skin friendly wax candle additives I am experimenting with making paraffin candles that can be dripped on skin for use in BDSM. I already know about the different waxes and the logistics of casting wax candles, but I have been finding some conflicting information about some of the additives.

Is Vybar or its clones likely to cause some kind of skin irritation? Not talking about burns or allergies as these are issues that users are aware of.
Does Vybar or its clones raise the melting point of the wax or not?
Does stearin / stearic acid corrode a silicon mould or not?
Does the increased opacity from Vybar or stearin affect the colour saturation of wax dyes?

As far as I'm aware for BDSM purposes you want to get the melting point low enough to not burn the skin, but high enough for the recipient to have intense sensations.
Paraffin and soy wax are common choices because their melting points (46 - 68 °C / 115 - 154 °F) are already lower than that of other kinds of wax.
Skin irritation
Stearic acid is used in many cosmetics, so the risk is very low.
The Safety Data Sheet of Vybar contains no indication that it can irritate the skin (apart from the obvious risk of burns). If you're interested in other additives, explicitely search for the Safety Data Sheet.
Both substances are mainly used to increase how much fragrant oil the wax can retein. It's those essential oils that often irritate the skin, not the additive itself.
Corrosion
I've seen several sites that claim that Stearin / stearic acid does corrode "flexible molds" (source). However, the term "flexible molds" means silicone, rubber, plastic and latex. It's true that latex moulds are vulnerable to stearic acid (source), but they won't dissolve over night. The corrosion would take several casts and progress slowly.
Some people probably misunderstood that or remembered incorrectly and started claiming that stearin corrodes silicone molds as well. But silicone for mold making is rather resistant to most chemicals, including acids. This site claims that stearin corrodes metal molds (which makes sense to me from a chemical perspective) and advises to use silicone molds instead.
Coloration
Both stearin and Vybar increase the opacity of the candle (you need to add less color to reach the same saturation). But they create different looks in candles: while Vybar reduces mottling, stearin increases it (source).
I honestly don't have practical experience with these and cannot help you any more. Hopefully a user with practical experience will share those with you.
Melting point
This is where it gets complicated and contradictory.
Pure paraffin wax melts at about 46 - 68 °C / 115 - 154 °F.
Pure stearin melts at 60 - 70 °C / 140 - 158 °F. This site claims that adding stearin to paraffin candles rises the melting point even to 80°C / 176°F. It also makes the candles burn slower and drip less (something you may not want).
There are 2 types of Vybar: Vybar 103 intended for hard wax and Vybar 260 intended for container candles and softer wax (like paraffin). Both increase the melting point of the wax (source), but I couldn't find any objective numbers. I assume that Vybar 103 increases the melting point more than the 260, but I have no proof.
Summary
Both additives mainly increase the amount of fragrant oil the candle wax can retain, but they also increase the melting point and seem to make the wax harder and drip less. Certain fragrant oils can irritate the skin and cause allergic contact dermatitis. I would probably forego the additive and light additional scented candles instead of scenting the "active" dripping candles too much.


Re-bending a bent plastic figure to stand up straight I have a plastic miniature person (an archer) from a board game, but she was unfortunately bent either during packaging or during initial molding. She leans WAY over...

I put her in a bowl of very hot water which made her pliable. I straightened her out and put a clamp on her to keep her in the right position while she cooled down. She seemed to stay upright, but after an hour or two she has migrated back down to her bent position.

How can I bend her to be straight and keep her there permanently?

Try to repeat the procedure, but bend it in the opposite direction, until it cools down (or even more, to be sure). While it will tend to come back, it might stop (close) to the vertical position.

You may need to repeat for a few times. Do not force it too much, as it can break.


How to draw mandala when I intend to color it with pencil colors? Mandala drawings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala

Color pencils are not strong enough to hide the normal pencil. Example: Orange color pencil will not hide the underlying HB graphite pencil outline.

How to draw mandala when I intend to color it with pencil colors?

I can only think of a few options.

Don't worry about masking or hiding the sketch. Make bold, dark outlines on purpose. Sketch the pattern you want in graphite, then draw the lines very dark (in graphite, or even ink). This does give the final result something of a "coloring book" feel, which may not be what you're wanting.
Sketch outlines in the color of their section, or in some very light color (e.g. yellow, pale blue), instead of with graphite. This requires more planning of what colors will go in what part of the pattern.
Draw the outlines dark and bold, and put a second sheet of paper over top to trace those dark lines in the lighter colors of the final drawing. This is easier if you have a light board, but still possible even on a tabletop with sufficiently thin paper.


How can I make my old acrylic paints dissolve and flow freely again? I have El Greco acrylic paints, purchased and opened some 1.5 years ago, of course, I open them only when I use them. But now I observe that water is not an efficient solvent for them any more. I don't manage to arrive at delicate, soft, liquid, flowing paint easily. Should I use some additives or some other solvent for my acrylics?

Of course, at the end I managed to liven up my paints but the flow is still not so smooth and liquid as expected.

I suspect that you are encountering a problem with the clumping of additives or fillers, because in a closed tube it is rather impossible to have acrylic dry. You could try to regrind them with a heavy glass pigment grinder, which would probably help to disperse the clumps. Instead of water also try adding a bit of acrylic medium or binder.


Role of a ball in a fountain pen's converter The Parker Vector Mettalix Fountain Pen has a ball in its converter.
The Camlin Elegante Fountain Pen does not have a ball in its converter.
(I have both these pens.)
What is the role of a ball in a fountain pen's converter? What happens when the converter doesn't have it?

I don't have that particular pen, so I can't view the ball you're referring to.  However, I suspect what it is.
Fountain pens work by capillary action; a minute amount of ink is allowed to flow to the nib.  If you tried to refill the pen at that rate, it would take forever (about the time it would take you to use up the ink in the pen by writing).  The converter contains some form of valve that opens when you suck ink into it, and seals when you're not refilling.
A ball is a common mechanism for a valve.  Something springy holds it against an opening so the opening is normally sealed.  Negative pressure inside during refilling pulls the ball away so ink can enter quickly.  However, other kinds of valve mechanisms can be used, or if there is a ball, it may just not be in a visible location in some converters.
If the ball in your converter is free to move around in the tank, then it likely serves a different function.  If you fill the pen with pigment-based ink, there might be a tendency for the ink components to settle or separate if the pen is stored full.  The ball could serve the same function as the mixing ball in a spray can.  Just changes in the pen's orientation when writing and putting the pen down or in a pocket would move the ball through the ink and keep the ink uniformly mixed.


How can I separate and recombine yarn? Is there an easy way to separate (unply?) yarn into smaller "strands" and recombine (reply?) them in different combinations? For example, if I have a blue yarn and a red yarn, is there an easy way to break up each into separate strands and twist them together to create yarn that has both blue and red twisted together (without being any thicker (heavier?) than the original yarn)? Is there some sort of mechanical device or technique that can make this easier? I sometimes weave small tapestries (as I think you would call them) and have seen people online weave with multiple full pieces of yarn at once (as if they were one piece), and I would like a similar effect without having to use two full pieces of yarn at once (although I suppose I could just use two "half-pieces" from separated yarn).

First of all, even when you can split the yarn, it will be easier to buy thinner yarn or use the yarn you have in alternate turns, mixing the colours by using them next to each other. You also control the use of colours better that way.
To test whether the yarn can be split at all, take a short length and take it apart. If the different parts split off easily you can go on and try a longer bit.
Often the yarn has fibres sticking out and getting caught in the other strand in the process of twining and winding.
To split big lengths you will need to spin the boll of yarn at the same speed as you un-twine, or it needs to be allowed to spin freely while you take it apart without putting any stress on the more delicate strands.
While you untwist and split the yarn you need to wind the two (or more) stands at the same speed and the same time.
While I am sure you can make a machine to do the work, I doubt it will be easy to buy one, I do not remember ever having seen or heard about one.
I would go with the advice my textile-crafts teacher told me back when we were weaving with colours. Do not try to work with mixed colours. Do one or two strands of one colour and then one or more of the other. Giving you the same visual mix of the colours but more control on how they work.


Can you use wall and ceiling texture as plaster slab for drying and wedging clay? I have a couple bags of wall and ceiling texture that were left in the home that I purchased. I was curious if I could pour a slab of this and use it like the plaster we use in ceramics. I would hate for these bags to go to waste.

The texture powder is very different from plaster.  Plaster changes its chemical form all the way through to become a solid mass of material.  It hardens while it's wet and then dries out.
There are probably differences in formulation for different texture powders, but a common commercial formulation is mainly finely crushed limestone that makes up the bulk of the material.  It has a small amount of a clay that gels to give it a workable consistency that will hold a shape, and a small amount of starch as a binder.
So the mixture is basically mineral powder that's held together only by a small amount of binder that is soluble in water.  Both the starch and clay will lose their ability to hold stuff together when they get wet.  It's stable enough to take latex paint without falling apart, but it won't hold up to being wet for any length of time.  Also, once it gets wet and starts to fall apart, drying it won't give it back whatever strength it had.
It hardens initially by drying out.  It's designed to be a thin layer.  If you were to create a thick slab of it, it would take a very long time to dry all the way through, and wouldn't have any strength until it's fully dry.  If you wanted to make a slab of it, the practical way would be to build it up in thin layers, letting each layer dry.
That said, if the alternative is discarding it, you might as well experiment.  You could try to use it to reduce the amount of plaster.  Trying to mix more than a small amount of texture mix into the plaster would degrade the plaster.  But you could create a thin slab of it (in layers), and then put a thinner than normal slab of plaster on top.  The plaster might keep the texture layers from getting too wet.  The plaster might not bond well to the texture slab, though, so they could separate with hard use.
Plaster is pretty inexpensive stuff.  You are likely to waste more money in other materials experimenting than the cost of the plaster that the texture powder would replace.  If the texture powder packages are still in new condition, and discarding them would bother you, a suggestion: some big hardware chains will let you "return" it for a store credit long after the normal return period, and without a receipt, if they can restock it (it means they order a little less from their supplier, and you will buy something else in the store).


Will there be a noticeable offset if knitting rib from an unravelled edge? Background:

I'm in the process of knitting a jumper 'freehand', i.e. without a pattern.  I started from the bottom edge, knit in the round up to the armholes, split the knitting, continued to the top of the shoulders, and then did a three-needle bind off to join them.

Scenario:

The problem is that now I've got that far, I can clearly see a flaw in the earliest part of the jumper which wasn't apparent before.  For the first ball of yarn, I was knitting much more loosely, so the first few inches bell out a bit, sort of like a skirt.

The obvious solution is to unravel the offending portion and re-knit.  I have plenty of yarn, so wastage isn't an issue.  Normally I make socks or lace, so large pieces like this are less familiar to me and I did a bit of research to make sure I don't mess it up.  It seems I have two main options.

Option 1:
Cut the bottom piece off just above where it flares out, re-knit the entire bottom portion as a separate piece, and graft it back on.  In one sense this is the simplest since it involves repeating the steps I've already done, except for the grafting.  I really don't like grafting, and the yarn I'm using is very fluffy and hard to read the stitches, so I can see this being a real nightmare.

Option 2:
Again cut off the bottom piece, but just pick up the raw stitches and knit downwards until it's long enough.  I prefer this idea, but I know that this technique means that the new knitting will be offset by half a stitch.  The pattern is k2p2 rib, and I'm worried that there will be a visible line at the join.  I did try knitting a swatch to test it and I couldn't see a noticeable join, but like I said the yarn is very fluffy and it hides a lot of the detail so it's possible it would only be visible after I finished and it was hanging down, just like the original problem.

I've done a lot of searching for the answer to this, and it's possible that I'm missing some search terms which would help find it, but so far I've had no success.  The closest I've found can be seen in this article: How to undo your knitting - it does call out the problem of the offset stitches but doesn't specifically address how rib will behave in this situation.

(Sorry if this question is too long, I wanted to be sure it was clear enough.)

You're correct in that the fluffiness of the yarn and the colour of the jumper should hide the offset to some degree. Most people won't pick up on the change unless they are looking really closely (and really -- who does that?).

TECHknitting did a series on grafting that addressed ways to disguise this particular dilemma. If you haven't already read it, you may find it helpful. Between these tricks and the yarn itself, no one will ever know :)


Is there any way to salvage a broken needle (discrete form-factor, hard to replace)? My wife broke a needle, which apparently is not a conventional one you could easily buy a replacement for.  Not surprisingly, a search online reveals the general consensus would be to simply replace it, which is no help to me.  I'm pretty skeptical about any adhesive being able to hold for very long, but I was wondering if I might be able to just solder and sand it back down?  Any tips or ideas?

Most sewing needles are steel of some sort (possibly stainless), which doesn't solder with ordinary electronics or plumbing methods. If you have the kit and experience, it might be possible to braze the steel, but only if the break is in the right place. You need somewhere to build up material, so you can't treat it like superglue. You could of course file away material before and after.

If it's a fairly big needle and I was desperate, I'd make a jig to hold it (clamping a cork to the machine should do) and use a very little bit of slow epoxy between the broken faces. Look for one that tells you not to handle the part for several hours, and pay attention to the "full strength is reached in" instruction. You may be able to build up the join on the outside afterwards.  This might be enough to finish the job, but it's unlikely to be a long term fix.


Replace hat strap with something softer The rope that came with this hat is irritating to wear with the hat.

I would like something softer.

Can someone help me?

The first thing to decide is whether you want softer cord or something flat? It seems to thread through holes quite easily so it's just a matter of finding soft cord, not too thick, if you just want a cord.

If you want something flat and soft, threading a neoprene glasses strap onto the existing cord (or two short lengths or cord with stop knots) should work well.


What are the equivalents between US crochet stitch terms and UK terms? I have heard that the names of stitches are different between the US and UK.

If I have a pattern from the UK, how do I convert it to the US terms or vice versa?

Fortunately, if you are familiar with reading charted patterns, the icons are the same, so the only issue is if you don't know how to read charts or if you prefer to read written out patterns.
A couple of the terms are the same - "chain stitch" and "slip stitch". Most of the rest can be somewhat easy to remember if you can remind yourself that the UK has no "single crochet", so most of the numbers are incremented up one in the UK version:
US Term ----------------------- UK Term
chain ----------------------- chain
slip stitch ----------------- slip stitch
single crochet -------------- double crochet
half double crochet --------- half treble crochet
double crochet -------------- treble crochet
treble crochet -------------- double treble crochet
double treble crochet ------- triple treble crochet
front post double crochet --- raised front treble crochet
back post double crochet ---- raised back treble crochet
fasten off/bind off --------- cast off
skip ------------------------ miss
gauge ----------------------- tension
yarn over ------------------- yarn over hook


What is a good technique for binding a saddle stitch booklet with a hard-ish cover? I'm working on a small saddle stitched booklet. The concept involves a relatively hard-ish, see-through cover. The first time around I used 36 pages of 120gsm offset paper in a single booklet. I simply folded a sheet of polypropylene and sewed everything together. This way the finished product doesn't stay completely closed/flat.

Is there a way I could execute this that would result in a more elegant product; one that stays closed? I'm thinking something where I sew the pages together, then make and/or attach the harder cover somehow differently. How might I accomplish my goal?

When using 120 grams paper, it's best to use several signatures/booklets of 4 pages each. Then you can sew these together using a bookbinding technique (I like coptic binding - YouTube has great tutorials).

If you don't want to use a different bookbinding technique, you can make your booklet flatter by folding all the folded pieces separately and making sure you have a sharp fold before putting everything together.


How do I get a blur (blended) effect in pencil drawings? When drawing pictures with a pencil, I often want to create a more or less solid darker colour in some region. It's easy to shade an area so that it appears a solid dark colour from a distance, e.g. by hatching or cross-hatching, but I'd like to be able to blur the lines in a hatched or cross-hatched area so that the darkness is uniform even when looking at the picture close up.

In the past I achieved this using a special eraser I had. As an eraser it was very bad, since instead of rubbing out pencil marks it blurred them and made them spread darkly across a bigger region. This, however, made it perfect for creating uniformly dark areas in pencil drawings.

Now that I don't have that eraser any more (or at least, I don't know where it is to lay my hands on it), I'd like to know a better method.

After shading an area with pencil strokes, how can I blur these strokes together to get a uniformly dark region?

The blurring you're talking about sounds like blending, which is the technique of evening out or gradating values and colors.

Fingers

Probably the simplest way of blending your regions together, whether matching values or values you want to merge together, is by rubbing it with your finger tip! You'll want to make sure your fingertip is clean, and oil-free, so that you don't smudge it with something else. Then, you simply rub. The direction you rub can have an effect.

If you have two parallel lines and rub following their direction, you won't get much blending between them. Instead, you'll end up just blurring the lines, instead of having sharp edges. This technique is often used to blur the curved lines when shading spheres, on of the most common shading practice exercises for beginners.
Blending at angles away from the lines will great a smudge of sorts that causes a gradation from the lines value to a light grey. The closer the lines, the less likely you'll run into greys. You can see this by just drawing a dark area on a blank page and smearing away, to see how your pencil and pencil pressure have affected it.

You need to avoid back-and-forth strokes if you want a gradation. Always start your stroke from the darkest value and move outward.
You can also blend in circles or back and forth, which may be the most helpful for trying to get a single area to be one value that's smoothed out, so the strokes don't show.

Tools

Now, there's also tools made specifically for this, called tortillons and blending stumps.

They're made of tightly-wound paper. Tortillons being less tight than stumps, likely hollow, and you can clearly see the layers of paper, like the tip of a grease pencil. Blending stumps are so tightly wound that the seem more like a solid chunk of the paper with a point sanded off.

Left: Pic courtesy rapidfireart.com.
Right: The top is the back end of the tortillon, where you you can see how it's layered and hollow. The back end of the stump is more stump!

These give you much more precision over the blending. They come in many sizes, which makes them more adaptable than the five sizes of your fingers.

A plus to these is that as they blend, they tend to pick up more of the graphite dust in their fibers, evenly spreading it around the area and getting dust off so you don't need to use a brush or air. Your finger will end up absorbing the graphite or charcoal, but will layer it and compress it from the pressure. These can lead to you smudging dark areas of light ones accidentally if you forget to clean up.

The downside is that the tortillons don't really clean up, so if they get too much graphite built up, you'll only want to use them for matching values. To counter this, most tortillons you can purchase have the ability to peel away the outside layer. Failing that, you can use a sandpaper pad, similar to what you can use to sharpen a pencil, to rub off the rough edge.

In my experience, tortillons, both bought and homemade, tend to give a softer blend than stumps. I've made my own tortillons by wrapping up old drawing paper (possibly with a bad sketch on the inside) and taping the end seam. These homemade tortillons have given me the softest blends, as the dull point often frays.

My homemade tortillon, not a weird cigarette. Notice the curved, feathery tip.

Here's a comparison of the four tools I mentioned, using an HB pencil:

The first column is blending a solid area, mostly back and forth (not against the strokes, which would blend more evenly).

The stump and homemade tool hide the strokes the best, in this case.

The second column is a few tight lines, stroking along them.

Notice the finger smudged well outside it (oops!), and the others were more precise. However, the homemade one had much "fuzzier" edges, which can be nice.

The last column is gradating out from dark.

As you go down the column, you'll see each tool, in this case, was better and blending from the dark line, so there's not so much of a hard edge between the dark and light.
The other thing to notice is that the strokes are almost invisible on the finger patch, and much less visible on the homemade stick.

I didn't blend any two values together for this demo. You will probably not just lay down a single dark line and blend outward, like my last column. Instead, you'd create a gradation yourself by using pencil pressure and different hardness pencils, then blend those values together with your tool.


Modding lens cap on camera? After i installed a filter adapter and a filter on my fuji x70 camera, the lens part is now longer so the lens cap no longer hold itself on the camera.

Please refer to the picture, there is a lens cap holder but given that the lens is now longer the cap doesnt reach the holder.

I am thinking of attach some foam tape inside the lens cap so it fits better.

Any better idea would be appreciated. It should be soft so that it doesnt scratch the outler lens case.

Many thanks in advance

I do agree with needing a layer of something on the inside of the lens cap.
But it needs to be rather firm, not squizy or easily distorted. Most foams would just not do the job.

Sometimes you can get hold of professional packaging foams that are smooth and rather sturdy on the surface and allow compression from the top (when the sheet lays flat on the table.) Those would do the job if you can get the edge to sit wider than the outside of the filter.

In my view easier is using sticky tape on the inside rim of the filter. You can add that one layer at a time and cut to the right dimensions, so not sticking out of the cap, when you have enough layers.
Many kinds of sticky tape will do, I would go for the paper kind that people use when painting the house, which is crepe like in structure.
It gives a better hold than most of the plastic tapes and it is kinder, as in not scratching the outside of the filter.

Whatever tape you use, add one layer at a time and test between adding.
Make sure you take away any glue that may be pushed out from under or between the layers of tape.

If you find you need several layers and having added them one at a time made the thing untidy, take all out and apply the number of layers you ended up using. Specially overlap or gaps where the layer meets going round it likely to mesh up tidy fit.
You might find it easier to stick a layer or a few layers of tape on the outer ring of the filter.

The easier option is to go to a camera shop and get a new lens cap from them, which has worked several times for me. For use of filters and for lost lenscaps.


How Can I Create the Metal Comb of a Music Box? I want to design and create my own music box by hand. I'm looking for a way to create the metal comb/teeth. It would need to be a thin but sturdy metal in order for it to make tones.

I'm looking for a cheap way of making these, as I would need to make many of these as I continuously tweak the design until the correct notes are achieved.

I plan to ask separate questions for the other components of the music box in the future.

In order for the "tines" on your comb to ring brightly, you must begin with spring steel. You may use a flat piece of steel and cut the teeth into it or use a long length of quality steel bar such as a metal yard rake.
I used a length of sewer cleaning flat bar--cheap and very good steel. I simply cut it into 15 pieces about 3 1/2" long. You must secure these onto or between heavy steel blocks. Cut at an angle to make each tooth a little shorter than the last and bring them each to a point for plucking. Using a tune meter ($10.00 at any guitar store), pluck the shortest tooth and grind or sand off a little of its surface on the back until it is the correct note. Follow in order until each tooth is in tune. Remember: making each tooth either thinner or shorter raises the pitch of that tooth.
Don't let anyone tell you this will not work! I have built four machines so far with great results. Go for it.


How to pick an embroidery machine I'm looking at buying an embroidery machine (or more specifically my partner is). We only have one real hard requirement:

  The machine must be capable to accepting a pattern from our computer that we can make out of a photograph/image.

I'm sure we'll need some software to convert the images, but otherwise how should we pick a machine. What are good figures of merit for a sewing and embroidery machine (And why do the prices vary so vastly from around  £300 to £10,000)?

For example when choosing a processor for a computer a good figure of merit for scientific computing is the number of threads multiplied by the clock speed. It doesn't have to be any fancy combination of specification, but I can't really tell the difference between the low end and the high end so I'm missing something!

It isn't the machine selection that matters so much as the software available for a particular machine and the ability of that software to digitize a photographic image into the the correct form.

My sister has a couple machines with which I've assisted in the software on multiple instances. One in particular was the conversion of a photograph of a fluffy dog to an embroidery file.

The software supplied with the machine varied depending on the price paid. She purchased a more-deluxe version and it had the image digitizing feature.

Be advised that photographs are quite complex and can result in thousands of stitches of various colors. For a single needle machine it will also result in that many changes of colors of threads. Obviously, the number of thread changes will be reduced by a factor directly associated by the needle count.

Resolution is going to impact your job size as well. The lower resolution image will "print" faster, with fewer color changes.

The aforementioned fluffy dog was reduced to black and white and became somewhat blocky, but was still recognizable as the dog of the person receiving the gift.

The price differences for one machine to the next will have to do with the capacity of the computer controlled hoop, the overall speed, the additional features (wifi, display size, etc) and the number of needles.

Our area (USA) has many sales representatives within retail shops who are frequently happy to sell machines and talk them up a good bit. You will also find it valuable to frequent the forums specific to a machine you are considering and view the problems, questions and solutions others have posted.


How do I get reddish scorch marks with a laser cutter? I'm trying to burn some nametags, but I'm getting inconsistent results.

In the image below, the tag on the right, with the reddish scorch marks, is what I'd like.

The tags on the left, with the uglier black marks, is what I don't want. The different burns come from fiddling with power/speed settings.

In both instances I've used "standard makerspace plywood", so there may be a material difference.

Which leads to my questions:

What wood will give red-hued scorch marks?
What settings will maximize such marks?

The scorch marks in the images provided appear to be condensed wood sap, common with laser engraving. They can be completely eliminated outside of the burn area by using a mask, typically ordinary masking tape. I use sign cutter transfer paper high tack as a mask as it requires less laser power for burn-through.

The scorch marks outside the engraved area is wood sap. The coloration inside the burn area is also wood sap, but is affected by the type of wood.

I've engraved laser-grade plywood, which has a "laser-friendly" concentration of binding glue holding the layers. Using wood that is engineered for routers does not exclude its suitability for laser use, but does not guarantee results.

Another product commonly used with laser cutter/engravers is MDF, which is effectively sawdust and glue. The glue burns/vaporizes and condenses as well.

The type of wood will play a large factor in the coloration. It may be necessary to experiment with various species of wood samples in order to find the red hue you seek.

Lower travel speed of the laser along with appropriate power settings for the desired depth of engraving will provide more sappy burns. Reducing the nozzle air flow with an add-on valve will increase the sap deposited. If you reduce nozzle air flow, do not reduce it to the point where the vapors will travel into the nozzle and fog the lens.


What material is used for inflatables? Inflatable toys, chairs and beds, kids castles, pools, stuff like that.

I understand and seen people use ordinary polypropylene? trashbag sheets or tablecloths for inflatables where the pieces can be joined by putting a paper between a hot iron and the sheets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THhGG1s-6sw

But from my experience that material is not thick enough or durable enough, it's very easy to get holes on it. Not that commercial kiddie pools or chairs are bulletproof but there's no denying they are more durable.

I'm interested what the real big inflatables are made of.

One chinese supplier said "PVC Tarpaulin" or "600D Polyester Oxford Fabric" is used for their large inflatable pools but I don't know if it's too much, too fragile and cheap or there are easier sourceable or better alternatives at the same price range.
By the way tarpaulin pieces can be welded with ordinary heatgun and a roller.

Wikipedia page on inflatable castles mentions "PVC or vinyl and nylon" but those are loose terms describing many kinds of materials containing one of the above materials. For example PVC can be used to describe a rigid pvc plastic sheet, flexible pvc foam or pvc tarpaulin.

PVC and vinyl are both abreviations for PolyVinylChloride. Inflatable float toys and furniture were normally made of plasticised PVC film. In the past the plasticiser tended to leach out giving an intense odour when the item was new and resulting in toys losing their "bounce" after 1 season of use. Modern toys seem to be made of better quality materials.

PVC can be joined using heat but it is difficult and most commercial production is done using HF (radio frequency electric) welding. For hobby purposes solvent welding (glue) may be considered. It is slow though and requires constant pressure while it sets.

It is possible that other polymers may replace PVC, there has been a push to reduce chlorine use in plastics.

The large inflatables like "bouncy castles" are almost certainly made from polyurethane reinforced with a cloth typically nylon. Since these are usually supplied with air constantly they need not be airtight, and may be joined by stitching. Polyurethane can also be joined by HF welding where airtight joins are needed.


Are there any cheap tools available for printing custom vinyl stickers? I'm looking for a way to print my own custom vinyl stickers at home and don't want to spend the money for an expensive printer exclusively for printing on vinyl.

Are there other solutions for printing vinyl stickers that don't require purchasing a specific printer?

I don't know your definition of cheap, but the Silhouette Cameo vinyl cutter allows you to replace the cutting blade with a colored marker so that instead of cutting the vinyl, you end up drawing on it with computer precision.

Alternatively, you can feed the vinyl sheets which are made for that cutter through an inkjet to get some image on it and then after it dries, coat it in a light layer of clear coat spray paint to keep it from smearing.


Can you use acrylic gesso for oil paint? I recently bought a bottle for acrylic gesso. I had enough practice with acrylics, now I want to switch to oil paint. Will the acrylic gesso work if I use it to prepare a board or a piece of wood?

The short answer is yes, you can.

Longer answer is that there is a some uncertainty around using an acrylic gesso for oil, but it's clear that doing it right makes a real difference here. If you take the appropriate steps and properly prepare for oils, it should be fine.

The Artist's Network has a really good article on the topic and the essentials really boil down getting the right level of tooth in the final result so as to maximize the ability of the oil to adhere to the surface.


Name of pressure button lock used in ring boxes I am trying to make a ring box and I am having trouble finding these type of button locks:

This is a type of button lock usually made in brass used in manufacturing ring boxes and an example of its use can be seen here

What is the name of this kind of button lock? I cannot find it selling anywhere because I have no idea what that is called, nor do I have a clue where to look for something like this.
Edit: I've made some progress, but still stuck at locating such a supply of this item. This kind of push button latch, hasp, clasp, clip lock, snap fastener is frequently used in metallic pill boxes and similar items.

There does not seem to be a specific name for this exact type of hardware.  It is referred to generically as a "push button catch" or "push button latch".  I found a number of examples on small boxes like jewelry boxes and ring boxes; some were all brass and some had buttons of other materials.
All of the examples I found were identified as "vintage" or "antique", and most dated from the late 1800's to early 1900's.  It looks like this was a popular style of catch back then.
I wasn't able to find new catches for sale at general sites like Amazon, the big arts & crafts stores, or sites that cater to craftsmen, like woodworker sites, where you can usually find unusual or specialty hardware.
However, I did find some boxes with that style of catch that are currently being made and sold, so perhaps a cheap version of the catch is being made in China (if that's the case, you would typically need to buy in bulk).  For example, Push Button Single Ring Box - IntercomUSA is sold in lots of 12 at $2.42 per box for the entire box, so the bare catch that went into it must have been dirt cheap (not brass).
Luxury Vintage Design Soft Leather Ring Box Gift Box Turquoise | Etsy looks like a higher quality, handmade box.  It might be using the same catches, or even starting with something like the cheap boxes in the previous example and covering them.  You could try contacting the seller and see if they will tell you where they get their catches (or maybe they will sell you some of theirs if they had to buy in bulk).
I didn't investigate Alibaba.  That isn't typically a source for small quantities.  Another idea would be to search sites like eBay or Etsy for old boxes in bad shape that contain that kind of catch (or cheap new boxes like the first link).  You could cannibalize the catch from the box, or strip the box down to its skeleton and make a new box from it.


Are there toxic concerns with using a heatgun/torch on plastic/acrylic? I am looking to bend a piece of plastic/acrylic (not really sure what I'm getting yet), for a craft project I am working on.

I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkpqfcg1W_o

where they heat and bends a piece of acrylic, with a propane, or some other type of torch. To me, it seems like a really bad idea using a torch. He is also inside, which also seems like a really bad idea, unless he had a very good ventilation system...

I was thinking of using a hair-dryer, but I'm not sure if it would get hot enough, as well as doing this outside.

I was curious if this seems like a bad idea? I would assume with proper ventilation I should be fine? I also do think that the torch overheated the acrylic in the video, which would not be a problem with a hair-dryer.

Yes, if you overheat it, most thermo-plastics will give off dangerous gases when heated above a certain temperature. For bending, you need somewhere between 100C - 170C (212°F - 338°F). Cast acrylic needs higher temperatures than extruded (due to the higher molecular weight), and thicker sheet need slightly higher temperature than thinner.

But do not go above 170C (338°F) for extruded acrylic or 190C (374°F) for casted. Just start off low and heat it slowly until the material will bend as you need it. It's only the bubbling and scorching caused by excessive heating that gives off the nasty fumes when burnt.

From my post on Lifehacks — Working with acrilyc/plexiglass, electric strip heaters are generally recommended (depending on what you are trying to do), but any electric indirect infrared source can be improvised for occasional use. BBQ starters, heat guns, hair dryers, and even light bulbs have been used, but toaster ovens are a bit more problematic.

Overall, low and slow is the key. You have to have a controllable heating source, so be careful.


Do I have to lower the foot and needle when my sewing machine is not in use? My mom insists than whenever I don't use a sewing machine, I have to put a piece of scrap fabric under the sewing foot, lower the foot and move the needle all the way down. This is supposedly true for all machines of all manufacturers.
When asked for the reason, she couldn't answer me. "It just is that way".
I can understand the advice when moving the machine to avoid accidentally bending the sewing foot and needle, but otherwise this doesn't make any sense to me.
Is it true (or was it true in the past) that you should lower the foot and needle of a sewing machine when it's not in use? For what reason?

This is akin to the advice, "Don't run with scissors".  As rebusB points out, it isn't a necessity for the machine to work.  It's because undesirable things could potentially happen, which can be easily avoided.
The undesirable things aren't limited to accidental damage when moving the machine.  The machine could be bumped or experience mechanical shock from things that happen when you are not intentionally moving it.  When the needle is all the way down, not just the needle, but the internal mechanism, is the most protected.
It also protects the user and their fabric from accidental damage.  People tend to focus on the specific thing they're doing and have minimal awareness of the surrounding environment.  If they aren't paying attention, they could accidentally snag the fabric or potentially stick themselves on an exposed needle.  If the needle is left covered inside the machine, the user has to explicitly move it into position to start sewing, which makes the state of the machine something they are focused on.
The odds of any of the possible undesirable things happening are low, and the results aren't catastrophic.  Still, they can easily be avoided by doing something that takes no real time or effort, so why not use the safest practices.


Sewing machine problem: machine won't tighten the loops under the material A year ago I loaned my Brother XL-2600i to my kid's school, and only now have I tried using it again. Yep: they messed it up. The thread tangles up around the bobbin, and it makes grinding noises.

Disassembling it, I found a broken needle inside, under the bobbin case. I removed that, cleaned it all out, and still it isn't functioning smoothly. So, I'm guessing something got bent when the needle whacked into it and broke.

Trying to figure out what got bent, I disassembled everything, trying to find out what isn't working smoothly. When I removed the bobbin case, I revealed the drum with the hook that holds the bobbin, and turns under it (the black hook is visible on the right under the white plastic piece):

Now the drum spins smoothly, and there's no more grinding noises (not surprising, as there's not a lot there). However, if I replace the bobbin case, when I run the sewing machine the bobbin case rocks back and forth (moving about ½ mm each way):

It looks as if when the hook moves under the bobbin case it pushes the case back and forth.

Here's the question: is this normal motion of the bobbin case? Or should the bobbin case be truly motionless, and this shows that my problem is with the case and/or the underlying drum?

(I'd also be happy with any other suggestions of what might be going wrong.)

Edit: I'm adding some more information that led to the solution. When malfunctioning, the loops of thread under the cloth being sewn that should have been pulled tight, weren't. Each time I tried sewing I had to pull a wad of these loops out of the mechanism under the sewing platform. Here's a picture of the loops (showing the underside of the cloth):

The bobbin case rocking back and forth is normal! In order to form a stitch, the top thread has to cross under the bobbin thread and back up. It does that by looping all the way around the bobbin case - you're seeing the wiggle room to allow that, called the escapement.

It is hard to say what the problem might be from your question, but has the machine been oiled recently? Cleaning, oiling, and new needle cure a lot of machines.


How can I create a center disk to put under a compass point? I want to get my hands on one of these disks used to rest the sharp point of a compass on so it will not make a hole in the paper. Someone suggested this device in another question, but I can't find one anywhere online.
Is it possible to make one myself, or is there something I can use to act as one of these tools?

For something of this sort, you'll either construct one yourself, or repurpose a common item from another resource. The first thought that popped into my alleged mind is a coaster, something with a reasonably solid bottom layer to prevent puncture and also to provide grip, and an upper layer with material suitable to hold the compass point.
Even a sheet of hobby plywood cut in a shape to meet your needs should work. You'd be able to cut more than one, to have replacements when the point holes are excessive in quantity.
Shelf liner and drawer liner made of an open mesh material that's spongy is found in grocery and big-box stores and can be applied to the bottom of the coaster or coaster substitute to prevent slipping.


How easy to cut a turn light? How easy would it be to cut an item like the one shown below on a laser cutter?
I might want to cut out such an item for Christmas.
As you can see I’m just decorating it with glitter at this point:

Cutting out the truck and trees would be pretty straight forward.  Just find equivalent vector art in whatever format your laser likes.  Online trace and format transformation websites are available to help with that step.

To make the truck and trees stand up, you will need to add a square tab to the bottom of each tire and to the base of the tree's trunk.  This tab will fit into slots which you cut in the disk portion of your project.  Inkscape is a free vector editing software which is good at making these kinds of modifications.

Just make sure to measure the thickness of the wood you are cutting all this from, and use that as the width of the slots you are cutting in disk.  That way, the tabs which you have added to your upright pieces will fit snugly into those slots.


Paint or marker for insulated cup decoration I am looking to decorate one of those “Yeti” brand insulated coffee cups for my brother for Christmas, and I am not sure what to use so that the decoration does not wash off. I have researched a bit but have only found tips for porcelain mugs, and the surface of this cup is more like a lacquered enamel. I will tell him to hand wash but expect that he will want to occasionally use the dishwasher to clean it. Has anyone had any luck with decorating on this type of surface and having it hold up to a lot of touching and washing? If so, how did you do it? Thanks in advance!

You can fire artwork on porcelain and it will be permanent.  Pretty much any other surface won't be.  Even commercially applied artwork wears off and washes off eventually.
If you know the actual surface material/finish (like by contacting the manufacturer), you can optimize the decoration for adhesion and durability.
You can protect the decoration by building up a thick coating (via many light coatings) of a clear finish of some kind over the decoration.  A protective coating also makes optimizing the decoration material less important.  I'm not familiar with that particular cup but if the protected surface extends to the lip you drink from, the coating should be food-safe.
If the coating starts to wear off or gets scratched or chipped, you could reapply it or touch it up while the decoration is still intact.


Why is everyone so secretive about pricing for painting miniatures? I have some Gloomhaven miniatures which I am trying to get painted.  I am trying to find the appropriate price to offer someone to paint these miniatures.

I went to https://www.reddit.com/r/brushforhire/ to try to figure out what this should cost.  Nobody posts prices!  I keep seeing messages like: "I sent you a PM with my prices."

This is super weird!  What's going on here?

In my own personal experience, I have found that sellers do not publicly post their prices in order to remain competitive in the market. If they were to post their prices, a competitor can easily undermine that seller by decreasing their own prices for the same service in order to steal the customer and make the sale.  Furthermore, by not publicly posting prices, it allows a seller to assess each potential commission on a case-by-case basis, as often two projects are never completely identical in terms of time and effort.  Hope this helps!


Where can I buy a new drop-in Bobbin case electric contact spring? On removing the drop-in bobbin case I broke 'the spring'. 'The spring' is pictured well in many articles but;

No explanation of what the 'electrical contact' spring actually does. (Other than a guide to inserting the bobbin correctly).
No name of the part other than 'spring'.
I cannot find it in the parts manual and wonder if anyone can tell me how I could find more details about it, so that I can order this. Sources would also be welcome.

(My machine is 2 weeks old and has produced nothing but birds nests, 2 broken and 1 bent needle!)

The reason you can't find any part numbers or additional information is because that part of the machine is not considered a "user serviceable" area. As you appear to be inexperienced with sewing machines in general, I would strongly recommend that you not attempt to repair this part yourself. There are many sewing machine repair shops available that can do the repair for you.


What is the best way to create a stencil for a large spray paint image? I am looking to create a stencil for the attached image that I edited in Photoshop:

My girlfriend is a big fan of Bowie's work and her birthday is coming up. My plan is to spray paint the image onto a 3'x'2' piece of MDF board. I am looking for the cheapest way to do this. I am open to all suggestions, including making stencils by hand, or purchasing a machine that will cut the stencils for me.

The best first step is to convert your image into a vector format from the current raster image. Vector format images are composed of "descriptions" that could be considered as a road map of the image. As an example, a square can be defined as four points and four lines. The vector image can be easily processed by laser cutter, vinyl cutter and CNC router if you have access to these machines or are in an area with a makerspace.

If you need only one use of the image, you could have it cut in vinyl, apply it to the surface, cast your media and remove the vinyl. I suspect that it would be less expensive to have a stencil cut rather than vinyl.

A quick search for "stencil cutting services" shows me there are many resources in that respect.

If you will be creating this stencil for multi-color results, you will have to have a color separation of the vector image, with registration marks as part of the output. That is to say, you would have a set of openings on one stencil for the black, another stencil for the red.

One critical consideration is the detail and resolution of your image. The image you've posted shows dithering. This is the area where small dots appear in one color with another color as the background. This can be challenging for the cutter, if you do not perform the raster to vector conversion yourself. If you do the conversion, you will also find it challenging.

Consider how your image will appear if the dithering is removed or converted to solid colors. Will that be acceptable? Also consider to search using the terms "david bowie vector image" for a better choice of your stencil.

As an example, I found this as a result of the search:

Note that the edges are crisp and solid. Two colors means a single stencil, more easily accomplished for a reasonable price.

Another caution. This image and almost any you find will have floaters in the stencil. These are sections that have no attachment to the edge of the stencil. Stencil fonts always have the floaters secured to the edges. Art work cannot have the luxury and attain the desired result. As such, it may be necessary to resort to one-shot vinyl, as the stencil remains attached to transfer tape until applied to the surface, keeping the floaters in place until peeled from the surface. Bowie's right eye is an example if you consider that the stencil material is black and the medium is white paint. Curiously, in this example, it would appear that only his eye and nostril are floaters and the rest of the stencil is well secured by the neck area.

Some stencils can be secured by very thin strips of edited lines but have to be treated carefully in handling to avoid breaking those attachment points. In the example image, one could create a connection from the left edge of his eye to the outside and another from the right edge of the eyebrow to the right side, a thin uni-brow.

In your post, you suggest a 3' x 2' poster, which would require tiling of the stencils, I expect. You would be able to find a service that can cut the entire full size, but it might not be inexpensive.

I think the most difficult part of your project would be to find a satisfactory vector image and the remainder is simply money or labor. If you have a good vector image and good stencil material, you could print the image in tiles, cut the vector lines with a hobby knife and create it on your own.

If you create your own, you can also consider to apply spray adhesive to the tiles, attach the uncut stencil to the MDF and begin the cutting process. This also removes the problem of floating sections, as the adhesive will secure them. Some spray adhesive will release relatively easily, as will rubber cement when properly applied. MDF doesn't hold well with such adhesives, but will hold well enough for stencil cutting purposes.


What type of screw head shape is this? I’m trying to search for this screw but cannot find a comparable head shape. I know it’s an Allen/hex, but I’m talking about the overall shape, it’s like a ‘reverse button-head’, or ‘anti-pan head’?
I have searched Amazon and even google images, but that hasn’t been fruitful.

Excuse the sub-par photograph. I think you can see the shape well enough:

Taper Head Bolt seems to be the most technical way I can find it referred as. As common, "Water Bottle Cage Bolts" is used.

Taper cap bolt

M5x12mm Titanium Hex Key Washer Taper Head Bolt Bike MTB Water Bottle Cage Screw

MCTi Mountain MTB Bike Water Bottle Cage Titanium Allen Hex Tapered Head Bolts Screw M5x12mm Washer Head 4 Packed Colorful

Bolts & Fasteners 6pcs Titanium Ti Rainbow M5x20 Bolts Allen Hex Tapered Head Screw

Precision Anodized Water Bottle Cage Bolts

Titanium M5x12mm with Washers Bicycle Water Bottle Cage Hex Bolts Pack of 4

Alloy Water Bottle Cage Bolts


How to become comic strip artist? I have not any artist education, but I'm interested in drawing, especially in comic strip's drawing.
Where can I find information, materials about this drawing for beginners?

Just do it, develop your own style.
You can check out other peoples work and develop your own style from that.
But you will have to develop your own style and not stick in copying others.
When looking at published cartoons you will see a very wide range of styles but also a lot of cartoons that are not well drawn, just enough of a drawing style combined with 'story lines' or 'insight' that makes you come back to the comic every time.

If you are over 13 and not making comic strips all the time, I doubt you will ever be a professional.  When you are 16 or over, send samples of your work to all places that publish comic strips and see if you can get them to answer you.

On the other hand, if you just want to do it for your own fun, you can use all kinds of books or online drawing teaching.

I was going to google a site for you but the search did show up so many results that you will need to do the search yourself so you can select those that attract you or those that you feel are styles you can master.

Start a search with 'drawing comic' and follow one of the sugestions the search sites offers. I followed 'drawing comic book style'
You will get a series of options in videos, in sites that teach you 'all you need to know' as well as sites that combine further options.


Drafting tapered pants for better outer seam pattern matching? I am interested in modifying a straight-legged trousers pattern to achieve a more tapered look. I found a good resource for how to taper pants legs that includes tapering on both the outer and inner seam of the leg:
https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2008/11/02/tapering-or-widening-pants
However, the fabric I am planning to use has prominent vertical stripes and I was wondering if it is possible to taper only on the inner seam so that the outer seam remains straight and cut along the grainline/ parallel to the stripes. This way you don't get intersecting stripes on the outside of the leg, which I think would look better.
Is it possible to do the tapering this way -- along the inner seam only -- or is there some big disadvantage I'm not seeing?

If the fabric is not very stretchy, you'll probably get a bad fit and lots of creases in the hips and crotch area.
Sewing patterns are designed to best fit a 2-dimensional piece of fabric around a 3-dimensional human body. If you make major changes like that, you'll have to expect that the result doesn't fit the "standard" human body anymore.
My guess is that the pants would act like this:

They would only fit well as long as you spread your legs. While standing straight, you have too much fabric at the outside seam, especially at the hips. That fabric has nowhere to go, so it starts creasing and bunching up. Since there isn't enough fabric on the inside seam, it pulls and constricts uncomfortably, especially while walking or sitting down.
One possible solution is to taper the pattern on both seams and align the grain with the outer seam. Be aware that this can also cause creases and pulling. It's recommended to keep the grain line as straight down the leg as possible

Another alternative that works astonishingly well is cutting the pant legs on the bias. This was done for some historical clothing, mainy for the wealthy (because you waste a lot of fabric that way). Woven fabric has some stretch along the bias, so cutting pant legs on the bias allows the fabric to stretch over the knees and the bum when moving and sitting down. Of course this would lead to many intersecting stripes, which actually looks better than just a few intersecting stripes.


Should 300 GSM toothed water color paper be used for pencil colors? These seem to be toothed as well as they have a great GSM.

But, it has been mentioned there that they are for water colors. Since toothed paper is required for holding pencil colors, will these be suitable for pencil colors?

A lot of color pencil artists use watercolor paper for their work because solvent blending is less likely to damage the paper from any moisture that may be added and the paper can take a lot of abuse since it is so sturdy. However, most of the ones I follow use hot press rather than cold press or rough.

It's true that you want tooth, but cold press or rough has a lot of tooth and it can be really tricky to get color into the valleys of the surface. This may lead to needing a lot more pressure to fill and wear harder on your pencils, requiring more frequent sharpening to maintain a sufficiently sharp point.

Still, not all papers are the same, so if you have some and want to try it, you may appreciate the look you get and prefer it. In the end, there is nothing that says you can't!


Can white gesso be diluted to make it translucent? I cannot get a hold of clear gesso. It is not available for delivery from Amazon to my country and, given the pandemic, all art supply stores are still closed. However, I found several sites that can deliver white gesso.
If I dilute white gesso with water, will that make it translucent enough to prep a paint-by-numbers style canvas without covering the numbers?

A single layer of white gesso will likely show the underdrawing through. I thin my gesso for easier application and usually do three or more coats to get a good solid base. However, you would be using less gesso to keep it translucent, so the canvas may get less of the protection the gesso provides.

You could use acrylic medium to seal the canvas, essentially it would be like using gesso binder without the pigment. Go with matte medium since gloss will change the look of the canvas and top layers may not adhere as well.

You could also use rabbit skin glue as a base coat, it is clear and will seal the canvas. Traditionally this would be the first covering on the canvas before applying gesso or under painting. It comes as dry granules that you mix with water and cook a little before applying, so its a little more complicated but it will do the best job at providing an archival clear protective coat to the canvas for what ever you want to put over it, oils or acrylics.


Does the risk of lumps and clots reduces when moving from acrylic to oil paints? I had this negative experience with (El Greco) acrylic paints as described in my previous question How can I make my old acrylic paints dissolve and flow freely again? I tried once more to carefully mix my acrylic paints with water, I tried to do this with Amsterdam brand as well, but the results were miserable - I could not get flowing colors free, there were always lumps and clots and the water and the acrylic were not mixing well. I have heard about acrylic flow improver, but my local store offers only so called "mediums" for acrylic and the flow improvement is not mentioned as good properties for them.

So - now I am eager to try oil colors paints. There are specializes flax or popseed oils that are marketed as solvents and so - I hope that strong chemistry will make my oil pants into watercolor and tempera quality flowing paints.

So - is it reasonable to expect that oil paints technique will create more flowing and easy-to-work paints without lumps and clots than acrylic colors?

Especially I am looking to try van Gogh brand of oil paints together with popseed oil.

Or maybe I should user terpentine with oils, instead of popseed oil?

Well, oil paints will be smoother, yes, but you need to know a few things about how it all works, or you will make mistakes.

Oil paint from Van Gogh uses linseed oil. To make a wash, you would add thinner, classically turpentine. The thinner will dry the oil faster, and probably be more like watercolors. Poppyseed is a slow drying oil, and will eventually yellow to some degree, but less than linseed. The finest oil to use is food grade cold pressed almond oil, it makes paint buttery. But don’t eat paint!

If you add thinner, the paint is lean. If you add oil it is fat. You want to make sure that the layers dry consecutively, so you would paint fat over lean. If you don’t, you will face cracking at some point in the not too distant future.

If you want the paint to dry in a matter of days instead of weeks or months, you can purchase a drying agent commonly known as a Japan drier or more technically, a saponifier. Don’t use much and mix it well with the paint. This will generally add a slight blue to your tint and depending on the brand it will make it glossy. I like to use it when glazing, because glazing takes weeks (or even months) to do in the traditional fashion, and the glossy nature is expected.

Don’t get the paint or thinner on your skin, always ventilate while you are painting and keep small children and pets away from your paint.


How to find the contours of a 3D object? In Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil, the author says that we should shade according to the contours of an object. As an example he has shown a cone shaped flat bottomed flower pot, which was quite easy to follow.

I want to understand how to find contours of other 3D objects like a leaf, an apple, or a human face?

How do I know where the contours are?

When I think of "shading with the contours", I think of having your lines follow the perspective contours of the object. So, in a sphere your strokes or shadow edges will be curved, as the shadow wraps around the surface. On a cube, your strokes can be flat and straight.

If you think of your object in wire-frames, it may help to decide which way to place the shading. Keeping those contour lines in mind may help you to visualize when and how much to curve or straighten the strokes or edges of your shading.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to demo this at the time, but I mainly use mental wire-framing as a visualization technique. It's something that came from me drawing box-and-cylinder mannequins for figure drawing.

You can practice visualizing these contours, without doing all the work of shading, with something called crossed-contour drawing. There's a great many search results crossed-contour drawing, so I'd use them! It's one of those things where you have to practice, in order to train both your eyes and your hands to understand what's going on.

If you're having too hard of a time figuring out how to make the contours, you can try finding images of wire-frame models, such as "wire-frame face". You can use these images to see how a wire-frame maps to a real object. One nice thing about this approach is that you can find 3D models for programs such as Maya. These models are intended for sale, but the sample images generally show the fully rendered (colored & shaded) object plus the wireframe of the object in the same position. That direct side-by-side may be very helpful for you.

When you don't have your shading follow your contours, you end up with results like this:

The shading on this square has circular contours, like you'd see on a sphere, so it makes the shape seem rounded or bowed, which isn't the effect you want for a flat plane.

This circle has clear linear gradation, instead of curved contour shading. Instead of looking like a sphere, this looks like a bent coin at best.


How can I shrink hand knitted wool blend hat to original size? Over a year ago I was gifted a lovely cat ear hat that was hand knit by an artist on Etsy.

I love wearing it but since I've worn it so many times (and sometimes wear headphones over it while at work) it has stretched out quite a bit and now falls off my head easily.

Is there a safe way to shrink it back to its unstretched size?

I've asked the person who gifted me the hat for the shop they bought it from, and the creator says it is made of a wool blend.

I wanted to ask before doing something rash, like throwing it in the dryer.

It doesn't matter whether the hat was made with knit or crochet.

Suppose it has wool fiber content, or unknown fiber content.  If unknown, we must assume it has some wool in it, to play it safe.

Premeasuring (in preparation for blocking).  Turn the hat inside out and lay it out flat on a table.  Measure the half-circumference of the hat by measuring the width of the cuff or bottom band.  Stand the tape measure on its edge to allow it to follow the natural curve of the hat, or allow your tape measure to come up from the horizontal plane if necessary to follow the curvature of the hat.  Also measure the height (from the edge, or folded cuff edge, to the top, or center of the crown). Write down the measurements.  Now turn the hat right-side out and put it on.  Pinch the cloth with your fingers and look in the mirror, to try to figure out how much too big the hat is for you, in each direction.  Keep the fact that you're working with a half circumference measurement in mind.  Subtract from what you measured and write down what you think the ideal measurements would be for this hat.

Washing.  Even if it's wool, you can wash the hat by hand in cold water.  Woolite would be a reasonable choice but laundry soap or detergent labeled for baby clothes would also work.  Don't scrub, just swish the garment around and let it soak for five minutes.  Rinse several times, using a tiny bit of fabric softener in the last rinse.  When you're done, do not wring (twist); instead, gently squeeze dry to the point where it's not dripping copiously.  Since your garment is small, if you like, you could put it in a colander and then push a similarly shaped bowl down on it to get a bit more water out.  (If you are a body builder, do not use much strength when pushing down on the colander.)  Now, lay out a clean, dry, old towel and put your garment on it.  Start to roll the towel by folding over the short end and continuing to roll it up, with the garment going along like a jelly roll.  When you've rolled up the whole towel, you may fold it in half.   Wait a few minutes and unroll. Lay the garment on another old towel to dry.  Or lay it flat on a "sweater dryer."

Blocking.  You will work with a steam iron with a misting button.  If the garment is fully dry when you start, you'll mist it with water (both front and back), but if it's still a little damp, you can skip the misting.  Lay it out on an ironing board or a folded towel on an old table.  Measure.  Let the damp fabric bunch up a bit if necessary to get the desired measurements that you wrote down before washing.  Preheat your iron to medium and switch on the steam feature.  Cover the garment with a "press cloth," a clean piece of cotton cloth or a clean, thin dish towel.  In a pinch you could use an old cotton T-shirt.  Use the iron like a hover board over the fabric sandwich.  The idea is to create steam which will encourage the garment to take the desired measurements.  Don't press down on the fabric sandwich, and don't let go of the iron.  You may allow the iron to come into the tiniest bit of contact with the top (cotton) layer.  From time to time, set the iron down and lift up the cover cloth, to check if the desired measurements have been achieved yet.

When you've reached the desired dimensions, uncover the garment but don't move it, and allow it to air dry in place.

If there's no wool fiber content, the garment will probably not benefit from blocking.  In that case, follow Method 2.
Suppose there is no wool in this hat.  Hand wash as described above (except you may squeeze a little harder).  After the towel roll-up step, put your garment in the dryer along with a clean, dry old towel.  Set the dryer on "gentle," "delicate" or "low."  Check, and give it a few more minutes if necessary.  The dryer will activate the elasticity in the fibers.  If the garment is cotton or mostly cotton, there may not be any elasticity to activate.  In this case, repost with a photograph of the hat and information about the dimensions.  It might be possible to give the hat a little bit of reconstruction.


Drawing damaged leather using charcoal I'm currently drawing Wonder Woman with charcoal. While drawing I noticed that the armor has scratches:

Artwork by Shierly Lin. Click for larger version
Since it's a charcoal drawing, I'm having difficulties, because when you use it, you blend it (I think, as it works for me), but the armor has a weird texture like if they drew it with pencils, not charcoal, I don't know if I'm being clear, I don't know how to draw that texture.
I'm using 2-6B charcoal pencils and hard, medium, and soft charcoal sticks and graphite to make it smoother.
How can I properly draw those details (scratches on the armor)?

Damage to the leather is just like any other detail. It is created by relief (changes in height) in the surface, so it is rendered the same. Just like the embossed areas of the leather, one side of the impression will capture light and the other will cast shadow.
So to draw scratches etc., you would use light edges and dark edges along the contour of the scratch.
As far as specifically using charcoal versus pencil that is a stylistic choice. If the charcoal medium does not deliver the look you want, then you would probably want to stick with pencil.


What is the difference between miniature and standard brushes? I'm looking at Winsor and Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable brush and found online the standard series and the miniature one.

I'm not sure if the difference is in the the stable or in the holding part.

"Miniature" is a reference to the length of the tuft of bristles from end of the ferrule to the tip of the brush.

There is no standard to how measurements for artist's brushes are shown. The measurement is usually a number stamped on the side of the brush handle. A company standardize their own number system but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the same number system as compared to another company's number system.

The handles too are not standardize to length size either. The handle can be any length for standard or miniature ... but in a company's own series of brushes the length of handle, ferrule and tuft decreases as you progress in size from standard to miniature.

It's things like this nonstandardization why artists spend a lot of time and money experiementing with different equipment and manufacturers to find the best tools that work for them.


Adhesive for very old newspaper I have just found a moon map published in the UK newspaper The Daily Mail from 1969, which I saved because of the first moon landing and an abiding interest in astronomy. However, it's been folded up for the past 50 years, and was published in two parts, which I sellotaped together at the time. Obviously it's now in pretty poor shape, but I want to preserve what's left as best I can (it's still readable!) I've bought acid-free conservation paper as a backing, and a very large acid free conservation 'plastic' envelope to hold it, but I want to stick the two parts together, on the backing, to show the whole map. Can anyone recommend the best adhesive or method for doing this, please?

I'd be tempted to have it laminated (it would take a big roll laminator; schools, libraries, or print shops may have them and the cost would be nominal).  As long as the paper is exposed to air and humidity, it will continue to deteriorate.  It will eventually become brittle.  Laminating it will keep it together in its current condition and allow you to handle it and examine it up close without worrying about it starting to fall apart.  It may be possible to laminate the sections into one continuous piece, or the sections could be laminated separately and mounted next to each other.  After lamination, you can mount them for display, and will have a lot of flexibility in the type of adhesive.