16
votes
Accepted
Is there a kid-safe carving material?
If you are more interested in subtractive sculpting (removing material rather than adding it like clay), I spent my earliest sculpting days carving bars of Ivory soap. There may be softer brands, but ...
- 1,334
12
votes
What material to use for a prop sword?
Wood. Adam Savage (whose non mythbuster stuff I love to bits) has a tendancy of making them - see his hellboy sword. He used thin plywood for a base and shaped it with bondo, covering it with aluminum ...
- 221
12
votes
What can I use to slow down the curing of 2-part epoxy?
This is a bit of a frame challenge, but honestly the solution is to buy slow epoxy in the first place.
The difficulty is that consumer products seem to have divided into fast, unusable after a few ...
- 6,594
10
votes
What fabric would work well for a flag?
Most commercial flags are made out of nylon. It's lightweight, durable, and dyes well. Specifically, the flags on many sites are made from DuPont SolarMax™, which is supposed to be nicely color safe ...
- 3,496
10
votes
Accepted
What does a picture of swirled fabric tell me about the fabric
What you're supposed to see in those pictures is how the fabric drapes. From a flat piece of fabric you can only see the weave (if zoomed in), the pattern and the color. From the product page you ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
10
votes
Low cost alternatives to resin for creating the illusion of there being an opaque fluid in a bottle or jar
You can make a firm gel using agar mixed with hot water. It's clear, colorless, nontoxic and is actually edible. It looks like Jello after it sets, but it doesn't melt at warm room temperatures. You ...
- 326
10
votes
Low cost alternatives to resin for creating the illusion of there being an opaque fluid in a bottle or jar
A fairly easy solution would be to use candle wax. This can be melted and coloured then you can either fully fill the vessel or apply as a thinnish layer to the inside of the glass to create the look ...
- 221
9
votes
Different materials that can be used for origami
Tinfoil / aluminium foil
Usually has a 'dirty' look, as all folds will be visible, but is very characteristic and quite easy to work with.
source
Baking paper
Has a beautiful translucent look and ...
- 10.6k
9
votes
Accepted
Corset making: which material should I use for the boning?
The most important question you need to answer is: How much strain does the finished corset have to withstand?
If you want a drastic waist reduction via tight-lacing, the entire corset will be under ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
8
votes
Accepted
What material to use for a prop sword?
PVC
Heating PVC with a heat gun will soften it, so you can flatten it between boards with clamps/weight to make the blade. There are a multitude of YouTube videos from folks building cosplay swords ...
- 2,615
8
votes
Accepted
Biodegradable adhesives
Taking "India" into account, you could surely find jackfruit or mango tree. I would suggest you could use the white sticky latex of jackfruit/ green mango. While eating, I find extreme difficulty in ...
- 284
8
votes
Accepted
What material can I use for hardcover book panels when binding?
I would strongly consider what is usually used for covers in these types of books. Hardboard or millboard. They are both similar materials that I would suggest for this. Unfortunately their names are ...
- 11k
8
votes
Crafting "fake potions"
For a few reasons, I'd go with holiday ornaments. These are available in clear plastic, rather than glass, which is less of a breakage worry. They're also cheaper and lighter than glass jars. And they'...
- 4,356
8
votes
What kind of paper can I use in place of U.S. currency for origami?
Since US currency is a mixture of both 25% linen and 75% cotton blended together, you might need to look for high quality stationary or look into making your own.
The US Department of Treasury's ...
- 1,091
8
votes
What alternatives exist instead of freezer paper when it comes on shirt bleaching?
Freezer paper is a product that has a waxed coating on only one side. It's sort of like a hybrid of oven paper (also called parchment paper, baking paper, or ladokola) and wax paper.
Neither wax ...
- 4,356
8
votes
Low cost alternatives to resin for creating the illusion of there being an opaque fluid in a bottle or jar
Paint that's fairly compatible with the material of the bottle can be applied evenly by pouring it into the container, swirling round and tipping out. You may need to do this 2 or 3 times. This ...
- 6,594
8
votes
Low cost alternatives to resin for creating the illusion of there being an opaque fluid in a bottle or jar
Would it be possible to do this with sugar?
If you boil a heavy sugar syrup enough it will set hard and clear, almost like glass. I accidentally filled a bowl with brown "glass" and bits of ...
- 81
8
votes
Accepted
Giving epoxy resin an opaque color
I agree with Chris H's answer, and titanium dioxide powder is one of the best solutions (it's the go-to white pigment in most things; it's what is likely coloring the white acrylic paint, so you would ...
- 11.5k
8
votes
Are there every-day substances that can be used to color 2-component epoxy adhesive?
Consider using sawdust. You can pack a considerable amount of dry filler materials into epoxy without it losing its adhesive properties. This not only colors the epoxy the same shade as the wood (it ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
8
votes
What can I use to slow down the curing of 2-part epoxy?
Epoxy comes in different speeds
Of course, "5-minute epoxy" is what people go for, because it benefits from advertising. I actually use the West System 105 family, which is closer to 500 ...
7
votes
What kind of palm leaves or other material can be used for palm weaving?
Various kinds of material can be used for this, including palm, banana, and coconut leaves. In Zanzibar specifically, according to the website Zanzibar Tribal Art, grass and ilala palm are used in ...
- 1,996
7
votes
Robust fabric for making a bag for a 3d printer
You may need to combine different materials to get all the qualities you're looking for. Here are some ideas:
Canvas and denim are strong, abrasion-resistant fabrics. Another option is ripstop nylon, ...
- 2,385
7
votes
Economical ideas for lettered t-shirts
I make shirts, decals, signs, etc for a living. The best way to go is to buy a pack of inkjet shirts transfers (if you have an inkjet printer) If you have a laser printer look for the laser transfers. ...
7
votes
Accepted
Crafting a sturdy, not heavy mask for shows
Plaster that is thick enough to be reasonably strong and rigid will probably be too heavy.
Masks are often made from papier mache, essentially building up strips of paper soaked in paste over a ...
- 1,979
7
votes
Materials for flame proof signage
Since fire coats the things it can't destroy in black opaque soot, it doesn't really matter if the colors underneath survive... they won't be seen until after someone cleans the sign, after the fire ...
- 3,235
7
votes
Fabric alternative for leather
Waxed cotton has the weight and drape. Here's a wiki link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waxed_cotton
Another benefit to waxed cotton is its ability to "heal". Once punctured leather, pleather, and ...
- 1,649
7
votes
Best materials for a long-lasting scroll
We actually have a good idea of which scroll materials last for hundreds of years, because we have scrolls that are hundreds of years old. What are they made of?
Parchment
We have two thousand year ...
- 2,325
7
votes
Accepted
What is the best technology to 3D print sextoys?
I work for a company that doesn't make sex toys, but we do make silicone products with electronics inside, so I've seen lots of the same issues you're facing here.
The way we do it is to 3D print a ...
- 2,325
7
votes
Accepted
Making a jewellery box - protection and lining
The normal way to do this is to use something soft inside the box to provide impact protection (usually foam), and then a layer of something over the foam to provide a more durable, scratch free and ...
- 2,325
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible