Re: [papercreters] looking for small batch recipe help

Aloha, Vickey,

Be sure to keep that portland cement bone-dry, maybe using one of those "hermetically-sealing" plastic bins, with some silica gel packs added. What - you t'ink dis coconut know how deal wit' SNOW?? Mebbe shave ice, yah. Srsly, you can try a 1-2-3(or more) parts of portland cement, sand - or perlite - and paper pulp, soaked, blended to mush, drained before measuring, mixing well with little bits of water added at a time to get that usable consistency you know you need, then molding, but I think the waaaay-sub 50 degree weather will force you to triple the time before unmolding, and I'd think the same would be true before stress-testing your first items. There's simply no substitute for just mudding up, keeping careful notes on your mix, da kine, and expecting a crumbling mess or something looking like someone sat on the saltines. I learn something new every time - sometimes the same lesson, sometimes it works, then I try something new, like fooling with yard-sale "carving" tools, brushing, scratching, gouging, and so on, just trying to look like I know what I'm doing. Sure is fun, though.

On Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 6:53 PM, kjtbeskimo <vickeym@gmail.com> wrote:

 

Have been searching messages and every search term I can think of but have not found anything specific. We are newbies getting ready for our first attempt.

Our paper is all shredded to little bits using a cross cut paper shredder. We have our drill and mixer blade, a bag of sand and will be getting portland cement soon. (had to buy sand as ours is still buried under snow.

We want to make stepping stones and wall plaques for our store. Looking for as lightweight as possible that will still be durable enough for the intended use. (Need lightweight for shipping, we deal mostly with tourists.) But we are trying to find a recipe suitable for this and small enough to mix in a 5 gallon bucket for now.

We still have 4 or 5 feet of heavily compressed snow on the ground here, and too cold still to do much outside. Days are finally getting around 30 degrees but nights are around 0 and even below 0 some nights. So larger projects and building our tow behind will not be happening for awhile yet.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a recipe for stepping stones and or wall plaques they can recommend. Have found several recipes in the messages I have searched, but not sure which is suitable for which purposes. I know the stepping stones need to be stronger than the wall plaques but would appreciate any suggestions from those who have actually made papercrete.

Vickey in Alaska

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