I think I told you earlier that I was going to knock your socks off. Not sure if it came out that good but I am way happy with the way it looks. I hate it when I have to take so long to
but the ideas that come out of it makes it well worth the time. With all the other things I have going on (setting up a page for selling on FB) and the weather up and down it took a while to get it done but finally finished today.
Cut the alabaster blanks on the miter saw.
Went to carving and this is what happened.
I could not wait to get the stone waxed (had to photograph it) because my oven won't light so I was not sure how I was going to get it done.
Pinned the tank to the base so it would be easy to empty the incense ashes then put it back.
Ended up putting a two quart sauce pan on a burner on the top of the stove, put a piece of sheet metal with the sides bent over in the pan, put the stones on the sheet metal and fired it up. What I learned when I was carving before is to put the pieces in the oven set at 150 for fifteen minutes, take them out one piece at a time and rub bees wax all over them. When the wax starts to harden buff them with a soft cloth. With the burner set as low as I could possibly get it without going out my oven thermometer went off the scale. I pulled out the thermometer, slid the lid half way off and figured the heat wouldn't hurt the stone no matter how high it got. I finally got them waxed and it now looks a hundred times better. And I am okay, really, I only burnt myself once.
The cone incense can be burnt inside and there is a hole in the center of the top so stick incense can be held there. It was a pain in the butt to make but now that I have made one the next should be a lot easier. The grooves in the roof were not planned but I was using a ball bur to grind the proper slope on the eight sides so I could get it even all around and noticed that a corrugated roof wouldn't be that tough. It was tough but I think it was well worth the time. Now all I have to do is glue the base and the stones down and it is good to go.
Jim
