Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Hypertufa Containers are Curing

I've had good results with yesterday's batches of Hypertufa. Here are most of the containers so far. Several different batches represented here. On the table are some nice big pots, some pavers (I used meat trays, oiled) for my garden, also some watering rocks for my potted plants. Since I have a small garden I don't have room for big stepping stones.





Lots of tufa curing on 1x2's on a table. I read that it's good to let it rain on them to leach out the Lyme. Some people spray them with vinegar to neutralize them. Since we're getting rain showers every day, I thought I'd set them up outside to let nature do its thing. If you don't have rain it's recommended to soak them with the hose every day or submerse them in water, soaking for at least 3 days.
They need to dry for a couple weeks after that. Longer for bigger objects.



 
  I set up a tray on the grass to hold more of yesterday's treasures. I like the way the baby planters came out. The sphere should be fun to put together. One has a line around one end where it was sitting on top of the pot. I can fix that with a slurry.
   It looks like I may have to build a drying rack. I could put it along the fence so it would be out of the way, since they have to dry for so long.






  Here is the fountain with all the tiles laid in it. I'll grout it when it's dry. I like it. I haven't quite finished this. Needs some fill in here and there.










 A simple dish tub and the containers strawberries come in are the two types of molds seen here. I used a dowel to make drainage holes when I formed these yesterday.
  They came out of the molds easily. Once again I used cheap motor oil painted on with a sponge brush. It's important to wash the molds right away. I'll scuff these tufa planters up a bit with a plastic brush.

  I think I'm ready to make the frame for some window boxes. These will sit on a 7" railing. It's a gift for my step-daughter for her birthday. I had to make sure I had the recipe right before I took on a large project like that.

  I read yesterday that these pots are perfect for African Violets and Bonsai. I have a couple African Violets in my kitchen windowsill that need new containers. It'll be fun to choose a couple when they're dry.

 
I like how they came out.



1 comment:

  1. Very nice! With your crafty skills you should drop by the forum. www.diymolds.com

    ReplyDelete