A steady day, finishing off the two 'phyiscal' projects.
First, removing the two box things which will form my keyboard stand. I got the drum sander out, horizontally mounted (sadly these foam cushion drum sanders are no longer made - Black & Decker made them 15 years ago but now nobody does - boohoo). So, I sanded the sides of these smooth. Here they are after this, one with a bar fitted so you can see what the intention is...
Then painting them black and sticking them to the back of my MDF piano stand/table (which I made myself too). These needed to be 900mm apart, but they also needed to be parallel. How do you ensure that they are exactly parallel? Fit the bars in and measure as you go. I stuck one down, exactly 145mm from one edge, then moved and measured the other, and yep, 145mm from the other edge was straight enough. I applied wood glue and micro moved them while measuring to keep the bars parallel.
Then, clamping them down, drilling, and screwing to fix them. Now I have two vertical rods like upside down vampire's teeth behind my piano, all ready for the second (heavy!) synth.
The other job was framing up the God Being Killed print.
It uses Perspex/acrylic which is a nightmare to use because of static electricity and dust. Peel off the backing plastic and this creates and intense static field which attracts dust. Tips I've learned are:
1. Before peeling of the backing, stick lots of tape to the rim, the newly cut rim, and peel it off to remove every flake of plastic. There are lots of tiny flakes which will cause problems. So, use sticky tape to remove and trap as much dust and bits from everything first.
2. Peel off the backing. Lay the work on a black background to see the dust particles.
3. Never brush or touch or wipe it! It scratches so easily, even a brush will leave permanent marks, even most cloths. Basically never touch it.
4. Remove dust particles one particle at a time using either blu-tak, or better still a torn strip of gentle masking tape which can be brushed, wafted, with the sticky side, very gently over the surface.
5. But also be quick because dust from the air will be falling on to it.
6. Prefer glass! I use acrylic plastic only when strength (when posting the work, or for something too big), or weight is an issue.
The print was framed successfully. Here it is:
The colours are very slightly brighter than in the original oil. Of course, the oil looks more beautiful, it has the radiant colours and depth than only multiple layers can create, but side by side, most people wouldn't tell the difference. This frame is on par with the second (very gold) frame in beauty; I'm not sure which I prefer, but this one is less physically strong - it's made from Plaster of Paris, and rather thin pine, and this was the key reason for a second frame rather than anything aesthetic.
