Elemental Conflict

[Eric Holmquist]

Sycamore bowl pierced and airbrushed. The competing elements of fire and water are in balance. The piercing was my public demo at the New England Woodworking Show. Finished with waterborne lacquer. Roughly 9" (22cm) across

Elemental Conflict 1 by Eric Holmquist, on Flickr

[Marty Schlosser]

Very interesting piece, Eric! Would you mind providing more info on the products and procedures involved with the airbrushing?

Thanks, in advance.

[Mark Greenbaum]

WOW - Now that's an impressive piece of artistry. Piercing with Dremel, Foredom? Did anyone make a video?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Very elegant!

[Eric Holmquist]

Thanks everyone

WOW - Now that's an impressive piece of artistry. Piercing with Dremel, Foredom? Did anyone make a video?

I use an NSK Presto which is a pneumatic dental handpiece. Basically a 320,000 RPM rotary carver. I have a short snippet of video on my mobile phone, not sure how to post videos.

Very interesting piece, Eric! Would you mind providing more info on the products and procedures involved with the airbrushing?

Thanks, in advance.

Airbrush used is Iwata Eclipse, colors are Golden Acrylic. I masked off the waves and flames and then applied Carbon Black which was thinned with Airbrush Medium to make is spray better. After removing the frisket, I switched to the transparent acrylics for the waves and flames. No masking used at that point as they don't cover the opaque black.

[Robert Willing]

Eric

I have a pneumatic tool as well but when I try with it I burn the wood at that speed. What is your secret?

[John K Jordan]

Yes, what bits work best at that speed?

Beautiful piece and creative idea!

JKJ

[Eric Holmquist]

Eric

I have a pneumatic tool as well but when I try with it I burn the wood at that speed. What is your secret?

It burns for me as well, so I use a fan to blow the smoke away from me. Given the shank size and depth of cut, you can't feed fast enough to avoid burn. Imagine a router with a half inch strait cut. You would not try to route a slot deeper than it is wide in one pass because it would go so slow that it would char. These bits are maybe 1/32 at the flutes, so you are cutting deeper than the bit is wide.

Yes, what bits work best at that speed?

Beautiful piece and creative idea!

JKJ

Dental burs are an ISO standard, for piercing, I use a 699L which is an extra long 699. For other effects like stippling, there are other burs.