Thread: Scale/Strop rehydration .....

Might be an interesting experiment but personally, not optimistic it’s yield much better results than a slow warm soak at ambient temps TBH.
Did a fair bit of vac bagging in aviation, as well as a bunch of hobby type work on this forum pre mg..
The thing with vac chamber and bagging is it does all it’s air evacuation pre hardening, or while the epoxies or resins, or lacquers are still solvable and allows air to flow and molecules to ebb, flow and move around each other. Chambers allow the air out the top, bags use a non compressible porous strip all around the edge of the bag for the air to wick.
Once things are hard, as in bone, horn, or post cured epoxy projects, you won’t pull much beyond the outer 64th of an inch maybe, and IMO, risk crushing the outer cells and causing shadows or fog on the surface once things return to atmospheric pressures and de-flex.
Could be wrong of course, just thinking of the way it all works from my experiences..
I’d say go for it on a scrap piece, as you have all the goodies.
Maybe a series of low pressure pulls to cycle the horn as opposed to a 28 inch long steady pull overnight might flex the materials and yield good results.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Might be an interesting experiment but personally, not optimistic it’s yield much better results than a slow warm soak at ambient temps TBH.
Did a fair bit of vac bagging in aviation, as well as a bunch of hobby type work on this forum pre mg..
The thing with vac chamber and bagging is it does all it’s air evacuation pre hardening, or while the epoxies or resins, or lacquers are still solvable and allows air to flow and molecules to ebb, flow and move around each other. Chambers allow the air out the top, bags use a non compressible porous strip all around the edge of the bag for the air to wick.
Once things are hard, as in bone, horn, or post cured epoxy projects, you won’t pull much beyond the outer 64th of an inch maybe, and IMO, risk crushing the outer cells and causing shadows or fog on the surface once things return to atmospheric pressures and de-flex.
Could be wrong of course, just thinking of the way it all works from my experiences..
I’d say go for it on a scrap piece, as you have all the goodies.
Maybe a series of low pressure pulls to cycle the horn as opposed to a 28 inch long steady pull overnight might flex the materials and yield good results.

Wow, I understood absolutely nothing of that, you must have been a rocket surgeon in a previous life

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I was considering a series of low-pressure pulls. I would guess that the brittleness of ivory is greater than horn or bone so It might be prudent to use a low-pressure series of pulls on the brittle stuff. It would also seem prudent to use weights on the material after the vacuum to keep it flat while drying, otherwise, it may warp. But no matter which method is used this is not an overnight process.

Originally Posted by STF

Wow, I understood absolutely nothing of that, you must have been a rocket surgeon in a previous life

Thanks, but more likely this was my last iteration.

Randy, as soon as you see any bubbles during the pull, I’d stop, and let her hold and release. Burp again, etc.
All while fully below liquid levels of course.
Over a night things should start to get subtle and lubed again.
Post lots of before and during pics please. Curious as hell about the results.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Over a night things should start to get subtle and lubed again.

I see a band name in that sentence.

Originally Posted by STF

Wow, I understood absolutely nothing of that, you must have been a rocket surgeon in a previous life

Mike's our mad scientist, Steve. He's from another parallel universe, eh!

One of the things that I’ve found is that the air comes out easier than the liquid goes in, so soaking after the vacuum is released is when the work gets done.