Thread: Warped Scale Press....

Thanks guys, for adding to my bags of trix. Some days one thing will work better than another. I don't think I would want to use the microwave for anything else after horn!! But, seriously, using that method, there would be no way to control the internal temperature of the horn.


From Wikipedia:

""A microwave oven works by passing non-ionizing microwave radiation, usually at a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz (GHz)—a wavelength of 122 millimetres (4.80 in)—through the food. Microwave radiation is between common radio and infrared frequencies. Water, fat, and other substances in the food absorb energy from the microwaves in a process called dielectric heating. ""

Horn, by nature, is not of even density nor fluid retention.

In the methods shown above, about 200+ degrees is the steam temperature hitting the horn and board. Some old horn will come apart (de-laminate) at much over that. Much old horn is already partially de-laminated.
You may notice opalescent reflections within the horn. that is de-lamination.

And yes; they, back in the day, pressed "fresh" horn into iron molds at a much higher temperature to form convolutions and contoured 3D scenes into the outside surfaces of scales. Manipulating the shape of a horn scale does not require that much heat. Heat allows molecules to move and the flattening form used in the illustrations above allows them to set into a new configuration as they cool and the molecules slow their motion. Like steam bending wood..