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I am a beginner with paper pulp and I was wondering if the savings that come from making your own paper pulp justify the time, effort, and equipment you need.
Is the savings from making your own really worth the time and effort it takes to make it instead of buying it? Just as everyone else in the world, I want to save money, but not if it is going to be at the risk of frusterating myself for pennies in difference when I am first starting out.
Can anyone help me?
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It takes quite a bit of effort to produce a goodly amount of paper pulp. I would prefer to buy it, but where can you get pre-pulped paper that doesn't have additives in it (like Celluclay)?
I wouldn't mind buying 25 lbs at a time if I knew of a reliable source.
Sue in western U.S.
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I've used paperclay.co.uk for some time - it's just pre-milled and dried paper (cellulose) fibre, as used by potters, no additives. Paperclay Products are the only source I've come across so far, although if you've got a paper mill in your area it would be worth contacting them to see if you can buy direct. Comes in 2 qualities, standard is OK for most uses, fine (more expensive) for detailed modelling & smoother finishes. I usually buy the biggest pack available (now 12Kg) as it's more economical, but I think they start at 2kg (fine) or 5kg.
Pros: you control the type and proportion of pastes/glues and fillers according to what you want. Saves huge amount of time, which was my main reason for switching from d-i-y pulp - I work full time so it's valuable to me to be able to mix up a batch of pulp and be ready to go within half an hour of getting home.
Cons: it appears to be mostly recycled newspapers, so doesn't give the strongest mache. If I'm building something large that needs to be fairly strong I'll use home-made pulp from photocopying/bank type paper (this is where the day job is useful - access to endless draft marketing proposals!) for the first few layers and then finish off with the paperclay fibre. And you should probably wear a face mask when working with the dry fibres as they do tend to fly around a bit (doesn't matter once the paste is mixed in).
Cost -it's quite an initial outlay, but for me it's worth it when set against time, and all the energy used in boiling & blending.
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I looked at the paperclay site -- pretty expensive, even if you live there!
What does his PCP 20 and PCP 30 refer to, some measurement of fineness?
Sue
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:?
I don't actually find the making of pulp much of a problem. Bringing a large (old) saucepan full of torn paper to the boil then blitzing it with a paint stirrer attachment in an electric drill works quite quickly. For the rest, see Martin Favreau's article on pulp making. Perhaps I resent paying for processed paper! :oops:
DavidO
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David, I have one of those hand held mixers that I never use. Do you think that would work for the mixing part?
How long do I have to boil it for?
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Do you mean a kitchen mixer? If so, they are GREAT! The higher the power, the better. My little old 175-watt was okay, but WallyWorld recently had a sale, $20 for 300 watts. It's fantastic for pulp.
I know a lot of PM artists swear by paint mixers, but I'm not one of them. They may be mixing much larger batchers than I am, however. When I was mixing a small batch of pulp one time, I chucked the paint stirrer into my drill motor: at full speed, I looked right down the shaft of the mixer and saw... nothing. It was like the inside of a tornado: empty. A bit of the pulp was (barely) getting hit by the blades and slung off, but not much. And the results after 3 or 4 minutes of using it were very disappointing. Even a single old kitchen mixer blade chucked into the drill motor did lots better. But, like I said, the size of the batch may have some effect on performance.
OTOH, paint mixers are designed for liquids, and paper pulp isn't a liquid even with lots of water in it.
If you have a cordless drill motor, get a couple of kitchen mixer blades at your local thrift shop (they usually have lots) and chuck one into the drill.
Sue
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