Hi there my Steemian friends! I trust you all had a splendid Christmas (or holiday, if you prefer)
I thought I'd share a project I undertook a couple of years ago. My client had changed over from central air conditioning to the more modern 'split' type and thought he'd like to put a display case inset into the old shaft. He approached me as he'd heard that I like to take on the more unusual projects. I certainly do so here it is.
I started by cutting a small square opening in the disused A/C shaft, to see what I was getting into. You can see a plastic pipe in the photo above; it is not uncommon for these shafts to be full of plumbing pipework, electrical conduits and/or building waste such as old concrete sections, plaster and brickwork. Out of sight-out of mind is a common philosophy among the builders here. After a thorough inspection I found that there was enough space in the shaft for the idea I had in mind so opened the hole to its full size
I couldn't resist a selfie. Do you like my high tech ear defenders?
Having opened up the hole I was able to get some accurate measurements then head back to the workshop to build the requisite components.
The box
And then the frame I would use to border the box. Here is where I got creative. I had recently done a job using fiberglass and polyester resin
and was struck by how similar the hardened resin looks to amber. This gave me the idea of mixing some sawdust into the resin to further enhance the similarity then pour the still liquid mix into channels previously cut into the frame pieces. The idea being that it would look like an amber inlay in the wood. Here it is drying
Once the resin had hardened I figured it would be a simple task to plane the wood, and resin down to smooth everything out nicely. The problem was that once I planed the resin I was left with an opaque surface which in no way resembled amber. It was time to think. As I often do in moments of creative block, I searched through the archives in my mind for a similar problem and in short order I had the solution. Using an off-cut of the resin filled wood I gave it a coat of varnish from a spray can. I usually wouldn't use this kind of varnish as it doesn't perform well in the hot climate but since this piece was to be installed inside a cool apartment I saw no problem using it. To my immense satisfaction the opaque surface instantly cleared as I applied the varnish and the effect was exactly as I had hoped. I then stained the wood sections of the frame, coated them in the spray can varnish and hey presto!
It then remained only to cut the hole for the inset halogen light bulb; cut, stain and fit the rails for the smoked glass shelves then take everything to the apartment and fit. I hope you like the finished product......