Grass Paper

• June 23rd, 2005 • 6 Comments • experiments, how-to, papermaking •

I mow a lawn on a regular basis, and wondered what I could do with all of the extra grass clippings. Maybe I could…make paper? Yes! This week I embarked on a “make paper out of grass clippings” project. I’ll gladly share the process and the results, but I don’t think I would do it again. The smell of cooked/soaking clippings makes me want to retch now. I mean it, I almost vomited at one point in this project. Fortunately, the smell of fresh-cut grass doesn’t smell remotely like my project, so I can still enjoy that summer pleasure.

On to the paper!

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1) Collect clippings. I estimate that I used about 8 cups of freshly clipped grass to start. The lawn mowed for them was free of poison, fertilizer and animal droppings. (That might’ve made it smell worse.)

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2) Cook clippings. My goal here was to soften the clippings so that they would break up better. OH MY GOD this part stank. The whole apartment reeked of cooking grass. If you try this, make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Blech. I added about 1/2 cup of baking soda to help the softening. (Most papermaking recommends washing soda, but baking will do in a pinch. Or if you’re poor.) The grass was cooked for about an hour.

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3) Blend cooked clippings. This part looks truely vile. They should make people on those crazy TV game shows drink cooked grass shakes. Gag. Most of the clippings broke up fairly well; most pieces were about 1/4in-1/8in long. Not bad!

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4) You can go two ways on this one. Either make pure grass paper, or, mix the grass pulp with recycled paper pulp. I chose to make pure grass paper first.

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5a) Grass paper. There’s probably about 5 gallons of water in the tub, and all of the cooked clippings. I slipped the deckle in and ewwwwww the water was extra slimey. A fairly thick sheet was dumped on a drying rag and proceeded to smell like cooked grass. Blaugh.

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5b) Grass paper with recycled pulp. I simply added about 3 cups of pulp I had on hand to the grass tub and mixed together. The sheet pulled from this mixture looked much less like a square mat of pond muck.

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6) Drying. The Texas heat is perfect right now; no humidity, and 90 degree weather. The paper dried overnight.

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This project makes me cringe now. I would gladly try again with dried straw, but my attempts to use something I had an abundance of didn’t work well enough for me. The main problem was the “Gag Factor.” Oh yeah, you probably want to hear about my near-vomit experience? A portion of the clippings I left in a bucket to “cook” in the summer sun. I would swear that something had DIED and was ROTTING for several days in that bucket instead of grass. Cleaning out that bucket was a real treat, I tell ya.Admittedly, the finished result looks quite nice. The paper should get more of a golden hue as the grass dries completely. But durn it, all I can think of when I see the sheets is that awful smell!

 

Addendum…

• June 19th, 2005 • 0 Comments • Uncategorized •

As an update to my last post, Dad loved his new shirt. My sisters already want ones of their own. I’d say my new developing bathtub was a success. Hooray!

 

Back to Screen Printing

• June 15th, 2005 • 1 Comments • how-to, screen printing •

I’ve been working on a Father’s day present which entails shooting a photo screen. For the most part, I’m self-taught on this one, so there’s quite a bit of trial and error! Way back when, last December, I tried to shoot a screen, but could never get a good exposure from the lights I was using. So I gave up and used screen filler/drawing fluid for the project.

Now I NEED to have a photo transfer, so I NEED to learn this right. Many of the online “how tos” suggest using the all-purpose poor man’s exposure unit, the sun. My last two attempts failed miserably.

Time One: The design on the transparency was not opaque, thus the whole screen was exposed. I fixed this problem by doubling up on the transparencies.

Time Two: Conditions were perfect, it sat in the sun and should’ve exposed… Yet the design would not wash-out. I later discovered that the solution I was using would also develop in the HEAT as well as LIGHT. D’oh.

The heat problem is a major one; the average temperature in Dallas is 90 degrees. I do not believe that the screen can be outside for any amount of time during exposure if this is the case. (This includes wash-out time.) Therefore, I’ve converted the shower in the spare bathroom to accomodate screen washing! I’ve found this to be an extremely cheap and easy way to wash-out and develop screens.

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1) Go to Home Depot (or hardware store of choice). For about 15 bucks, I was able to buy these items (left to right). A shower arm and flange, a 5-ft reinforced vinyl hose and a “power/watersaving” shower head. The extender arm at the bottom I already had on hand to use, but you could get away without purchasing one. I like the extra length and swivel it adds. Remember, MOST if not all showerheads have a 1/2in pipe thread.

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2) This is your standard showerhead, in your standard apartment. 1/2in pipe, so I can attach about anything in the “Shower Section” at the hardware store. Some apartments don’t want you messing with the showerheads so they will put in some sort of gunk to keep you from removing it. By hand that is.

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3) Vise grips are your best friend. My showerhead was extra tight, so these were required to get it off. I kindly purchased some silicone tips so as not to ruin the apartment’s showerhead. Removing the head is the only part of this endeavor that will require some sort of tool. Oh yeah, I should mention the tub needs to be dry so you don’t slip and bonk your noggin.

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4) Attach the swivel arm. Again, I like the movement and extra length it affords the hose. These things cost about $15, so it can easily double your shopping trip. I’ve had mine stashed away for years trying to figure out what else I could use it for…

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5) Connect the hose. If you want to get fancy, you can buy a metal hose, or spend some more dough and get a longer hose. I found this plastic one for $5 on sale. No tools needed for setup!

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6) Screw in the flange arm and the power showerhead to the other end of the hose. The flange arm acts as a converter piece so you can hook up the hose with the head. Most hoses are built to accomodate fancy shower massagers, not standard showerheads. The flange also doubles as a nice handle for your hose. Some power showerheads have a “soap up valve” which you can use as a water cutoff instead of having to turn the water on and off all the time. I saved $2 to get a power showerhead without, but should I ever want one later, I can purchase a valve separately.

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And there you have it! You now have your very own screen-washer-outer. That’s really the only part I figure I’d give some step-by-step on, since some folks are scared of anything plumming-related. It’s easy, really!Down below, I have a nice photo of the entire bathtub setup. I will point out that the tub should NEVER be filled with water for this setup, as you have several electric appliances hanging above. Not responsible if you have no common sense!

1) The shower curtain rod was lowered roughly 40in from the rim of the tub to accomodate the lights, which have 100W clear bulbs in them. I realize many home kits recommend the light being 12 inches from the screen, but some developers develop not only develop with light, but also with heat. The reflective surface of this particular bathtub helps to make more light w/out heat, which is handy.

2) I stole a board from a melamine bookshelf and put it across the tub with a box on it for developing. (I know, everything’s white, it’s difficult to see.) The board can easily be moved when it’s time to wash-out the screen.

3) The fan I use for drying screens, and to help circulate air in the room so that the screen does not get hot. Lucky for me, this tub has an air vent practically above it!

There you have it. I took this baby for a test-run the other day, and it works like a dream. No more developing out in the heat, no more waiting for some guy to finish using the communal carwash hose so I can wash-out. I’ll probably make a few modifications as I use it more, but this appears to be a great cheap cheap method that doesn’t actually damage the bathroom or require major rennovations.