Anyone want to experiment with making various forms of cement and concrete?..polished, white, black, with shingle, waterproof (for wetrooms)…plus some other special types!
I’m buying small quantities of the products.
I’ll be making some small casts to pour in the various forms…its to see how the finishes look for a hearth I have to make later in the month.
More the merrier!
Perfect timing! Are you aware of the plans to cast a concrete worktop for the new kitchen? @peter_hellyer @joeatkin2 are the two major enthusiasts in this endeavour.
Hope to start experimentation with mixes on Sunday
Ps do you know where to get fly ash ?
Thanks Dermot!
@peter_hellyer @joeatkin2 what time are you guys be at the space on Sunday…I can pop down and lend a hand for bit.
Will try for 11
See you guys Sunday…afraid I dont know where to get fly ash.
Afshin Dehkordi @AfshinDehkordi http://twitter.com/AfshinDehkordi
2015 Associate Artist Open School East www.openschooleast.org
Co-Founder studioSTRIKE www.studiostrike.com
I can supply ash (small ish quantity) from a wood burning stove if that helps? Planning to come down on sunday. tom do you have to burn flies to make fly ash 
??
Fly ash is the ash from burning coal that goes up the flue (as opposed to the ash that collects in the grate). It’s rather difficult to come by in small quantities because it has to be filtered out of the flue gases. It comes out of power stations in trains and goes straight to concrete plants, so you can’t get it in the shops.
Do you know any other agriguts that lubricants the mix?
I don’t, no. This is all a bit out of my depth, tbh.
Hopefully self levelung compoundsthe contain fly ash
I have ash that collects in the chimney at the forge. It’s coke, not coal. Would that work?
Maybe is it very fine?
Need to get some under a microscope and check for tiny spheres
Talcum power might work .
We will have to experiment
It is very fine - it gets lifted up from the forge in the updraft and then dumped in the chimney as the smoke cools. No idea if it’s spherical under a microscope! I’ll put some in a bucket and bring it to the space if you like.
There should be some plasticiser in a blue 2.5L bottle in the snug.
Have a play, you might find it flows well enough. The aggregate will make a huge difference. Plasterer’s sand (Leyton buzzard, Westerham? iirc?) Or silver sand might be good bets. And no doubt all sorts of exotica out there.
Vegetable oil is a useful releasing agent.
If, for some reason, you need bolts to recess then a smear of grease guarantees the concrete won’t bind to them. This means you can bury a steel plate, leave the bolts protruding and unscrew later to bolt something else on.
Talcum power cement is a thing, just been reading about it . Looks like it might be the agragate for the worktop
