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just looking for the best way to build an egg shape. would it be better to use a pipe like constuction building up in circles or a laminate construction, also what type of paste to use please.
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Want sort of size are you after? And for what purpose (i.e. how strong does it have to be?
DavidO
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Do you want just a large sphere, or a true egg shape? And if you want the egg shape, is the 4 ft dimension length, or height when lying on its side?
Does it have to withstand some abuse, or just sit in a corner and look good? How long do you intend for it to last?
Building over an existing shape is the easiest. If you could find a large inflatable ball, that would be ideal. Some beach balls advertise as 48", but you would have to make sure that they mean when the ball is inflated, and not just when flat (when inflated, it would be closer to 36").
If you know of someone who has a Christmas snow globe yard ornament, that might do very well. Or use the ends of a large propane tank and fasten the two halves together.
To make an egg shape would be more complicated. You would probably have to use two large balls, one large and one smaller, then fasten them together and wrap them in plastic, then papier mache over the whole thing.
Something that large is going to take a lot of papier mache.
Sue
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Would this be for an Easter project? Maybe for a float?
Thin cardboard can be rolled and cut, then taped into an egg shape. Then you could layer paper stips or mash over it for strength. Paper strips would give you a snoother finish, but mash would be much faster and you can still achieve a pretty smooth finish.
Or you can just go with chicken wire or hardware cloth. Hard to deal with, but would be fairly easy to shape. (Just wear gloves!) You would then have to layer paper strips over the wire. I prefer to work with mash, so I would do several layers of paper maybe 6-10(?) then go over with a half inch layer of mash. On big projects like this I make a huge batch and then divide it into smaller batches. I take a smallish batch (a big double handful) and roll it flat between two sheets of wax paper, or even newspaper. I then brush glue on the surface to be covered and apply the rolled mash, blending as I apply each new piece. The mash will fill in any lumpiness that may occur from layering the paper strips.
Either method you use, it's going to be big job LOL.
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thank you all for your help, i would like the eggs to be strong and pretty my aim is to make them into lamps of all sizes but not smaller than 2 ft high. they will also be designed to stay upright. the amount of pm being used is not an issue nor the amount of work. thank you again.
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What about the ambient temperature and humidity where you live? If you are able to dry the material easily, there may be a better way, which has already been discussed elsewhere in the Forum - but it bears repetition.
DavidO
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i live in plymouth,south west, england.
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OK, so at the moment you certainly don't have drying outside but later in the year it can be warm and generally dry. What we have looked at before is laying laminate over a former and sand (or soil) is probably the easiest. A hot, sunny day on a local beach would suit you well!!
Or, if you have a dry garage with a source of heat . . .
Cut two cross sections for your egg from strong card or MDF. One will be the full length, the other is half of the width. Make two of each and keep the second pair for later.
Join the two together (glue/tape/etc) and fill in to the shape of half an egg. The cross section pieces will help guide the shape.
What do you fill in with? Sand - it would have to be moist to hold shape; Clay - it would need rather a lot; Paper - screwed up and from large pieces, finishing with smaller - might be a slightly lumpy finish.
These are just examples; you would need to choose the medium that will achieve the finish you want.
Over damp structures, lay clingfilm. You can then lay the paper you want for your egg over this to the thickness you need and leave to dry.
Make the other half and join them together.
It would be best to experiment with something much smaller first to see what method works best for you. Please keep us posted as to how you get on.
DavidO
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you are a great help thank you. i will let you know the method i choose.
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