Sodium hydroxide (Lye) seems to have disappeared from the grocery -
hardware store market within the last year. It is used (I think) in
the crystal meth labs and seems to have been removed voluntarily in
some cases by local(?) laws in others. If you use and can find it you
might want to buy a few cheap cans.
jesse
Since you don’t say where you are-- advise finding alum may not be
much good. Here in the US you can find it in grocery stores used to
make food pickles or in drug stores for whatever. You call also buy
sodium bisulfate --(pH down sparex) in some grocery and hardware
stores where swimming pools are common. There isn’t much magic --you
just need a conductive electrolyte. If you can’t find alum to remove
the drills try table salt.
jesse
Sodium hydroxide (Lye) seems to have disappeared from the grocery - hardware store market
I bet they sell it at http://www.lehmans.com
If not, order their booklet on sources for soap making suppliers and
you’ll find a supplier there.
Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay
Fernando - finding alum is easy. You just need to find a grocery
store where they sell ingredients for pickling cucumbers. Alum is the
ingredient that makes the pickles stay crisp. It is sold in small
cans or jars for a dollar or so. It keeps forever.
Judy Hoch in Lakewood - thinking about planting cucumbers again this
year.
Sodium hydroxide (Lye) seems to have disappeared from the grocery
hardware store market
I bet they sell it at http://www.lehmans.com
I have been to the actual Lehman’s Hardware here in Ohio.
Fascinating place, but most of the neat gadgets were cheap Chinese or
Indian imports. The wood burning and gas powered kitchen stoves,
however, were works of (very expensive) art!
Lee Cornelius
Vegas Jewelers
The other things listed have worked for me in the past but the
easist thing I have found is sparex.
Mix up a little strong batch and warm and it usually works in a few
hours. Never seem to have problems with copper plating and I always
have some of that around.
Michael Chapman
Tallahassee Fl
It just dawned on me that during my younger years just about every
man had a stick of alum in his shaving kit. It was called a styptic
pencil, and was used to stop the bleeding when you knicked yourself
shaving. With today’s safety blades and electric shavers, I imagine
that the styptic pencil business has gone into something of a slump.
I haven’t checked, but I imagine just about any pharmacy still
carries it for the old timers. I have a full beard and haven’t shaved
at all in quite some time…but I still have a styptic pencil in my
old shaving kit. I hate to throw anything away–who knows when I
might need whatever it is? Next time I break a drill bit maybe I’ll
be vindicated for my hoarding of “useless” junk.
Del Pearson of Designs of Eagle Creek in Beautiful South Texas,
where even a guy my age (66) is considered something of a kid. Most
folk hereabouts don’t die of natural causes until they are in their
80’s or 90’s.
http://www.eaglecreekcs.com/