r ransom

Thekla McDaniels wrote:A person could also produce their own ethanol…. Ferment their own something or other, then distill the ethanol, or buy some liquor and distill the alcohol out of that… but maybe that’s too long a process to undertake before getting to the chair project.

It's a tricky process and one needs to know their local laws.  It is a lot of work for a chair.  

Buying shellac predesolved might be the solution.

I haven't checked the local shops for ethanol yet.  Something for next weeks shopping..

David Wieland wrote:

r ransom wrote:...
Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it in the shops and now I'm wondering if it's a controlled substance due to people mistaking it for drinking alcohol.  I really don't want to use the major toxic stuff and drinking or medical alcohol doesn't bind to shellac.

Methyl alcohol isn't hard to find in my neck of the woods, but it's also sold as gas line antifreeze.  Methyl alcohol is also called methanol, methylene, and methyl hydrate.

That's what i expected. It used to be used for so many things.  

3 DIY shops, 2 Canadian Tyres (automotive section and paint section), a gas station, one agriculture shop, and a few other shops. I managed to find one person who actually knew what it is at a lumber shop, but they can't get it in.

The closest thing I can find is methyl tetra-something, but that requires fancy gloves (nitrate instead of regular ones) and can leave a nasty residue if spilled, and get into the ground water.  Not keeping with the permaculture style I'm going for.

I'm curious about ethanol working.   That might be easier to find.

Ah.. it's the word alcohol.  

We usually use Methyl alcohol (also known as methanol or wood alcohol) is the simplest alcohol, with the chemical formula \(\text{CH}_3\text{OH}\). It is a highly toxic, volatile, and flammable liquid used primarily as an industrial solvent, fuel, and raw material for manufacturing products like formaldehyde and plastics.

Basically, drink this for a fast path to blindness, insanity, and death.  Although, it does seem to be one of the least toxic alcohol solvents.  It doesn't burn skin, doesn't leave a toxic residual, is made from natural sources.

Once we get away from a social setting, alcohol is a word for very specific molecular chains.  Methyl alcohol has the perfect structure for binding to shellac with the lowest amount of residual.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it in the shops and now I'm wondering if it's a controlled substance due to people mistaking it for drinking alcohol.  I really don't want to use the major toxic stuff and drinking or medical alcohol doesn't bind to shellac.

This year's Glorious Revolution painting was a lot of fun to paint.  Although lilacs are still difficult.

Details of the painting process are in my private painting club.

I don't think I shared the finished version of last year's 25th of May painting.

let's fix that

How are the fluid levels?  Ours does a warning like this if any of the fluids are low.  It often gets confused between oil, radiator, and the other ones.  It's good to check them all in case of cross wires warning light.

Fish Friday, eh?

I need more fish.

Would praw stirfry count?

The 25th of may is neigh.

Here is to freedom, justice, reasonably priced love, and a hard boiled egg.

Most of permaculture seems to focus on perennial plants.

It helps to think about why we rotate annuals.  Soil nutrients (build better soil), pests (companion planting), and illness (mostly companion planting and saving our own seeds so we don't need to bring in plants or organic matter from off site).

I found, if we observe carefully, I seldom need to rotate crops unless one of the three pressures mentioned above gets too much.  Then again, most of it is solved by running the chickens in that area for a winter.

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