Ben testing the “Laka” that we found in the local hardware store. Having been told that shellack is only available in small quantity and at great cost. We decided to substitute another type of sealer. When we told Laura and Ojars that we would substitute laquer, the resulting confusion and language difficulties reminded us that we are in a different country and that sometimes the simplest solution is to ‘do it yourself’. The stuff worked perfectly and we then proceeded to run a test block with a sample of the ink and using the new German ink rollers that were obtained at considerable expense. Here are some photos of the process:
Ben burnishing the test block, with a polished stone! Very appropriate to Pedvale!
About to pull the test print. Fancy german ink roller in the background. Burnishing stone in the foreground.
No point in showing the test block ,as it was just sample cuts of various depths and widths. This photo shows Ben cleaning the ink roller at the conclusion of the test run. Lets Do This!
Can’t close this post without an image of Ben carving his block !
I think that I understand the translation problem. I bet that shellac in Latvian refers to the resin itself, an insect product from China. I have seen this for sale in specialty wood shops in Grand Rapids in the form of buttons or flakes, but then this place is “furniture city”. When you are back in the US, check out a can of liquid shellac. They are usually marked with the concentration or weight/volume. The usual solvent is methanol (wood alcohol).