Jurassic Park Amber Cane

As I was watching Jurassic Park I was hit with a lightning strike of inspiration! I could replicate the amber cane that's in the movie; only make it more real than the prop. My mind raced back to this instructable where I used pine resin as glue sticks. I then ran to collect pine resin and convince my mom to let me use the oven. :)

Step 1: Things Needed

Stuff needed
1. Pine resin
2. A small egg
3. Strainers
4. A mosquito (look around creeks ponds and window sills)
5. An oven
6. Lathe (mine is a 1949 shopsmith ER)
7. Clear coat spray paint
8. 1 inch wooden dowel
9. Glue
10. Foil pans (or cans)

Step 2: Collect Tree Resin

When looking for resin I found that Austrian Pines are the best place to find it, especially if there are wood pecker holes. If any readers attempt this project; don't be greedy! leave enough for the tree to seal its wounds.

Step 3: Melt, Strain and Pour the Resin

First, I put all of the resin I collected into a foil pan and the pan into an oven set on 300° F. Once all of the sap was melted I strained the resin so there aren't any wood chips in it. Then I got the egg and blew the egg out of the shell, and poured the resin through a smaller strainer into the egg. Once the egg shell was half full I got the aforementioned mosquito and dropped it into the egg shell. Then, I poured the rest of the resin into the egg shell.

Step 4: Peel the Egg Shell Off

Once the pine resin had hardened I peeled the egg shell off. I made sure to keep it under cold water in case it was still warm.

Step 5: Use the Lathe

For this instructable I used my 1949 Shopsmith ER but any lathe will work. First, I printed out a few pictures and then used primarily the gouge and the round nose chisel for the curves and the parting tool for the indents. I tried to make the "sections" about 1.5 inches; but anywhere around there should work just so it's consistent. That's about it!

Step 6: Attach the Egg to the Stick

I first got a drill bit that was a little bit smaller than the dowel and the drilled a tiny bit into it. Then I squeezed a little bit of glue onto it and put the resin "egg" on it

Step 7: Finished!

Now it's time to admire the masterpiece!