JP'sW

its on ebay :D

thanks for your kind comment

Thats a stunning build! Is it a through neck?

so I voted it up in the plastics competition instead

Its rare for me to vote against myself in instructable competitions but this is superb

thanks for looking!

Really really nice Joe, looks lovely. I take it you're off on your hols soon?

I've started using hardwood furniture oil as a finish as it removes the need to rub away the last stubborn bits of paper and gives a pleasant sepia finish to the picture.

What an excellent project. Job well done!

Such a cool project, can't wait until my chopsaw blade needs replacing

If I remember thecrafsman did a good review video on youtube of Pallisade paper that is worth a watch

Never tried the Pallisade paper as it is a bit expensive for what it is (for me anyway) though as an avid Airfix modeller I did try this using standard waterslide paper and it worked quite well for a first try, certainly well enough to warrant a few more tries to refine the technique and is quite a bit cheaper than Pallisade paper. As far as the white residue after rubbing, as long as it looks clear when its wet, try hitting it with a clear varnish or furniture oil once it has dried, this will make the left over bits of paper swell and become translucent and once it sets will leave a nice clear image. My current product of choice is Ronseal Hardwood Furniture Oil. Its about £10 a tin but so far has saved me hours of rubbing

Since writing this instructable I have refined my technique somewhat and taking a tip from slrcoaching.com I now only clean until the picture looks clean when it is wet, and after allowing to dry completely apply a varnish. The varnish swells the paper fibres so they become transparent and the picture dries clear. The product I am currently using is Ronseal Hardwood Furniture Oil. I don't think using water resistant Mod Podge would help since the ink sticks on top of the mod podge, the way the ink comes off in flakes when you scrub too hard indicates that it is not an issue of the mod podge dissolving in water. I have also found that applying Mod Podge to both the wood and the paper before sticking down seems to make the ink more hard wearing when it comes to the scrubbing.

What a "random" idea

This is a stunning piece of work, I'm actually in competition with you in the Glue contest but I'm voting this up anyway because its just excellent!

Hey, nothing to stop you using mains LED lights if you know what you are doing, the reason I went for batteries is firstly I had a set of battery LEDs lying around and second for safety. If someone follows this instructable and anything went wrong like something got too hot and melted, or a wire stripped on a sharp glass edge then 4.5 volts of battery power isn't going to hurt anyone.Sounds like you have some cool ideas, if you do go ahead and make the 3/4 full liquor bottle lamp then please post up some pics. I'd love to see how that looks.

thanks, fingers crossed

that would work but if you have a bottle with a paper label that you want to preserve, this might not be the best way. I think most labels will survive few splashes when you carefully rinse the dust off at the end but a prolonged soak in a water bath may not be so good

quite right, in fact I'm going to put that in an edit. Thanks for pointing that out

its a great excuse to finish off a bottle of bourbon (and buy another). Incidentally this kind of thing sells on ebay for between £10 and £30 a bottle so its perfectly possible to offset the cost of your booze by turning your empties into lamps!

That was a brilliant project, very well done!

Great instructable, I have been toying with trying this out but just couldn't remember enough chemistry from school.

Something about plague doctors really gives me the creeps and as a massive horror fan that is a good thing. This was really well put together, you obviously did your research and paid good attention to detail. Best of luck in the halloween comp.Also when you make rivets a good tip I heard is to use a bead of hot glue and paint that, then you can choose your own size and shape or even add texture.

Filters > Decor > Fuzzy Border

thanks, actually when I was building it I did think about fixing the base lower down to form a low shelf and then finding a piece of glass or cast iron to use as a centrepiece for the top. Oh well, future project perhaps.

I've not tried the dishwasher safe stuff so can't comment but it might be worth a try if you are having difficulty. All I can think of is are you giving your Mod Podge long enough to fully cure? The manufacturer recommends at least 8 hours, I always give it overnight so at least 12. Also are you sanding your wood surface flat enough? When I do lose bits of the image it tends to happen more where there are imperfections in the wooden surface. I sand progressively from an agressive 120 grit on the belt sander all the way to hand sanding with a 600 grit.Finally I'll stress again, take your time, when you are removing the very last bits of paper your fingers should be pressing ever so slightly harder than you would stroke a cat.

this is something I want to try, thanks for the clear instructions

Great article and one more step on my road to a bronze commenting medal ;)

and theres the second

Very effective technique!