This is fantastic. I want to make a violin with natural material composites. I was thinking about Amplitex linen fabric and want an epoxy replacement. I might try this according to your recipe. I also am experimenting with sizing a real wood violin with potassium caseinate before varnishing because there is evidence the old master builders did something similar. I need a process to make potassium caseinate however which is how I found your blog. Is potassium caseinate simply casein reacted with potassium hydroxide? I see you use pickling lime - calcium hydroxide - and wipinder now if I need that too to make potassium caseinate. Do you know?
Sounds like a really cool project! I found that this recipe works well for small parts, but had a tendency to contract and curl for larger ones. Haven't played with it in some time, but just know that you'll probably have to experiment to get things to work for your application. To your questions -- I'm definitely no chemist, but I believe you're correct that potassium caseinate is casein + potasium hydroxide. For the pickling lime, according to an older post of mine (https://surjan.substack.com/p/31-a-composite-of-milk-and-linen), "hydrated lime [is] for improved water-resistance", citing this Forest Service document that had a lot of good info on casein glues (https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/jspui/bitstream/1957/882/1/FPL_280ocr_rev.pdf). So no, don't think you'd need that if you're just going for potassium caseinate. Good luck -- let me know if there's anything else I can try to help with.
This is fantastic. I want to make a violin with natural material composites. I was thinking about Amplitex linen fabric and want an epoxy replacement. I might try this according to your recipe. I also am experimenting with sizing a real wood violin with potassium caseinate before varnishing because there is evidence the old master builders did something similar. I need a process to make potassium caseinate however which is how I found your blog. Is potassium caseinate simply casein reacted with potassium hydroxide? I see you use pickling lime - calcium hydroxide - and wipinder now if I need that too to make potassium caseinate. Do you know?
Sounds like a really cool project! I found that this recipe works well for small parts, but had a tendency to contract and curl for larger ones. Haven't played with it in some time, but just know that you'll probably have to experiment to get things to work for your application. To your questions -- I'm definitely no chemist, but I believe you're correct that potassium caseinate is casein + potasium hydroxide. For the pickling lime, according to an older post of mine (https://surjan.substack.com/p/31-a-composite-of-milk-and-linen), "hydrated lime [is] for improved water-resistance", citing this Forest Service document that had a lot of good info on casein glues (https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/jspui/bitstream/1957/882/1/FPL_280ocr_rev.pdf). So no, don't think you'd need that if you're just going for potassium caseinate. Good luck -- let me know if there's anything else I can try to help with.
Reading an engineering blog measuring density in "ounces per square yard" has to make you smile :).
Great post, and great information, thanks for writing!
Haha, I'm realizing more and more that my preference for imperial units is seen as maybe a little quaint. But it's what I learned!
Thanks for reading and commenting!