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Shellac Flakes from Stick Lac
Shellac is the resin the female lac insect secretes on the twigs of its host trees. Scraped off with bark and insects in it, it is packed into a cloth tube and heated over a fire; the resin melts and seeps out through the cloth, leaving the debris inside. Spread thin and cooled it sets into sheets that break into flakes. Dissolved in alcohol it becomes French polish and sanding sealer.
Beginner
Half a day
Instructions
1
1
Scrape the lac
Scrape the lac
Scrape the lac crust off the branches with a knife onto a cloth. Weigh it.
Materials for this step:
Lac-Encrusted Branches1 kgTools needed:
Knife
Weighing Scale2
2
Crush and wash
Crush and wash
Crush the crust coarsely, then rinse it in cold water and pour off what floats, to wash out the red dye and dust. Dry it.
Materials for this step:
Water5 litersTools needed:
Mortar and Pestle
Large Cooking Pot
Fine Mesh Sieve3
3
Fill the cloth tube
Fill the cloth tube
Sew a long narrow tube of cotton cloth, fill it with the washed lac and tie both ends.
Materials for this step:
Cotton Cloth0.25 sqmTools needed:
Knife4
4
Melt it through the cloth
Melt it through the cloth
Holding the tube by its ends with gloves, warm it over a low fire and twist it slowly; the melted shellac seeps out through the cloth. Scrape it onto parchment on a tray.
Tools needed:
Fire Pit
Heat-Resistant Gloves
Baking Parchment Paper
Baking Sheet5
5
Spread and cool
Spread and cool
While soft, press it out into a thin sheet and let it cool hard.
Tools needed:
Baking Parchment Paper6
6
Break into flakes
Break into flakes
Break the sheet into flakes, weigh them, and store them in a closed jar away from heat.
Tools needed:
Weighing Scale
Glass Jars with LidsMaterials
3- Placeholder
- 5 litersPlaceholder
- 0.25 sqmPlaceholder
Tools Required
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