How to Make Paper at Home
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at paper making, then you need to start with Paper Pulp from Recycled Paper and a deckle. A ‘deckle’ is the device that you can collect your paper pulp in and it then drains away the excess water. It’s key to the papermaking process. You can purchase a paper making kit online or you can make your own, which is not hard to do and is far cheaper than a pre-made kit. Here’s how to make your own deckle at home with timber photo frames.
Supplies
- 2 x same size timber photo frames with flat surfaces (we used 13cm x 8cm frames)
- Fly screen to cover 1 photo frame
- Hardware tack – Paslode Tack ‘Blued’ 10 x 1.6mm is what we use. You can use a staple gun instead if you have one on hand.
- Small hammer
- Scissors
How to Make a Deckle from Timber Photo Frames
Step 1: Preparing Photo Frames
The first thing to do is to remove the glass and backing off both the photo frames. Hammer in any protruding staples or metal fixtures.
NOTE ON FRAMES: It’s best if the frames are identical and the top surface is flat so you can hold the two frames together. You can purchased these from a thrift shop for as little as $2. Also remember that the smaller the frame, the easier to make the paper, so, for first timers or for children, stick to the 13cm x 8cm frame. You can graduate to a bigger deckle as your confidence (or addiction) grows.
Step 2: Fly Screen
You only need to cover one (1) of your photo frames in fly screen. To cut to the correct size, lay the photo frame down and cut around it, leaving a 3-4cm around the edge to allow for folding.
Step 3: Hammer Time (or gun it with a staple gun!)
No, MC Hammer pants are not required for this step, but you do need a hammer (I have a cute little one I can easily handle) and some tack nails OR your staple gun.
Fold the excess fly screen over to the back of the photo frame and administer a tack nail. With tack nails, you can push them into the timber frame with only finger strength first so that they don’t fall over when you start hammering. Give the staples a little knock with the hammer to make them flush with the frame. If using a staple gun, hold the gun down flat with the fly screen underneath and pull the trigger, but watch your fingers!
Repeat this step along one side and then, pulling the fly screen tight, nail down the opposite side. Repeat until frame is completely covered.
To tidy up, you can nail down the corners to get the fly screen out of the way.
…… and you are done! To easy, right?!
The next thing you need to do is check out how to put your full paper making kit together. We’ll be sharing the next steps to making paper at home very shortly.
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