Lichtenberg Figures

[Oliver Edmonds]

So! I am building my bass! It will have an ash body with natural finish. However, recently I stumbled across the idea of Litchenberg Figure burning into wood using high voltage electricity - as shown in this video.

Basically, I am pretty curious as to whether or not this would work with a clear finish on top of it. It would be pretty sick! Do you guys reckon this is plausible? Would it weaken the wood? Would it finish properly? And (a long shot) has anyone tried something similar before?

THANKS!!!!

 

[lbridenstine]

Do it before you put the finish on and obviously without the neck or any hardware attached. I think it would be fine, I've seen people use lighter fluid and fire, blow torches, etc.

 

[yoshi]

It looks fairly deep on the first closeup. If so, I bet you could bash in some turquoise or glow-in-the-dark stuff into that (much like @lbridenstine , above, did on one of her build threads here: 5 string buckeye burl/mahogany neck through | Page 23 | TalkBass.com ).

 

[Will_White]

So! I am building my bass! It will have an ash body with natural finish. However, recently I stumbled across the idea of Litchenberg Figure burning into wood using high voltage electricity - as shown in this video.

Basically, I am pretty curious as to whether or not this would work with a clear finish on top of it. It would be pretty sick! Do you guys reckon this is plausible? Would it weaken the wood? Would it finish properly? And (a long shot) has anyone tried something similar before?

THANKS!!!!

As Lisa said you'd want to do this before finishing as it involves soaking the wood with an electrically conductive solution, and also I would be concerned with it weakening the wood, I would do it with a top but I don't think I would do it with a full body.

 

[sissy kathy]

As Lisa said you'd want to do this before finishing as it involves soaking the wood with an electrically conductive solution, and also I would be concerned with it weakening the wood, I would do it with a top but I don't think I would do it with a full body.

+1 for doing it on unfinished wood. I am sure this won't hurt the strength of the wood, remember this is only happening where the wood is soaking the solution up; so the less time you give it to absorb the mixture the shallower the effect will be.

 

[Oliver Edmonds]

So it probably would weaken it... Im not using a top. And like said, the ash would soak up the conductive solution so the burning would probably go through the entirety of the body as opposed to just the top. Still slightly unsure of this... but then again it would be awesome as a pattern.
Thank you for mentioning turquoise or putting something into the pattern... nice!

 

[Oliver Edmonds]

+1 for doing it on unfinished wood. I am sure this won't hurt the strength of the wood, remember this is only happening where the wood is soaking the solution up; so the less time you give it to absorb the mixture the shallower the effect will be.

Thats a very good point!

 

[Oliver Edmonds]

What sort of finish would be best do you reckon?

 

[sissy kathy]

What sort of finish would be best do you reckon?

The baking powder isn't going to be absorbed, so I believe the effects will only be on the surface. The only reason I see to do it is for the looks, so I'd use a clear poly or oil.

 

[xaxxat]

Finally a good use for the magnetron I've been saving.