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Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Printable Version

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Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Iagoba - 11-14-2007

I´ve had some doubts.:?
The wax part is "carved"?:

[Image: wax_tablet_02.jpg]

Or framed by four pieces of wood?:

[Image: wax_tablet_01-1.jpg]

The stylus will be made from bone, due to my lack of experience with bronze, but:
-What bone I must use?
-Can be one that has been boiled (from food)?
-I must do something special, apart from polishing it?

Thanks!

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Robert Vermaat - 11-14-2007

Quote:The stylus will be made from bone, due to my lack of experience with bronze
Why not use a hard wood?

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Iagoba - 11-14-2007

I wanted to learn to work with bone. Probably one year I´ll made my own spatha grip of bone... :wink:

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Marcus Mummius - 11-14-2007

To my knowledge the area for the wax should be carved? So the table is made out of one piece.

Vale,

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Martin Moser - 11-14-2007

Quote:To my knowledge the area for the wax should be carved? So the table is made out of one piece.

Yes, that's true. Also there are quite a few finds of bone stilii, so thats fine as well.

Do you want ot copy an actual find? If so, I can get you a few pics of such or the sources where to look for them ...

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Iagoba - 11-14-2007

Thanks! Big Grin
I´ve ben looking for "real" wax-tablet (Name in Latin?) oto but i only found replica ones...
That will be my first reproduction, and I also wanted to know the way of "sealing" the written tablets with a sigilum, but this will come later... :?

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Martin Moser - 11-14-2007

Quote:I´ve ben looking for "real" wax-tablet (Name in Latin?) oto but i only found replica ones...

Look here or here for example. The Latin name is tabula cerata, btw.

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Wes - 11-17-2007

If you work with bone, make sure you wear a dust mask or respirator! The fine dust is hazardous to your health.

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Iagoba - 11-17-2007

Is that historical? :twisted:

I mean the sickness... :roll: I suppose that yes...hard times.

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - M. Demetrius - 11-17-2007

Yes, lung cancer is historical, but you really don't want to add it to your panoply. The problem is that the bone dust gets inhaled in the lungs, but does not decompose. It's the same kind of symptoms of coal miners, plastic workers, long-term tobacco smokers, etc. Tiny particles trapped in the lung. You don't need it. Makes you very sick, or dead. Both of those are "authentic", though. Confusedhock:

Get a good respirator (with replaceable cartridges). If you pick carefully, you can get cartridge replacements for paint spray, dust, etc., and switch them when you need to. Easier to replace a clogged dust filter than a set of lungs. :!: :!:

Re: Making my own stylus and wax tablet. - Iagoba - 11-17-2007

Don´t worry about that...I knew that.
[Image: 254990997_52fc29b454.jpg]
I´ve been explaining those things for some years, and I don´t like the idea of anybody using them ON me. :roll:
Even with their historical accuracy.