Dollar Tree eraser - review

I was generously sent this eraser and asked to do an honest review of it.  It came from dollar tree (cost $1.00).  Apparently it comes in many different designs. This one happens to be a sweet cake of some kind.

Close up of the front

This is the back of the eraser.  As you can see it will need work before carving.

I used Acetone to remove the writing - the painted cake is on the other side.  You can see eraser left overs from rubbing the material.  I was hoping this was just from treating the material with acetone to remove the writing. That was not the case.  I dealt with those the entire carve.

To finally get a smooth crumb free area.  I took a rag with acetone and laid it over the top and gently wiped the material. This took a few minutes.

After letting the material sit until it was no longer wet or tacky (30 min.) I transferred an image using acetone.  I did not dare try anything else as I finally have a clean area.

Ready to carve

I started off with a 1v gouge around the outside.  It was a "getting a feel for the material."  I also started with an exacto knife.  The knife did not cut this material well at all.  The eraser does not have a constant consistency to it.  I found hard areas in the block. You can see on the picture that there are jagged cuts where the blade went around something in the material.

I grabbed the gouge.  I tried to show some markings in the material.  In some areas the gouge slid right through, but in others it skipped. 

Here is the printed stamp.  It you can really see the jump marks and issues right away.

Personally this is a terrible carve for me and I am embarrassed that I could not get a cleaned cut not matter how hard I tried.  It is extremely rubbery.

Summary:

You can carve this material.  This would be a great block to learn your tools on as long as you eventually move to aother.  I have been carving both wood and rubber for over 10 years and struggled to get clean lines.  My fear would be that if someone stayed on this material they might get discouraged that their carvings are not getting better.

This material will hold up well in the heat.


This material might be good to make background shadows for LTCs as it hold ink well.

Acetone Transfer

Transferring an imag with acetone is pretty simple.

Start off with a bottle of acetone.  There are many brands.  You can find it at any home improvement store or hardware store.

Once you have your bottle you will need paper towels.  (You can use rags, but there can be danger in mixing chemicals in the washing machine). Paper towels are cheap and disposable. 

Gentle put your paper towel over your bottle and tip it.  

Here is a scrap piece of OZ material. 

I took my paper towel with acetone on it and rubbed it gently. (I did this twice- took take off the shiny layer)

You can see that the OZ is slightly wet, but not saturated.  It will dry within seconds.

Find your image.  I am using a pretty solid image so it shows up for a picture.

Lay your image upside down on the carving material.

Place your papertowel over the bottle and tip again.  The paper should be wet, but not dripping.

Dab your image lightly.  You will see the image through the paper clearly.  If you would like, gently lift one corner to double check.

Be careful not to leave the papertowel on the image too long!

If you look closely the upper part of the image is transfer very clearly, but the bottom is smeared with some bleeding.

If your paper sticks to the carving material. Dab it slightly and it will come up.

I took acetone and rubbed it on the transferred image.  It lightened it.  If you have very fine details in your image that seem hard to see, often this trick will help.

Happy carving!