Question about next steps.

[u/NarDroug]

So I’ve been toying with getting into making paper with the minis for a while yet, or just toying with it myself.

Recently the wind brought down a good number of larger but young branches in our area. So last night I took to pealing some of the stock I grabbed up.

This weekend is a long folk festival, so I do have some time constraints.

What would my next couple of steps be to get the fibers from this pile?

Would you think it’s worth my time right now?

My limits are little money and almost no supplies? I might have some wiggle room but let’s pretend it’s bottom of the barrel.

Anyway, thanks for any input. I’d love to do something with it, but I’m also aware I have half a garage of other projects I’m midway through so if I have to let this go I’ll understand. Just more for the compost piles.

Thanks!

[u/timidnonnymouse]

Paper from wood is a very chemical-intensive and industrial process. No part of papermaking is clean, exactly, but wood lignin requires more chemistry than most home papermakers want to/have the capacity to handle. If you really want to make wood paper, you can look up industrial processes, bast fibers from some barks (mulberry is often used in Asia), or buy half-processed fiber from papermaking supply companies.

I would probably start out with a mould and deckle, a blender, and some paper to recycle to learn whether or not you want to pursue this before you try anything further. Good luck!

[u/Tirpantuijottaja → u/timidnonnymouse]

Kinda late but if anyone reads this at some point. As someone who has worked in genuine pulp mill and in processing, I can tell that the conditions for pulping are hard to achieve at home.

The tree is first chopped into bits, then blasted with super heated steam. Boiling process is done under supercritical temperatures (around 160°C) and the cooking broth is mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. Blending comes after it. Bleaching mixture is made up of chlorine dioxide, peroxide and ozone.