I just finished cutting a bunch of old Homosote for roadbed for my Standard gauge track and saw a big pile of "sawdust" under my table saw. I am no landscape expert but it looks like it would make good tree foliage or ground cover. Has anyone ever tried using it ??
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It's a mess to work with, but I have tried to make my own grass and textured scenery using Homosote dust, with only marginal results. The stuff tended "clump" when I tried painting or coloring it and had a definite, unrealistic, uneven texture. Maybe someone can come up with a better method of coloring the stuff, but, really, there are so many inexpensive grass/foliage/ground cover out there that it's probably not worth the effort.
Having said that, let me know if you have any success doing it yourself!
Paul Fischer
I made ground cover using foam rubber and an old blender. I cut the foam into one inch squares and filled the blender half full of water. I turn on the blender to it's highest speed and remove the center piece from the lid. Then I start feeding in the pieces of foam to grind it up. The first batch I made, I added a little latex paint. I buy the small sample paint from the big box stores. A little goes along way. Once it was mixed I dumped the foam out onto a screen and collected the colored water to use again. I found this to be too time consuming for the clean up of the blender, so now I just put it in an old plastic bucket and mix it with a stick. Once I get the color I want I pour out the liquid into another container and pour the foam on an old window screen. I spread it out so it doesnt clump and allow it to ait dry. I stir it around once aday until it completely drys.
I made ground cover using foam rubber and an old blender. I cut the foam into one inch squares and filled the blender half full of water. I turn on the blender to it's highest speed and remove the center piece from the lid. Then I start feeding in the pieces of foam to grind it up. The first batch I made, I added a little latex paint. I buy the small sample paint from the big box stores. A little goes along way. Once it was mixed I dumped the foam out onto a screen and collected the colored water to use again. I found this to be too time consuming for the clean up of the blender, so now I just put it in an old plastic bucket and mix it with a stick. Once I get the color I want I pour out the liquid into another container and pour the foam on an old window screen. I spread it out so it doesnt clump and allow it to ait dry. I stir it around once aday until it completely drys.
Many years ago, I did something similar using an old hand cranked meat grinder. Back then I discovered that using a denser foam rubber gave better results. This is a great way to get custom colors.
As for the Homasote dust, you may have a lot of it, but it's probably best in the trash. Now, regular sawdust (wood) has been a long time scenic material, but has fallen out of favor since the advent of of better looking alternatives.
While I had my dog outside I took some red paint and sprayed a dry, branched weed-where the flowers had been, and covered the wet paint with the Homo. dust. It stuck well, and, actually looked pretty good, I thought. Will have to get some more weeds and use clear lacquer or tan paint as an adhesive. It dries quick, then use some greens and, maybe yellows.
While I had my dog outside I took some red paint and sprayed a dry, branched weed-where the flowers had been, and covered the wet paint with the Homo.
Did he get angry?
(sorry, couldn't resist)
Steven J. Serenska
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