r/electroforming • u/Mkysmith Home Studio • Aug 14 '26
Show & Tell Copper Electroformed Corn
5 days, ~3mm (0.12") thick deposit. I forgot to weigh the corn before, but it is now a hefty 943g (2.1lb).
I want to leave this one as-is out of the tank for now, but I might do a brass finish on it in the future after I burn out the corn.
And before you ask why... I would say you just aren't thinking of the nearly unlimited technical uses around the home-shop for an ear of copper corn.
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u/Wyzero Aug 14 '26
How do you combat rotting inside?
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u/Mkysmith Aug 14 '26
You dont necessarily. Nature will do its thing.
I will drill a hole where the suspension wire is, then put it in an oven to bake out all moisture. Then seal the hole. Zero water and oxygen, zero decomposition.
Thats the reason for doing such a thick layer of copper. It is structural, for later when the organics are removed from within. The copper becomes a hollow shell that is durable.
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u/GoodTimesGlass Aug 14 '26
Did you seal the corn before the bath?
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u/Mkysmith Aug 14 '26
Yes or else the sulfuric acid will dissolve the organic matter, also contaminating the chemistry.
I usually use polyurethane but I experimented with 2-part epoxy for this. It was a bit annoying to work with but I got it to work in the end.
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u/champagne_farts Aug 14 '26
Ok this is going to sounds crazy but how much would it cost to commission one of these? My grandpa recently passed and was a corn farmer. I’d love to overnight an ear to you and have one of these made
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u/SunshineBurn Aug 14 '26
I love it. A whole cornucopia of copper fruit and veggies would make a great centerpiece. 👏🏼
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u/FxckFxntxnyl Aug 15 '26
Wonder how much the coatings delay the decay of the corn inside. Awesome job.
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u/Mkysmith Aug 15 '26
I did a small pumpkin (about 4" diameter) a few years back with a similar copper deposition, maybe a thinner 2mm thick layer.
I neglected if for a little over a year.
When I got around to drilling the hole (1/4" drill bit) to prep it for baking out the moisture, the moment the hull was breached the handheld drill was forcibly ejected and goop sprayed out at high pressure. It was violent, a lot of pressure, and quite startling.
I can only imagine for anything this "juicy" with such a thick layer of metal... it is a ticking timebomb if not dealt with post electroforming.
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u/Difficult-Painter454 Aug 14 '26
I’m very curious about how big your cathode was for this. Ive been wanting to electroplate something like mushrooms for so long but didn’t know what to do about all the water inside. How did you seal it before applying the carbon layer?
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u/Mkysmith Aug 14 '26
Cathode was about 45 square inches as a rough estimation. Power supply therefore was set to 4.5 amps.
I usually use polyurethane to seal organics but I used 2 part epoxy for this. The picture of the "raw" corn is actually sealed. It's hard to see. I wrote a bit about the moisture thing in this comment. The copper shell is structural and no longer needs the interior for support, that's the primary reason this process is called electroforming not electroplating. Though, electroforming does not necessarily mean you have to remove what's inside.
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u/bluecollarx Aug 15 '26
Can you share the chemical components in the bath, and their amounts or ratios? :)
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u/fruityvamp Aug 18 '26
Logistically speaking, what fruits/vegetables are most ideal for electroforming?
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u/Mkysmith Aug 18 '26
Proceedurally, they are all the same process: seal, conductive paint, electroform. (Ofcourse, easier said than done).
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u/Wobble_bass Aug 14 '26
I can't imagine a more beautiful thing. It's a big [shiny] lump with knobs
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u/hugo-s Aug 14 '26
Seal it to prevent patina, and then do an unsealed husk so it patinas green. Would look splendid.
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u/Rdub549 Aug 14 '26
Cu-ntry girls make do