For those who are only familiar with its Minecraft counterpart, obsidian is a volcanic glass formed when lava cools so quickly that a crystalline structure is unable to form.
It isn’t terribly hard to find either, so maker Patrick Adair decided to combine his love of Minecraft with his love of making things to craft his own real-life obsidian block (diamond pickaxe not required).
Now, you may be thinking, I’ve never seen the purple vein obsidian like the type in Minecraft, so how did he make it? Well, Patrick’s block is actually created with a combination of obsidian, purple glow powder, and purple pigment (to give it that iconic Minecraft obsidian texture), and a hefty dose of his very own Astro Tech resin.
Let’s break it down:
1. OBSIDIAN SMASH!
To start off, Patrick breaks down his obsidian into workable chunks. These obsidian pieces should be able to fit his cube-shaped container to mix in the other materials.
2. Mix The Resin
To give the resin its purple color, he mixes two separate batches: one with purple pigment and glow powder, the other with only the pigment and resin. Since the resin he’s working with takes about 30 minutes to harden, he can take his time and experiment with the amount of pigment and glow powder in each mixture. Both batches of resin look light right now but will darken once mixed with the obsidian chunks.
3. Pour On The Layers
Patrick pours his resin in layers to avoid any bubbles, swapping between the translucent and opaque mixtures while working from the bottom of the container up. As he adds the resin layers, he makes sure to mix in lots of obsidian chunks to make the obsidian stand out and the resin to fill the space in between the rock.
4. Clean Up With A Blowtorch
Patrick puts a final layer of translucent resin on top of the cube container before using a blowtorch to heat away any bubbles that rise to the surface.
After the resin hardens and dries, the finished product looks (almost) exactly like an obsidian block you would find during your escapades in Minecraft. The heavy purple color of the resin has mixed with the darker shade of the obsidian chunks but you can still see the volcanic glass just below the surface.
Even better, Patrick’s addition of the glow powder takes it to the next level. Set this block in the dark and it lights up with an ominous blue hue, as if it’s waiting for you to just break it apart and construct a Nether Portal.
Along with the specialty resin, he sells a kit to make this very block and can find more of his experiments on YouTube channel, Patrick Adair Designs. Though his claim to fame is his unique ring designs, he sometimes comes up with these awesome pieces which have nothing to do with hand jewelry.
