# Staff building material



## tjc67 (Jul 28, 2013)

Has anyone ever worked with the building material called Staff? It's a temporary material of Plaster of Paris and some kind of fibers like hemp or maybe burlap to stiffen it. It becomes very workable when dried and was used to create many of the facades for the 1893 Worlds Fair in Chicago(among others). Which is how I became aware of it from a thread asking about it on a history forum I frequent. 
I've been trying to find a recipe with correct portions for it but the name makes it extremely interesting to locate info on it.


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## tjc67 (Jul 28, 2013)

I found an article from 1902 with a basic description of the process they were using to create exhibits for the 1904 St Louis Worlds Fair. I'm thinking about some experimenting with the process to see how viable it is for prop use. 

I'm intrigued by the descriptions of how it could be worked and it's resemblance to marble once done, which might look good for the Louisiana style above ground tombs I've wanted to do since being sent there for the hurricanes in '08.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I had the same issue you had when trying to search for information - lots of repeats of the information in the Wikipedia article, but no actual recipe. It sounds as if it would be an excellent addition to the haunt arsenal of building techniques.


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## tjc67 (Jul 28, 2013)

I found a company in Paris that appears to actually still work with it and sent them a message to see if they can at least point me in the right direction.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Sounds like what you're trying to make is 19th century drywall mud. Both chemically and in the physical description, they sound pretty similar. Sure we might trade out glycerine for modern silicone or latex thickeners and swap out the dextrin filler/binder for some other modern synthetic material. But I suspect both are going to act very similar. So unless you're 100% set on replicating the old recipe, the answer might be as close as a bag at the local building center.

I'd strongly question the 'bendable' part of the description...maybe in very thin sections and very gentle bends...like a piece of drywall. But I wouldn't expect something made of plaster, cement and starch to be terribly flexible.

You also may consider adding some cement (not concrete...well, unless you want that 'aggregate' look) to the drywall mud, I suspect that might help control shrinkage and give it a more 'stony' property.


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## tjc67 (Jul 28, 2013)

That's what I am curious about finding out. If it is any better then what is already available or if it's just an older version of current building materials. It might turn out to be nothing but figure worth a shot. 
And thank you for the suggestions, I'll give it a try when I get to the experiment phase.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

I suspect it will fall into the latter category...just an older version of current materials. If it was really better, I suspect it would be very well known and in wide spread use still today. They definitely didn't have urethane foam, plastics, silicones and other synthetic materials to cast 'stones' in the 1800's. They were probably trying to replicate a cheap / light weight / workable substitute for concrete with what they had available in the period.

But definitely let us know if you uncover any more info or do any experiments. It's always neat to 'dig up' history!


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## tjc67 (Jul 28, 2013)

I'll be sure to post what I find. And it let's me combine two of my favorite things - Halloween and History.


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

Interesting, I hope they reply.


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