Fun With Cactus

[IPD_Mr]

My Father-In-Law Joe, has been having some fun playing with casting. This is a prickly pear cactus skeleton cast that he did in clear Silmar. The blank was reverse painted a bright red and the tube was painted as well. I was very pleased with the outcome. Bubble free and because it is a clear cast the blank has good depth, even though the photo doesn't show it that well. A bonus that I really like is not having to apply a CA finish on this to get a great shine. Comments welcome good or bad.

 

[Monty]

Looks great. I personally prefer the clear cast to the colored for two reasons.
One, I can make it any color I choose and two, the clear, like you stated, gives a better depth look to it.

 

[Rmartin]

Brilliant! Great idea to cast clear. Pen looks awesome.

 

[jasontg99]

Looks fantastic.

 

[Dalecamino]

Based on your description and, the appearance of the pen, I'd say this one was done right all around. Nice work casting and, nice work turning. :biggrin:

 

[hewunch]

Looks really good. I seem to remember Curtis saying something about unfinished cactus turning colors. Has that been your experience?

 

[joefyffe]

Mike: Mighty fine, Mighty fine!!! You did a splendid job on the blank. Having seen the pen in person, I can verify, the photo does not do it justice. BUT, It's hard to get a two dimensional photo to show what the human eye sees in 3 D. I like your treatment of the blank. Great choice of color and the platinum/black Ti is a great compliment.

 

[MesquiteMan]

Looks really good. I seem to remember Curtis saying something about unfinished cactus turning colors. Has that been your experience?

The cactus skeleton will pick up oils from the skin and turn dark over time without some kind of film finish. I got my biggest pen order from someone who bought a cactus pen made with PR that was not sealed. It had turned pretty ugly and dark and he wanted it re-done. YMMV

 

[IPD_Mr]

Looks really good. I seem to remember Curtis saying something about unfinished cactus turning colors. Has that been your experience?

The cactus skeleton will pick up oils from the skin and turn dark over time without some kind of film finish. I got my biggest pen order from someone who bought a cactus pen made with PR that was not sealed. It had turned pretty ugly and dark and he wanted it re-done. YMMV

I know of someone who has had one made with PR for four years that does not have a CA finish on it and it looks as good as the day it was made. I have a high suspicion that if done correctly the skeleton will absorb some of the PR when cast. A good vacuum to pull as much air out as possible and then 50+ PSI of pressure until it cures. On this experiment I used Novus 3 and 2. If the castus was exposed to the extent it would "dirty up" then it would have pulled in some of the color and liquid of the Novus 2.

 

[Ligget]

That is a gorgeous pen Mike, blank and hardware marriage is perfect also!

 

[MarkD]

What a great looking pen! Nice job all around!

 

[rizaydog]

Awesome pen. I love it.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Joe and Mike awsome job for both of you. As to a CA finish on PR cactus, I'm in the same chain of thought as Mike, as long as you've placed the cactus in the pressurre chamber without letting it sit out and semi jell and your pessure is in the 40-50 PSI so as to fully coat the cactus with pr I've yet to have a customer have this problem and I have had customers see me at shows 3-4 years latter with cactus pens and not once have I heard of them having this problem. I agree with Curtis that when turning you are "cutting" into the cactus but if it was poured right it should absorb some PR. I've also heard that some will cast and not use a pot and that will most likly be what happen to Curtis's customer.
Just my 2 cents worth>>>>

 

[Tanner]

That's a great looking pen. Nice cast, fit and finish.