Sculpted & Cast Pine Cone Bits

[SteveAxelrod]

This is the third of four blanks I made last weekend in my first experiment with casting with polyester resin. The "Sculpted" pen kit is from Craft Supplies and its botanical scheme matches nicely with the pine cone (IMHO). I can see how casting your own blanks can become addicting!


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[OZturner]

Another Great Blank, Steve.
You have got these down to a Fine Art,
Congratulations.
Brian.

 

[robutacion]

This is the third of four blanks I made last weekend in my first experiment with casting with polyester resin. The "Sculpted" pen kit is from Craft Supplies and its botanical scheme matches nicely with the pine cone (IMHO). I can see how casting your own blanks can become addicting!

G'day Steve,

Absolutely mate, casting can be a very enjoyable and exciting experience particularly after the "bugs" have all been sorted and you get good results every time, one can never be absolutely sure on how the blank's will turn out, going from cast blank to finished pen will always give you the full experience of the before and after, you are certainly on the right track...!

Polyester is a good and fairly "inexpensive" (sort off...!) resin to use, while you are making small casts, the mixing ratios recommended by the manufacturer work well however, if you ever decide to make a large casting pour, reduce the catalyst %'s to 1/5 otherwise, the extra heat will crack the blank in various places. This will be a slow cure (3 to 5 days) but no cracks...!

The kit you selected for the blanks is a great match, fit and finish are spot-on, great work...!

Cheers
George

 

[SteveAxelrod]

Thanks for the tips George!

 

[TattooedTurner]

That came out NICE! The pine cone at the nib works perfectly imo. The hardware was a great choice for a pine cone blank. I agree, casting can get addictive. It's as enjoyable a part of the procedure as turning the pen for me. There's something about seeing how the blank turns out when you made it. I'm not knocking purchased blanks by any means, I've turned some beautiful ones and still have a few. But when I create the blank I get an extra level of satisfaction when I see the finished product.

 

[PenWizard]

Did you plan on how the bits of pine cone were going to appear once turned or is the result simply luck of the draw? The pen kit goes really nicely with the pine cones. Can't wait to see what you cast up next!

 

[Magicbob]

Very nice

 

[bpgoldo]

Steve, the depth, the drama, the organics, the mystery. What a terrific blank. Well matched to the kit and finish. Masterpiece. Congrats, and many more!