I turned 2 acrylic pens last year and swore them off until spring when I could open the shop. I turned 3 on Monday and still trying to figure out to reduce the odor.
So I ask by fellow penheads, after turning an Acrylic pen, what is the best way to reduce or eliminate the odor before trying to sell it? Coat of CA, propped in front of fan, etc......
I'm not surprised at all that most pen turners can't smell the Acrylic smell if produces. In fact, different resin have different smells and strength, with the PR (polyester) been the worse by far...! I also noticed the the less quality the resin has, the more it stinks...!
Some people are more sensitive to smells than others however, acrylic pen blanks always stink and after a little while, those that handle the product all the time, start to be desensitized from it, which means, the body starts to accept the smells as something normal, therefore you can notice anything...!
One of my most illustrative life experiences of this phenomenon, was when I decided to start casting after about 20 years completely away for these type of chemicals/products. It was the biggest shock of my life when and after I had all the molds made, the pressure pot ready to go and all the accessories and bits and pieces required for casting the PR (only resin available to me), I open that 1 gallon of resin and I knew I was in troubles.
If I though that was the worse part of the experience, I got another big surprise when I started mixing it with colours and then the hardener and start pouring...! eyes watering, sneezing, headache, difficult in breathing and a need to get out of the shed that has a big door and lots of air vents on through it.
I can say that, I endup finishing what I was doing with the aid of my chemical painting musk but, having a shower and changing clothes didn't stop me from smelling it. If felt that I had my nose inside the resin drum, my hands seemed OK as I had used latex gloves.
I couldn't not believe how strong the smell was all over me and anywhere I would be as I would carry it with me inside my nose. The shed being a good 15 meters away from the house, wasn't far enough as I could smell the resin strongly, as soon as I would come outside.
Those first molds were stuck in the pressure pot for 4 days, before I got near the shed to get them out, by then I had purchased a proper musk to handle these type of resins. I got so disappointed and frustrated that I put all my casting gear for sale at the pen turner forum (Paradise) in Canada, that I was a member then. Unfortunately I can't give you the link of that thread as I was banned for life on that forum and all word or pic that I posted, was removed for good...! The only people that can validate this for me is any members here, that were or are still members of the Paradise forum, at that time and that read then thread...!
There is no exaggeration here, I was totally caught by surprise, particularly because I worked with lots of identical products in the pass, long ago, one that was particularly bad, was the fibreglass resin that is a nasty product to work with and to stink...!
I did not, for the life of me, expect such nasty reaction from the exposure to the PR resin, and after many months of not touching the stuff, I decided to finish then1 gallon drum and then decided what to do. Working with the mask, outside the shed, was not too bad but after I removed it I had troubles is getting too close to the molds/blanks without the musk but, in within the time I started and finished that first drum or resin, I noticed that my eyes were not reacting and that, I could take the mask in the shed area, without giving a headache.
Basically, all the strong reactions to the smell particularly, have disappeared to almost non noticing, unless I spend a whole week making resin blanks (Resifills), after the 3th day I got a headache that didn't go away until a couple of days after I finished that lot...!
So, the moral of the story is, yes the smell is always there, is your body response from exposure to it that determine the level of strength the smell affects you...!
This is one of the main reason why many people prefer to pay extra for the resin and use Alumilite that, and according to those using it, doesn't smell, or at least, nothing compared with PR...!
Happy casting...!
Cheers
George
