Cast resin pen problems

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JimGo

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I tried my first casting this weekend. I "painted" the brass tubes black with a Sharpie, then glued some stingray skin to the tubes using carpenter's glue. The glue seemed to hold just fine, so I thought I'd try casting them. Mixed up som Castin' Resin, slid the blanks onto a 1/4" dowell, and put the whole thing in a metal tube to cure. I let everything sit for over a day, and when I pulled it out of the tube, it was still wet, but semi-solid. I let that dry in the sun the rest of the day, and it was great by the end of the day today. Cut the whole thing in half (to separate the two tubes), drilled out the dowels, used a barrel trimmer, and everything went GREAT. I was really excited, since this was my first time. I threw it on the lathe and started turning everything down. The blanks seemed to get pretty hot, though I got some great shavings off of it. Then, as I got down close to the size of a SL bushing, the casting resin broke off, leaving just the skin. To make matters worse, the glue also apparently got hot enough that the skin pulled off the tube.

Any ideas what might have gone wrong?
 
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PenWorks

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Sorry to here that Jim. The only thing I can think of, since it was starting to get pretty thin, maybe you just caught it heavy with your tool just enough to catch it and it snapped.

Also, when your casting in a tube mold, best to let it site a couple of days, generally takes longer to cure in a tube.
 

Old Griz

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Jim, were you doing a slimline style pen... If so I don't think there is really enough casting material left over the skin for doing a pen with that thin a wall... also as for the heat.. I have had that problem with some of the softer acrylics.. just stop and let the blank cool every now and then... You might also want to look into a glue called Aleene's Tacky Glue.. I use it a lot on scroll saw projects and it works like a dream.. have actually had the wood break before the joint gave up... and it dries quickly and clear... you can get it at any craft shop... it comes in a couple of formulas.. I generally use either the Regular or the Extra Tacky.. SWHTM says the second one fits me better.... Not sure what she means by that... LOL
 

JimGo

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Thanks Anthony and Tom! Anthony, I let it cure for a day in the tube, plus about 6 or 7 hours out of the tube in the sun. When each half peeled away, my first thought was that the plastic hadn't cured long enough. But my other thought was that the skin needed to be treated or prepared before being cast. Tom, yours was my third thought! :) I'm going to give it another try anway, since I had hoped it would be a Mother's Day present! Otherwise, I'm going to have to find some other, unique wood. Good thing I got that Lacewood from Drew! :)
 

Old Griz

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WOW Jim.. you actually managed three thoughts after casting resin... Fantastic... LOL
The way Tony kept complaining about the fumes, I thought that wasn't possible... LOL
Try that casting with a Round Top Euro or a Perfect Fit, both from Berea, it might work out better...
If you need something really unique let me know, I might have something for you... give me a buzz...
 

JimGo

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Thanks Tom!

Coach, that was my thought, too. Kind of disappointing, because my mother mentioned that she preferred slimline size pens. Oh well!

Oh, BTW, Anthony, a papercutter works well for stingray. Still doesn't cut through the big bumps, but it is MUCH straighter than the edges I was getting with my razor.

Again, thanks for the feedback, and any other ideas/suggestions are welcome and appreciated!
 

Lornek8

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Jim,
I was wondering what you meant by the blank being "wet" when pulled out of the mold? I work a lot with casting resin making fishing lures and it is common for resin to come out of the mold still tacky on the surface and somewhat wrinkled. After a few days the surface usually sets up, but is still rather soft. You can remove this film by wiping it with Acetone or scraping it off. If the whole blank is soft all the way through, it could be either that too little or too much catalyst was used, either could lead to an improper cure. I have found that if the blank comes out of the mold with a hard surface, the resin usually got too hot and will be extremly brittle. I have also had adhesion problems with mixtures to which I've added too much catalyst.
Tool selection can also make a big difference. Using gouges typically leads to chip-out but is good for roughing. Skews can leave a good surface but can sometimes "bite" at the wrong times. I have found that a deburred square scraper used to shear scrape leaves the best surface with the least amount of effort. It can take a while to remove a lot of material but is the least worrysome.
I have cured resin in a vacuum. It seems to set a little faster but is primarily used to remove the bubbles from the resin. Be careful though, I have found that vacuums over about 15" can actually increase the amount of bubbles in the resin. I'm not sure but the resin may actually start to boil.
Good luck hopes this helps.
 

JimGo

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Thanks for the feedback Lorne! Your comments on the tools are interesting; I cast it in a tube on purpose, to avoid the chipping issue. I did find that the skew tended to bite sometimes; maybe I'll have to try a scraper instead. As for the vacuum, I thought it might help reduce the bubbles, and to help make the surface of the stingray skin open up a little more, thereby helping the resin to adhere to the skin. Of course, I'd need a vacuum pump first, but that's a separate issue! I have some plans that DCBluesMan pointed us to a while ago, and will likely use them when I get a chance.
 

JimGo

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Michael,
I tried to cast a skin in the resin. I think I may not have let it cure long enough, and I may have had other problems, too. I want to test the skin out and see how DNA does on it; I may clean the skin with it before I cast next time, to further improve adhesion. I'm glad I did this on a test set!

I purchased dyes and some pearl agents too, and hope to try to repeat Anthony, Coach, and Ed's success with their resins, but first I need to tackle this darn skin pen!

Oh, and Michael, I noticed that you slipped a pic into your profile; when are you going to advertise it in the Show Off Your Pens forum????
 
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