A request for help

[ToddMR]

So my step-mother's sister's husband talked to me on the phone this weekend. He had an unusual request that I need assistance with. He has a friend that wants to give me some of her horse's hair and make a pen. I was hoping someone on here could 1. give me a price, and 2. be able to cast a sierra blank with it using Alumilite clear resin. I have not even started trying to cast my own blanks. Please PM me if you think you could do it. I would mail the horse hair to you and then need the blank cast and mailed back to me. I can provide the tube as well if needed. I live in Columbus, OH and will go with the person with the best price. I am not sure of when I would need it as I have to go back to the person with pricing.

Thank you to anyone who can help.

 

[ToddMR]

Wow 120 views and no one to cast? That surprises me.

 

[jttheclockman]

The problem you are facing is twofold so don't judge the view count that way. I am sure someone may contact you. The problems you face are there are not alot of people here who cast using Alumilite. Second casting hair is not going to be an easy chore. It would probably take someone who has experience with casting feathers. Just my 2¢. One more thing you should have posted this in the casting forum and may have gotten more help.

 

[ed4copies]

Another side to your request that may not occur to you.

Someone will likely have to experiment. So, they have no idea how many failures they will have, before a success. But, you want a price (reasonable request). AND you admit you will take low bid---quality is not mentioned.

So, good luck!!

BTW, I helped a friend cast hair in PR, after MANY failures.

 

[JohnU]

I would offer, being that I cast three days a week but I have had no luck with alumilite and Ive tried casting deer hair (from requests) with absolutly no success. For some reason feathers were easier than hair in my trials. I wish you luck and hope someone can help you.

 

[hunter-27]

Curtis (Mesquiteman)uses Alumilite. He cast cat crap once, give him a PM. I doubt his work comes cheap but I know his work comes top notch. Like Ed said, trial and error may be needed, that is why I am not volunteering myself. Curtis has "been there, done that" with Alumilite, so I would start with him.

 

[hdtran]

So my step-mother's sister's husband talked to me on the phone this weekend. He had an unusual request that I need assistance with. He has a friend that wants to give me some of her horse's hair and make a pen. I was hoping someone on here could 1. give me a price, and 2. be able to cast a sierra blank with it using Alumilite clear resin. I have not even started trying to cast my own blanks. Please PM me if you think you could do it. I would mail the horse hair to you and then need the blank cast and mailed back to me. I can provide the tube as well if needed. I live in Columbus, OH and will go with the person with the best price. I am not sure of when I would need it as I have to go back to the person with pricing.

Thank you to anyone who can help.

Try jgrden (http://johngrden.wordpress.com/) He's moving to California, I think, so he may not answer real quickly. I don't think that he specifically does alumilite, but he does cast hair-in-clear-resin.

 

[ToddMR]

I wasn't trying to be a jerk so please don't take it that way by any means. I was just shocked no one had input at all on my request. From the reading it looks like it would be a difficult task, that's cool. I figured what better place to inquire than here. I have no problem going back to the person and telling them it would be more trouble than it would be worth. I just didn't want to spend $30 on one blank, that is how I was looking at it. I know zip about casting stuff so thanks for the heads up on everything. I mentioned Alumilite only because that seemed to be what most people use from my reading when casting items attached to the tube. Feedback is always appreciated and learned from. Thanks again everyone for your valued input!

 

[hunter-27]

I wasn't trying to be a jerk so please don't take it that way by any means. I was just shocked no one had input at all on my request. From the reading it looks like it would be a difficult task, that's cool. I figured what better place to inquire than here. I have no problem going back to the person and telling them it would be more trouble than it would be worth. I just didn't want to spend $30 on one blank, that is how I was looking at it. I know zip about casting stuff so thanks for the heads up on everything. I mentioned Alumilite only because that seemed to be what most people use from my reading when casting items attached to the tube. Feedback is always appreciated and learned from. Thanks again everyone for your valued input!

I would not say most, but if that is not a requirement you prolly will get other responses now if you are still looking for it.

 

[ToddMR]

I wasn't trying to be a jerk so please don't take it that way by any means. I was just shocked no one had input at all on my request. From the reading it looks like it would be a difficult task, that's cool. I figured what better place to inquire than here. I have no problem going back to the person and telling them it would be more trouble than it would be worth. I just didn't want to spend $30 on one blank, that is how I was looking at it. I know zip about casting stuff so thanks for the heads up on everything. I mentioned Alumilite only because that seemed to be what most people use from my reading when casting items attached to the tube. Feedback is always appreciated and learned from. Thanks again everyone for your valued input!

I would not say most, but if that is not a requirement you prolly will get other responses now if you are still looking for it.

Definitely am still interested if it can be done. For sure don't want Inlace Acrylester (sp), too brittle. For all I know I will tell them a price and it won't be appealing to them anymore lol. Thanks.

 

[Buzzzz4]

I would consider giving it a shot. I cast with both alumilite and Cast n craft. I've had success with grass/wood fiber, but I would need enough to play with. PM me if you would like me to try.

 

[dexter0606]

Todd
I had a request last year from a man who wanted a pen made from his wife's pets fur, two cats and a dog. They had recently lost one of their cats and he wanted a gift that represented their pets. I told him I'd give it a shot but no guarantees.
I made a Sedona. The cap was made of the pet fur (3 separate sections), the barrel had a collage of the dead cats pedigree and vet info.
After several failed attempts I was almost out of fur. I ended up with a "usable" cast but wasn't real happly with it.
The fur gets messy when it gets wet. You've seen a wet dog / cat!
Anyway, the colours changed and the fur matted. In my opinion my pen looked like a dead mouse.
But he loved it. Go figure.
I swore I would never try this again. Not sure how horse hair would react.
Good luck

 

[MorganGrafixx]

I would offer to help man, but as I cast my very first Alumalite blank only 2 days ago, I would probably not be the best person for the job. I used clear with blue dye and I'm fairly certain the concoction sitting in my garage is closer to spawning a smurf than a usable pen blank! :biggrin: Good luck with your search though!

 

[workinforwood]

You don't want a clear tube cast using alumilite. You have to use PR for that. Colored casting is ok, but not clear on a tube. When you press parts into the thin clear alumilite covered tube, it will stretch the resin off the tube on each end and it will be noticeable. If the resin is colored, then that effect doesn't matter. PR is much harder, so it will not stretch when the tube stretches, thus will not break bond off the tube. This is just one of those cases where PR wins over alumilite.

 

[Brooks803]

You don't want a clear tube cast using alumilite. You have to use PR for that. Colored casting is ok, but not clear on a tube. When you press parts into the thin clear alumilite covered tube, it will stretch the resin off the tube on each end and it will be noticeable. If the resin is colored, then that effect doesn't matter. PR is much harder, so it will not stretch when the tube stretches, thus will not break bond off the tube. This is just one of those cases where PR wins over alumilite.

Hahahaha, Victory at last! sorry, needed a laugh. Todd, I live on a horse farm and have been thinking of trying this out for myself as a possible avenue for revenue (the jokes keep on coming) since horses are a big $ sport around here. There is alot of experimenting that will be needed and you also have to think of how you would want the hair represented on the tube. There's alot to consider and more area's open for ideas. You definitely would need a large sample of hair (from the mane or tail) to account for failures. I don't know your timeline but I have alot going on for me right now but if you've got time I wouldn't mind doing an experiment or two when I have time.

 

[wolftat]

I would be willing to give it a shot, I cast with both Alumilite and Silmar41 so one or the other should work.