Resin casting HELP !

[PenWorks]

Quote "I have not done it" "it's about that easy" Daniel.

Well I read the article here about casting resin,(both) I just tried it. I can tell you Daniel, it's not easy []

If any body has done it, (key word) "DONE IT" I would be happy to have any tips. Here is where I'm at........

Fisrt, if you read the container, you don't even want to open it. You think you will go blind, then die, with all the warnings

2. I made my own foil molds, they leaked.
3. the tubes kept floating to the top, every time I pushed them back down, more leaking.
4. How can you keep them centered in the mold?

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Daniel need not reply LOL [8D] [}] Anthony

 

[PenWorks]

Well, either you guys are sleeping [] or your allot smarter than I gave you credit for, by staying away from this stuff ! []

I think this is my first and last attempt at casting, can't even go in my shop it stinks so bad. Have to wait till tomarrow, to air it out. Anthony

 

[DCBluesman]

I suspect you will hear from Don Ward. He's successfully done this.

 

[Fred in NC]

Anthony, what resin are you using? Are you supporting the foil mold in any way?

 

[PenWorks]

I used the clear casting resin from Michaels, this is what Don & the girl in the article recomended. I cast seven of the skin blanks, the foil molds stood up straight, as I had made what I thought was a pretty good capped flat bottom. (guess not)
Also, was not real clear on how much catalyst to put in the mix. The container states, if using a single layer mold about1/8 thick use 15 drops. That's kind of confusing. If you are mixing a batch to cast 2 blanks 1/8 thick or a batch to cast 20 1/8 thick, do you still use 15 drops. One would think there would be a ratio for resin to catalyst.

I did not use any release agents on the mold, because the article said, you can just turn the foil off on the lather,

If the skin blanks are still usable, I thought I would try to cast them like we use to make ice pops, stick tooth picks in the ends for support and lay in a shallow try.

I will know tonight what I have to work with. should be set up enough to see what went wrong.

Anthony

 

[daledut]

Anthony,
I have actually DONE IT and I agree that it is not easy. Here in a nut shell is what I did. This is assuming a slimline type pen with 7mm tubes. If another size is used you will have to make adaptaions.

1. Went to the dollar store and bought a cheap set of food storage containers. Anything made of polyethelene will release polyester resin quite well.
2. Measure the thickness (O.D.) of the tubes and add 3/8 to 1/2 inch depending on how thick you want the blank to start with.
3. choose a container that will hold at least 2 tubes with some room all around. Fill it with water to the depth arrived at in step 2.
4. pour this water into your mixing cup and mark the level.
5. cut squares of 1/8" hard board or similar material using the dimentions from step 2. Example if the tube measures just over 1/4" and you add 3/8" you come up with about 5/8", this is the size of your squares. It will also give you a blank that has a minimum resin thickness of 3/16". You need 2 squares for each tube.
6. drill a 1/4" hole in the center of the squares from step 5. cut 1/2"(or shorter) lengths of 1/4" dowel and glue them into the holes in each square. These will be your stand offs and should look somthing like this

7. insert one of the standoffs into one end of each tube. Put a finishing nail inside the tube to help weigh it down. and insert a standoff into the other end of each tube. You can use wax to seal the tube/standoff conection if you wish, but I did not find it to be needed.
8. arrange your tube in the casting mold. The standoffs will hold them up off the bottom.
9. mix your resin using the cup you marked earlier. The number of drops of catalyst will vary depending on temp. and humidity, but I seem to remember using 5 drops per ounce. Mix it thoroughly with a smooth motion to intorduce as few bubbles as possible.
10. pour the resin into the mold. some people have used a sander near the mold to vibrate bubbles out. I found that this was not needed unles you over do the catalyst.
11. when the resin is hard, take it out of the mold. Using a band saw or scroll saw, cut the blanks apart. Cut the dowels off just between the standoff and the tube end.
12. use a 1/4" bolt and a hammer to tap the dowel out of the tubes and you are ready to square the ends and turn the blanks.

If any of this is not clear let me know and I will try to clarify.

I will say that after working to get this down I decided to stick to wood []

 

[PenWorks]

Thanks allot, Dale, I agree, what a prodution. I had little trouble veneering the skins over a turned pen blank and was happy with the results. I could have sold that pen 4 times allready, but I am keeping it as a test pen to see how the skin reacts over time and if shrinling comes into play or any other downsides.

I think my biggest problem (of many) was I made my molds to a close tolerance, not allowing for some extra room. You also brought up a good point I never thought about, Those darn bubbles, I never gave it any thought when I saw them in the mixing cup, I thought they would just naturally disperse.

If I didn't have such a hard head, I would move on to bigger and better things. But now I am on a mission. Thanks for taking the time to explain, Anthony

 

[PenWorks]

If your going to do any casting, I suggest a little reading before hand. [] My alluminum molds were a bust. Kenn Osborne has a good article on his "Perfect Mold" in our Articles list. This was my interptaion of his instructions. Hope to try it this weekend, They look good, wether it works or not I don't know ! [] Anthony

 

[its_virgil]

Anthony,
You're cooking with gas now. I have heard good reports on the copper tubing molds, I just have not tried them. I look forward to your report. Keep us up to speed with your results.

Are you gluing the snake skins directly to the tubes. If so, let it wrap around and glue with Ca and allow a small overlap and glue it dowm. Surprisingly, the seam is not very visible once the casting is made. Good Luck and Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by penworks
<br />If your going to do any casting, I suggest a little reading before hand. [] My alluminum molds were a bust. Kenn Osborne has a good article on his "Perfect Mold" in our Articles list. This was my interptaion of his instructions. Hope to try it this weekend, They look good, wether it works or not I don't know ! [] Anthony

 

[PenWorks]

Don, I am overlapping a touch. Also, the guy I bought the skins from, advised my to paint the tubes brown. He makes all sorts of stuff from snake skin and he told my to do that as it holds or enhances the color of the skin. Happy New Year, Anthony

 

[daledut]

Personally I did not like the copper tubing molds. They are harder to get the bubbles out of and you can't see if there are voids. Plus you have to goop everything up with vasaline.

I am not knocking it, I just tried the tubes and a plastic mold and liked the plastic mold better.