New to casting and pen making

[Ted Sachs]

I've been making pens for about four months now and just started casting blanks from the tubes I wrap with thread. I used my old rod wrapping techniques that I used making custom fishing rods from over thirty years ago. I dusted off my rod wrapping hobby to try and combine it with pen making. I have the wrapping part and the differences from rods to pens worked out now, but the casting is still giving me problems with about a fifty percent success rate. That's way less than desirable after spending a minimum of eight hours wrapping to see it ruined when I cast it. Some of the ones I wrap take as much as sixteen hours of wrapping. The Black Widow pen being one of those. Two tubes with a hard pattern to wrap makes it heartbreaking to see the cast go awry.

Here's some pics of what I'm trying to get done. So far I've found that I have to coat it all in epoxy brushed on before casting or the thread will create bubbles like you've never seen. It's been a slow learning process, but I'm getting there. All of these were done using PR I bought from Hobby Lobby.

 

[Falcon1220]

Ted
Great job.
Try to soak the blank with thin CA before casting. When I cast carbon fiber sleeve blanks I seal the carbon fiber with thin ca before casting. Its seems to be working fine. I cast with PR also.

 

[Turned Around]

I cannot get over the amount of work you put into those. Just wonderful

 

[jttheclockman]

I know when I started to dabble with these some 5 years ago, the people who were instructing me who were fishing pole makers said that you need to coat the threads with some sort of color sealer or the threads will turn black from either CA or Resin. I tried without and they were right. Now I also found out there is various types of threads also, so that becomes a factor. The resin you are using is probably called Cast-N-Craft and it is somewhat tricky to work with. Most people here that use poly resins use Silmar41. There are other formulas in that brand that may work for you also. Some may suggest you try Aluminite clear. It is a fairly new product that does well. But it does need pressure to elliminate the bubbles. From the videos I have of doing fishing rods the key to doing the resin is to use small amounts and not brush it so hard. Also the slow rotating motor seemed to be what many used also.

Heating of the resin is a big plus when casting because it thins the resin and any bubbles are very small and dissipate easily even without pressure. heat the resin before adding the catalyst. There is much to learn and share and you are in the right place.

 

[Ted Sachs]

I've tried soaking in some CA to fill it in but the CA and the color preserver that I have to use beforehand don't play well together which is why I now brush in epoxy instead. The CA gets cloudy Looking from the color preserver.

 

[Charlie69]

Hi Ted, I'm also a rod maker who dabbles in pens. Your thread art looks great! I think your on the right track...sealing the threads with CP then sealing again with Epoxy should keep the thread from releasing bubbles.. How many coats of epoxy are you using? I would think 1 thick coat with a high build like Flex coat would be fine but maybe 2 is necessary?

 

[Skie_M]

Lot of people swear by coating your work with mod podge and letting it cure before casting... Have you tried that method?

 

[Ted Sachs]

I've not tried the Mod Podge, but have thought about it. I have only been putting one thick coat of epoxy so far after the CP, but might try a second coat to see if that helps. I've also decided to wait a couple of days after applying epoxy before casting, just in case the epoxy is gassing. I don't think epoxy really gasses, but just in case you know? I'm holding off on casting any more until I get some Silmar 41 to see if maybe the stuff from Hobby Lobby was just old. I'll keep y'all posted on the results. Who knows, maybe I can get someone else wrapping blanks like this.

 

[Skie_M]

Yes, I'm sure a lot of us here would appreciate a tutorial in the library on wrapped blanks, if only to see the kind of work and dedication you put into your art!

 

[Ted Sachs]

Yes, I'm sure a lot of us here would appreciate a tutorial in the library on wrapped blanks, if only to see the kind of work and dedication you put into your art!

I would love to make a video, but lack the know how and tools to do that. I can, however, make a step by step pictorial guide on how to do this. I've already started on one as a matter of fact. I just wasn't sure there would be any others out there insane enough to put in the hours it takes to wrap a blank. There are some easy beginner patterns that only take me a couple of hours to wrap that someone could start out with. I may do a tutorial on that kind of pattern. If nothing else, it will give y'all an idea of what goes in to making one of these. LOL, if and when I start selling them, if y'all see what goes in to it, the price won't seem quite so high.

 

[jttheclockman]

I know many rod turners use Flexcoat as the epoxy resin of choice when doing the casting. There is 2 set times formulas.

 

[TimS124]

While trying to get the resin to cooperate, it might be worth aggressively simplifying the wraps themselves until you have that part of the process worked out. Spare tubing is usually readily available... Even just wound thread might work to get you over the next hurdle and would inflict far less frustration if something still wasn't quite right.

Nice looking designs! Can't wait to see the results once you have this sorted out.

 

[MikeinSC]

This is an example of superb craftsmanship. Unbelievable.

 

[Skie_M]

While trying to get the resin to cooperate, it might be worth aggressively simplifying the wraps themselves until you have that part of the process worked out. Spare tubing is usually readily available... Even just wound thread might work to get you over the next hurdle and would inflict far less frustration if something still wasn't quite right.

Nice looking designs! Can't wait to see the results once you have this sorted out.

Think I'm gonna second this suggestion.

You have the thread wrapping down pat ... you need the rest of the process ironed out before you go polishing the designs.

 

[Ted Sachs]

Y'all are right about simplifying the wrapping until I have the casting down but I need the practice on wrapping because I'm still not up to speed of what I was doing rods. I've pretty much stayed with the simple to intermediate patterns until I get the rust of.

 

[Skie_M]

Oh, holy hell ... these are SIMPLE to you?

I can't wait till we finally get to see your "master craftsman" level of expertise in full swing ...

 

[Ted Sachs]

How about something like what this guy did? I found this pic and will be putting this ppb a pen soon.

 

[Ted Sachs]

Here are some pics of what other people have done and these are in line with what I will be doing once I'm back up to speed. I can wrap these and a lot more while still ironing out the casting part. I'll just keep these off to the side until I get to the point that I feel safe casting. I'm almost back to where I was a whole lot of years ago. There's little things y'all would never notice that I did wrong on some of the ones in the pics, but they are minor things that just took practice to get corrected.

 

[jttheclockman]

Oh heck they make patriotic flags, scenes, names, flowers, bugs and sooooooo much more. The sky is the limit in this field also. That little piece of tubing can be a canvas for so many great ideas.

Ted you may want to look into the Vertex or Zen pen kits. The barrel is a one piece longer length and not as thick resin needed. The cap is a magnetic cap. it has become one of my favorite kits to use. here is an example of my latest.

 

[Charlie69]

If a person just wanted to make "thread art" pens from start to finish then casting wouldn't be necessary. No reason (that I can think of) that the thread work couldn't be coated with CP, epoxy on top of the CP then CA to finish. Even the CA could be skipped if a person was halfway decent with their epoxy technique. The pen barrels aren't any longer than the typical thread work done on a rod and most experienced rod builders wouldn't have much of a problem finishing the barrels with a super glossy epoxy finish.

Casting would be necessary if the blanks had to be turned down but they wouldn't have to be if the thread was epoxied between bushings or even the assembled parts.

 

[Steve Lowe]

I would be very interested in learning something like that sounds interesting