Mike,
I didn't seen it as a complaint, I was disappointed that you had problems with them, already...!
You are right, they are quite something, shame that they can be so fragile/fiddly/demanding...!:frown:
Now, Ed...!
I don't need to make that test, I done it long ago and multiple times at different temps and what I found is that, is a good reason why the manufacturer recommends the 2% as the ideal ratio, Polyester is always more brittle than the Alumilite/Polyurethane so, what I found was that, in average temps as suggest on the product instructions, reducing considerably the amount of hardener, results in the blanks being soft and sticky for many days, in fact, and depending with what the resin was mixed with, some blanks still bleed badly after 1 week for casting, the Banksia Hairy pods being one of the worse to do that, I had them for over 2 weeks, without being able to sand and finish then, the resin was still coming out soft.
What this causes is that, the pressure that was used to compress the resin into all areas of the blanks, is lost when the molds are removed from the pressure pot, is important that the resin sets and seals the blanks while under pressure, I like to do the castings late afternoon/evening as the last thing for the days work about 7:00pm, the molds are not removed from the pressure pot until about 10 to 11:00 am the next day so about 15 hours under pressure.
Using less hardener, the resin just doesn't react/set as it was made to, I tried to maintain the molds in the pressure pot under constant 100 PSI pressure, checking every 24 hours, without enough hardener, half or even 2/3 in the winter, I had then staying the in pot the whole week, before they would stop being sticky and start bleeding with minutes of opening the pressure pot.
The last thing we want is for the resin to bleed out of the blank and created empty pockets or in the case of the Hairy pods, to allow the resin to bleed out from the soft hairs and velvet surroundings, is bad enough when the resin sets within the blank, losing that resin, doesn't leave much holding the blanks together...!
There are many types of resin and different polyester compositions, I know this resin quite well, and it is the only one I can get around here so, I have to adapt and accept the manufacturer recommendations as an accurate guide however, and buying from the same supplier since day one, I have had batches that react slightly different is setting times, amount of hardener required, resin viscosity and hardener batches that are stronger than others so, there are always small variations that I got used to identify after a long and large exposure to the product...!
Now, you got me curious about the possibility to make a kitless pen out of these blanks, the exact ones you and everyone else got, the raw pod ones so, I just recently got 9 full blanks and 2 bits of one, returned for a full refund, all the way from the UK. In that box I had what was sent as to what was left from 1 blanks that was worked on. The sizes are a little intriguing so I reckon, someone was trying to make fishing rod handles out of them, that after a provided all the links to all tutorials and so on, I was told that, "was too much work, it wasn't worth it".
Anyway, I have attached the 2 small pieces I received as requested, one was cut to size (his size) but nor worked on, the other was the piece that he worked on and made him to decided, they were no good...!
Is not really important but, you can see how the poor blank piece was butchered, just to drill a small diameter hole in it, you make your judgements...!
The other piece though, I though is use it to demonstrated that, yes, you can cut threads in these blanks, even if not stabilised, I used the 5 cup CA to replace what the Cactus Juice would do and use it also to maintain the blank strength and integrity, right to the end.
This doesn't mean that the work was a delicate one however, I used only one size drill bit to drill the hole required for a set of 12mmx1.5 taps
I never picked the side for each end, you can see that, one end has the blank's identification which means, half is pod the other half is the pod's hairs and resin so, I could have easily done it the other way around, it wouldn't matter to me...!
The point of this demonstration is that, yes, is possible to cut threads, it is possible to make a full kitless pen out of these and they don't have to be stabilised but it would help however, I don't think these blanks are "ideal" for such way/style of making pens...!
I had done many tests with these blanks, I never though in cutting threads on them but, I have only used that small piece that was returned as no good, with its twin half not looking that good at all, I wasn't going to waste a full blank for this test but, I have many samples that I rounded that I could easily use if I didn't have this small bit.
The only thing I didn't have was the end tap to cut the inner thread right to the bottom, my sets only comes with the start taps, no intermedium no bottom taps so, I wasn't able to cut the threads properly on the female piece/end...!
I was going to separated both ends and screw them together, as I know they would work perfectly but, I was running out of blank to do much more, separating the 2 pieces would probably spoil the whole thing so, I left in as one piece, that is more than sufficient for what I have to say...!
Enjoy and reflect...!:wink::biggrin:
PS: I apologise for some of the quality of the pics, I didn't realise they weren't right only after I downloaded them into my computer.
Cheers
George
