First timers coffee Bean casting question

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Justin_F

Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Messages
131
Location
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Hey, I wonder if you can give some help - its my first time casting coffee beans. Basically I am using a 6" copper tube (1" diameter) with a stopper at one end. Tonight I measured the amount of PR that I would need by loading the pipe with beans and measuring the amount of water it took to fill to the top. I know that beans float so I held a finger over the top to make sure I didn't displace the beans. Anyhow what I ended up with was 30ml (1 oz) of water and about 60ml (2 oz) of coffee beans making the actual volume of the tube something like 90ml (3 oz). My question is: Is there enough PR in the tube to fix the beans and turn the resulting cast successfully? I hadn't really thought this through or seen any posts re the ratio of PR to a solid when casting but it really took me by surprise that there should be so "little" PR needed. Anyway I might be concerned over nothing but thought it worth seeing if anyone had an opinion. I've attached a photo of the tube, stopper and the volume of beans spread in a single layer on my kitchen counter top.
Cheers
Juz
 

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NewLondon88

Local Chapter Leader
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
5,077
Location
Claremont NH
That doesn't sound unusual . .the beans will cozy up to each other, leaving very
little room for the resin. But the resin will fill all the voids (shake/vibrate after
pouring to be sure) and give you a solid blank.

You'll need to put something on top of the tube, too . Otherwise the resin will
float the beans right up and out. A piece of tape across the top of the pipe
should do it
 

DurocShark

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Messages
3,622
Location
Anaheim, CA
I just made a new batch of coffee bean blanks using an ABS plastic tube.

Here's the steps I went through:
1. Fill tube with beans and measure resin fill amount.
2. Mix beans and resin and any colors, mica, etc, you want.
3. Place in ultrasonic cleaner for at least an hour.
4. Thoroughly mix in MEKP and put back in the cleaner for 10 minutes.
5. Pour into tube and stick something in to hold the beans down.
6. Put tube back on us cleaner until gelled (usually 30 min for me).
7. Let cure overnight.
8. Turn!

Note that no matter how good your mixing is, when you cut into the beans there's always a chance the center will blow out leaving a void in the middle of a bean. Fill with CA. I generally turn them close to the final size, then soak them in thin CA and let them set overnight before final turning and finishing.
 

jfoh

Member
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
389
I only cast stabilized beans now. Much better finishing and they just do not blow out so often like they use to. I use the Ultraseal product and am very satisfied. If it can make punky wood solid it can make brittle beans solid. But this makes another hobby with in a hobby. You have to stabilize and then you have to cast. Sometimes I think that we end up with ten hobbies instead of one.
 
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