Casting/filling with EPOXY???

[glwalker]

I have some beautiful burl and knot-hole wood. I've never done casting and really don't see myself getting into it seriously. But does anyone know if I can take the 5 min Epoxy (or even the 20 minute) that I normally use to glue tubes to blanks, add some color/dust or whatever to it and fill a blank up with this type of mixture? In the case where the knot/defect goes all the way through the piece of wood can I just take something like packing tape and put on one end and pour the mixture into the other end? Will the epoxy, when fully cured turn O.K.?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!!

 

[elody21]

Hi Gary,
epoxy should have no problem with curing. Since it is a chemical reaction it doesn't take any oxygen. The problem I have found with epoxy is one, it does not usually polish up to a fine shine like resin. the other problem is clear epoxy will eventually yellow. Sometimes it takes years. So if you add blue color to it it could turn green in time. I am only used to using 5 min epoxy so I am not sure of other brands. I believe I read somewhere that all epoxy will yellow. If someone knows something different Please let me know.
You would be better off with a small bottle of resin from Michaels. The results would be much better,
Alice

I have some beautiful burl and knot-hole wood. I've never done casting and really don't see myself getting into it seriously. But does anyone know if I can take the 5 min Epoxy (or even the 20 minute) that I normally use to glue tubes to blanks, add some color/dust or whatever to it and fill a blank up with this type of mixture? In the case where the knot/defect goes all the way through the piece of wood can I just take something like packing tape and put on one end and pour the mixture into the other end? Will the epoxy, when fully cured turn O.K.?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!!

 

[jskeen]

I use epoxy tinted with mica powders for small repairs all the time. It usually colors well, but you want to be careful to work out the bubbles. I almost always use dark tints, so yellowing is not an issue, and while the raw epoxy might not polish up to well, it does take a ca finish just fine when set.

PR can be difficult to set in very small quantities. It really only sets because of heat. The MEPK catalyst just kicks off a reaction that supplies that heat. The thing is that the heat has to be retained to do it's job, and in the tiny quantities needed to fill in a small hole or the like, that's very difficult. It is also very difficult to measure the infinitesimal amount of catalyst needed to set 1/8 tsp or less of resin, and resin mixed with too much mepk gets brittle.

But I would stick with the 30 minute or more versions of epoxy, as the 5 min kind doesn't set as hard, and is more prone to bubbles. YMMV, of course

 

[Gary Max]

I was using Epoxy and crushed stone to fill holes and voids way before I knew about PR. Best trick----let it set overnight and dry.

 

[BRobbins629]

I use it all the time; usually 30 minute Devcon with either powered pigments or liquid Mixol. Occasionally get a void, but can usually patch. Here's a pen cup I did recently with filled Logo. Let it sit overnight is good advice.

 

[gr8danish]

Pigmented epoxy rocks! I LOVE the System Three product line. It's hard to find, but really great stuff. They even have their own liquid pigments (which I found to be better then the powders) which work quite well.

I've never tried doing the "pearl" like Bruce's cup above, but after seeing it, I will definitely give that a go.

Sorry to thread jack, but where did you pick up that perl Bruce?

 

[BRobbins629]

Sorry to thread jack, but where did you pick up that perl Bruce?

Cloisonne Super Green Luster Pigment - www.artstuf.com

 

[SteveG]

You may want to look at Inlace from CUSA. This comes in clear and a variety of "crushed stone" look colors and dyes. It works great and polishes up very nice.

 

[glwalker]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I learned a lot and if any good blanks come out of this experiment, I'll post the results. I'll be out of touch for a week or so, so I'll look and see if anyone else comments when I get back. Thanks again.

 

[workinforwood]

I'm a huge fan of inlace. It will set at any thickness. It is much more liquid than epoxy, so it will flow into tight crevices and it's much easier to work the bubbles out. It sticks hard, drills and polishes without softening. This is a problem you can run into by using epoxy...heat softens it, so drilling through it can be a problem. Otherwise, just filling a little void with epoxy works great.