Crystal Clear Snakeskin.

[el_d]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience casting snakes with the new alumilite crystal clear.

 

[wolftat]

No, but I will give it a shot tomorrow and let you know how it goes if you would like. Any special type of snake skin you want to see cast? I have many types but I don't want to do anything silly like throw away my only Coral snake skin.

 

[workinforwood]

I asked my wife and now I can't tell you what type of snake she wants you to cast:tongue:

My concern is only that the alumilite will still seperate when pressing in parts. I don't know that to be a fact, but I suspect it will still happen with the crystal clear. Certainly it is harder, but I am betting not hard enough.

 

[USAFVET98]

I would like to see cobra. I had one before but didnt like the way it came out. Maybe the crystal clear would be better.

No, but I will give it a shot tomorrow and let you know how it goes if you would like. Any special type of snake skin you want to see cast? I have many types but I don't want to do anything silly like throw away my only Coral snake skin.

 

[wolftat]

I asked my wife and now I can't tell you what type of snake she wants you to cast:tongue:

Just remember that this stuff gets very hot when it is setting up, so be careful that the snakes skin doesn't get burned. On top of that, you would have to cast that one yourself, I ain't doing it. :biggrin:

 

[wolftat]

I would like to see cobra. I had one before but didnt like the way it came out. Maybe the crystal clear would be better.

Brian, I don't have any cobra right now, so I will select one out of my someday box and see what happens.

 

[el_d]

Thanks Neil, I heard that rattlesnake was hard to cast, Something to do with the size of the scales???? I have been using PR but still get some silver scales. Was hoping that the CC would be a better choice.

I also have a coral(with others) in the freezer, I kinda ran over the poor thing and 100yrds down the road I realized "That kinda looked red and yellow" Backed up and sure enough, flat coral....

 

[snowman56]

You might want to contact MesquiteMan he dose a lot with alumilite he heiped develop the CC

 

[babyblues]

I seem to remember Bruce sold some rattle snake pen blanks that were made with Alumilite a good while back. I don't think he used Crystal Clear, but it was Alumilite.

 

[jleiwig]

I seem to remember Bruce sold some rattle snake pen blanks that were made with Alumilite a good while back. I don't think he used Crystal Clear, but it was Alumilite.

And according to bruce he stopped because of the flex pulling the skin away from the resin. Not sure if the CC Alumalite would work out differently or not.

 

[its_virgil]

It depends on the kind of rattlesnake. Diamondbacks have thick skin and if the snake was large, the scales will be large. Remove the scales by brushing them off. Air gets trapped under them and causes problems. I use a stiff nylon brush. Prairie rattlesnake skin is best, IMHO, if soft tanned with alcohol and glycerin. Have you read my snake skin casting tutorial? You can find it at http://www.RedRiverPens.com/articles

I don't use alumalite so I can't comment about any of it. Search the archives and you should find information on past experiences with alumalite. But, I am waiting on the jury verdict on the cryatal clear alumalite.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

Thanks Neil, I heard that rattlesnake was hard to cast, Something to do with the size of the scales???? I have been using PR but still get some silver scales. Was hoping that the CC would be a better choice.

 

[el_d]

Dont know if Curtis does Snakes.

I have read that PR is better for the snake skins but I was just curios about trying with Crystal clear.

Read your tutorial on casting, thats how I started Don, Thanks

 

[wolftat]

I was able to get a couple of skins cast today finally. I just haven't had a chance to turn them and see how they hold up. I'll try to get to them by the weekend and let you know how it works. The skins I'm using are prairie rattlers and have small scales. I am also going to try a couple of other snakes too and see how they work.

 

[wolftat]

First round of them went bad due to overly aggressive turning on my part. I have more in the pot now and will try again tomorrow.

 

[el_d]

Wow, thank Neil. I appreciate the effort.

 

[workinforwood]

That's because you are a Review guy, not a turning guy Neil. Send it to me for real pen turning performance.:tongue:

 

[wolftat]

That's because you are a Review guy, not a turning guy Neil. Send it to me for real pen turning performance.:tongue:

Jeff, if I don't keep trying, I'll never learn.:biggrin:

 

[jfoh]

I have cast about 150 plus blanks, give or take a few with Crystal Clear. Three failures due to my own mistakes. The method and material used on the skin when tanned is the most critical for me. Then it boils down to good preparation of blank before casting.

I have one vendor who sends me his trimmings from his snake skin leather works. He makes mostly wallets and hat band type items so he has a lot of 2" X 3-5" scraps. Fairly easy to get one or two blanks out of the small pieces he sends me. I like working with the tail section as the scales are finer and the color tends to be much darker in this region. Snake skin blanks that are bland are not what I want to be turning. Color and nice diamonds are great or at least some interesting patterns with contrast in color.

 

[el_d]

jfoh,
how are you tanning the skins? Is it a comercial tanning agent or a home mix?

I have 7 skins in my freezer right now that will need to be tanned. I have used Ritels tannig solution and had mixed results, Mostly separation. I dont use the oil to soften the skin after it has been tanned and dont know if it containes any glycerin in the solution. If there is a better way to prep the skins It would be appreciated if you wouldnt mind sharing.

 

[jfoh]

el d

I get my skins already tanned. Most are scraps or the rear third of the snake skin that was left over from a belt or wallet. This works out well for my purposes. He is very secretive about his "special methods". I can tell you that all skins are oil worked after tanning and are nice and very soft. No salts seem to be present and they cast well with casting resins. He gave me three skins which he said were not completely tanned. They were stiff and hard to work with. Worse they did not cast well and were a mix of jet black and white spots. Total failure, but worth the effort.

I assume that you are using Ritels "SSK-10 Snakeskin Tanning Kit". Did you get and look at the dvd about snake skin tanning? I would also try calling one of the suppliers on his web and ask their help. I think that there is one in Georgia who does a lot of snake skins work if I remember correctly. Heck it might be cheaper to have him do all the tanning for you. How many hobbies do you need?

 

[workinforwood]

I use a tanning kit, and I do use the oil, but only on the back side of the skins. It helps keep them pliable. I've had no problems. I do recommend you let those tanned skins dry for a good month. If they are not 100% dry, they can get moldy under the resin!

 

[el_d]

Thanks for the input. I guess there is no experience with the new Crystal clear alumilite on skins?

From my understatnding PR was supposed to be better that the (original)alumilite but was just curios as the performance of the new CC alumilite.

 

[Buzzzz4]

Bringing this thread back around. Any feedback on Alumilite Crystal Clear and the snake skins? Thanks!

 

[el_d]

Eric,
Dont know if anybody else has done any casting Snakeskins with Alumilite CC. I havent Hopefully someone else will chime in on this....... Still doing the PR.

 

[workinforwood]

Right I remember this discussion. I have cast labels with the CC alumilite and yes it was successful, but barely. I could see that if you were not super careful and file your tubes extra for a looser part fit, that the tube expansion would cause the alumilite to stretch off the labels. You can tell this by simply making a sample and spinning it down. Then grab the end of the blank and give it a firm squeeze with your hands. You can't just squeeze the tube closed, but you will be able to squeeze the alumilite enought that it will come loose from the tubes. Therefore, I say that casting snake skins is not a good idea unless you want to file the tubes out and glue in the pen parts. Press fit is the issue.
Pr has basically no stretch at all, if you squeeze it too hard it would just crack. This is why PR doesn't just pop off when you press fit the parts, and why PR is the logical choice for skins and labels.

 

[el_d]

Thanks Jeff,

I guess it doesnt matter white type of clear resin you use you are bound to get the dreaded "silver scale"

 

[NewLondon88]

Thanks Jeff,

I guess it doesnt matter white type of clear resin you use you are bound to get the dreaded "silver scale"

From my limited experience, it seems to me that much of the 'silver scale'
is from flex in the resin. A common mistake is to assume that since the
resin has hardened, it is now cured. Fully cured resin takes a lot longer
than just the time it takes to get firm enough to de-mold.
I think the majority of the curing takes place quickly and then the process
slows down.. the final part of the curing may take several days or maybe
a week or more (depends on the resin) but you don't see that. It may not
be obvious by touch or by eye.

If the resin isn't fully cured yet, it can flex when put under stresses like
twisting (lathe trying to move the resin while the chisel tries to hold it
back) or compressing (press fitting the components) and this creates an
air space between the resin and the tube. That air space shows up as
'silver scale')

or I could be all wrong.

 

[ZanderPommo]

every once in awhile this happens to me with PR, but they have the look before and after de-molding.
also it seems more common with certain skins/species.
I had two fiddleback rattler skins do this last week

 

[TomW]

I abandoned snakeskin with CC alumilite due to multiple failures (about 20). My snakeskin blanks are now all PR.

Tom