These are all skeleton from which inlays were cut. Seemed like I could do something with them. Colored resin stained them badly, even though I tried various methods of sealing them. The better ones were double dipped in sanding sealer prior to casting. The darker woods are not a problem, even if staining is there it's unnoticeable. Even clear resin is noticeable on the lighter woods. The thing is, I don't hate them but I don't know if I could put them on a pen knowing it's stained. Kind of silly since we all stain wood all the time. That is intentional though. I used both Alumilite clear and Liquid Diamond, same results with both. What do you all think, is this a losing endeavor?
Experimenting With Laser Scrap
- Thread starter KenB259
- Start date
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Mike
Member
I like them. Should make some nice pens. Please post some pics when you get some pens made.
Mike
Mike
JohnU
Member
They look nice. Stabilizing the wood will stop the bleed but that's not fun to do. Kallanshan sells some of his negatives for casting and I've tried a few. They were cut out pieces for other blanks so they weren't as patterned as yours. I'm surprised the clear resin stained them. I wonder if pouring at a higher temp where the resin is thicker would stop it from soaking in to the wood grain.
I thought about pouring them warmer but thought it might not fill in the voids well.
KMCloonan
Member
Those are really cool! Maybe you can create a category of environmentally responsible pen making, reclaiming scrap from your laser/casting process.
JohnU
Member
Since it's single colors I would have first poured as soon as the resin was mixed so it was thin. I would try waiting until it hits 95° ish. That's enough to keep color separation and still get around embedded objects. It might stop the resin from soaking in. Since it's under pressure I would think you'd be ok as long as it's not over 110°. At 95° it gives you time to pour. Either way they look cool!
I'll try a few more and letting it get to 95° before I pour it. I was thinking about offering some of the skeletons for sale, but if they can't be cast easily, that's probably not a good idea.