polyester resin

I have been casting a while now in purchased silicone molds but yesterday I made 8 blanks in PVC pipe. I'm using poly-resin and love it but I let these cure in the tubes about 8 hours then popped them out. Without exception every ones of them had major fractures. Any clues or hints?

Well I have now turned 4 pens and this last one is my favorite so far. I made the blank using poly resin and mica pigment I had from my nail polish making days. The pen kit is the Legacy Victoria in copper. What do you think?

Well I assembled my first pressure pot and getting ready to walk into new territory with casting it looks like alot of fun also. Testing the pot with my compressor for the first time that gave me a kinda a scary feeling but also very intriguing fun. I have been reading on here and other...

I went from a beginner pen turning class, making a non-finished slimline pen in December to stabilizing my own wood, and casting my own blanks by February. I set up my workshop paying rent in the basement of our building and bought all the tools and equipment only to find out I'm allergic to...

I tried my first casting today. I had a feeling it wouldn't work from what I read. I have turned a good bit of alumilite worthless blanks but never seen any cast in polyester that I know of. Anyhow, I tried casting some olivewood burl with colored polyester resin and both blanks blew apart at...

A little test I did with alumilite and PR, hard to believe I'm not a scientist right. Pen Making Shop Test Polyester Resin PR vs Alumilite on a stamp pen. - YouTube

I started out just wanting to experiment with the M12 x .8 triple start tap and die I purchased in the recent group buy. I grabbed a couple short lengths of left over PR I had cast ....I chose it because I wasn't crazy about it, so no great loss if it got ruined. :biggrin: Making the cap to...

Recent PR cast blank on a Jr.Gent I with custom finial. Comments a critiques welcome. :smile:

It was finally almost 50 degrees today so I decided to dive in and try my first PR cast. (It had nothing to do with the fact the in-laws were visiting) :biggrin: I would like to say that everything went just as I had planned it ...:rolleyes:... but you wouldn't believe that anyways. My first...

I received my gallon of Silmar41 today along with a set of transparent pigments from U.S. Composites. Was a little surprised that they are liquids. (which I guess shows how little I know):confused: Will these work and what should I expect for results or what should I be aware of for pitfalls...

I have been using PR to cast pen blanks, and I'm really tired of the smell. Does anyone know if you can use the luster pigments with alumilite? Thanks.