A blank I cast myself

[Hippie3180]

I've been casting blanks here and there and was actually pretty discouraged that they never really looked the way I had imagined they would. So casting sort of took a back seat, but if you've purchased casting supplies you know they aren't cheap. So, I buckled down and told myself I could figure it out if I just made myself get in there and do it. Long story short, I finally made one I'm happy with that came out close to what I envisioned. Yes, I know it's pink, but I do have some blues to play with too.

 

[byounghusband]

That is one awesome Blank!! Teh pen came out very nice too!!

 

[Jim15]

Great work.

 

[d_bondi]

I like it!!

 

[Woodchipper]

Great pen. The mix of colors stand out for me. Looking forward to the blue casting.
If I may suggest, use a more subtle background as tan or light grey for photos. Cuts the glare of the white and gives more contrast.

 

[derekdd]

Your casting and turning skills have come a long way in a short amount of time.

Well done!

 

[egnald]

Very Cool - Congratulations. Did you take a picture of the blank before you cut it up and turned it? Also, can you share what you used for resin (Alumilite Clear Slow???) and pigments and dyes? I just finished building my 9-inch PVC mold but I haven't poured it yet. - Dave

 

[Hippie3180]

I want to be transparent here, it seems my IPhone camera tends to taking pics alarmingly warm. This is not in the editing but something in the settings or or just inherent with my phone. I'm working to figure this out, it seems no matter what I do in editing that the "warm" is just there.

Here I tried adjusting the Tempe and it's a bit better but the color is still more "pink" than in real life. It's a light pink not "hot pink." This image is closer but still too warm. I'm probably going to have to get my Canon out.

 

[Woodchipper]

Thanks for the larger photo. Colors are vivid. I'm not into casting but my complements on a nice blank and pen.

 

[Hippie3180]

Very Cool - Congratulations. Did you take a picture of the blank before you cut it up and turned it? Also, can you share what you used for resin (Alumilite Clear Slow???) and pigments and dyes? I just finished building my 9-inch PVC mold but I haven't poured it yet. - Dave

First off see the additional photo I posted.

Yes, I'm using Alumilite Clear Slow. I used 4 colors, gray to which I added some white to lighten up the gray opaque dye+ gray mica. A pink mica just into the transparent Alumilite, white opaque dye , and a pink opaque dye with some white added to tone it down some. Keep in mind you can mix the dyes to lighten, darken or make a new color. Adding mica to the clear will make things transparent, the opaque will always stay opaque. If you add mica to the translucent dyes they colors will be translucent, so some of this is utilizing transparent with opaque to get depth. Or different values with transparent to get depth as well.

I'm no expert on this, this is just what I know so far.

Also, if you pour around 9" you'll get around 8"5 useable blank after the pressure pot.

I've found that pouring amounts a smaller increments and then moving it with a wire, helps to move the color some. Of course your colors can't be too loose.

 

[Hippie3180]

Very Cool - Congratulations. Did you take a picture of the blank before you cut it up and turned it? Also, can you share what you used for resin (Alumilite Clear Slow???) and pigments and dyes? I just finished building my 9-inch PVC mold but I haven't poured it yet. - Dave

Before turning a polishing.

 

[egnald]

Before turning a polishing.

Cool - What a difference between raw and turned and polished. - Thanks for the extra pictures. - Dave

 

[Hippie3180]

Your casting and turning skills have come a long way in a short amount of time.

Well done!

Thank you, as you know always learning.

 

[moke]

Very cool Hippie!! That has some great impact!

 

[sorcerertd]

That did come out very nicely! To me, the pattern seems to flow like some figured wood grains do.