Casting Question

[Timwill62]

I have been tuning pens for about 2 years now and have decided to try my own casings. I assembled a pressure pot with vaccum from the plans in the forum. Thanks, works great. I ordered casting material from Mr Fiberglass. The specs say 10 drops of catalyst per ounce of resin. I found a suggestion of using 3 drops per ounce and used that for degassing and then putting under pressure. The question I have is how long does it take for the castings to cure and do you leave them under pressure the whole time? I have them at 50psi and it has been two days now and it just now seems to be gelling. Have I not put enough catalyst in or am I just getting way ahead of myself? If not enough catalyst I assume that I can pull the snakeskin from the mold and recast with more catalyst?
Thanks in advance,
Tim[?]

 

[Blind_Squirrel]

It sounds like your PR is cold. It will cure (eventually). I leave my PR in the pressure pot over night. I cast in the evening and take it out the next day when I get home from work. Warm the PR up if you want it to cure quicker. I have a toaster oven in my garage that I use to cure my powder coated tubes in. I turn the oven on to 125-150 degree range and put the PR in for 15-30 minutes.

DO NOT put the PR in an oven that you use for food. DO NOT leave the PR in the oven unattended.

 

[Timwill62]

It is probably the cold....25 last night and the pressure pot is in my garage. What amount of catalyst do you typically use for casting? Do you leave in pressure pot overnight? This is way too much fun...do they have support groups for pen makers?
Thanks in advance [^]

 

[Blind_Squirrel]

Originally posted by Timwill62

It is probably the cold....25 last night and the pressure pot is in my garage. What amount of catalyst do you typically use for casting? Do you leave in pressure pot overnight? This is way too much fun...do they have support groups for pen makers?
Thanks in advance [^]

I use 3-4/oz. Try this: Mix and pour the resin in the garage. Place Resin in your PP, seal the PP and bring it up to your desired PSI. Presuming you have a ball valve installed, close the ball valve, remove the pressure hose, and bring the sealed PP into the warm house. Leave the PP in the warm environment 12-24 hours. After 12-24 hours, take the PP outside, slowly open the ball valve to release the pressure, then crack the pot open and see what you have.

Some folks also use a heating pad placed under the PP to warm it up.

 

[Timwill62]

Thanks Scott, will try to bring in to house. This pressure pot is the nuts. Thanks for your time and answers...this will help with understanding tremendously.