Coffee and Alumilite

[Stevej72]

Earlier today I posted a pen that I had made out of coffee grounds cast in PR. I decided to try alumilite. I used one part coffee grounds to two parts alumilite. I thought that the grounds would stay suspended long enough for it to cure, but it didn't. There is a picture of a thin slice and as you can see most of the grounds are on the lower 3/4 of the blank. Since you can see the unpainted barrel I didn't take the time to completely polish it up.

I will try again using equal parts of coffee grounds to alumilite.

 

[JayDevin]

Steve

I was going to try both beans and grounds on my next coffee cast with alumilite. perhaps the combo will allow a full fill.

 

[mwenman]

I have not used Alumilite yet, in fact just ordered the 32oz kit tonight before the bday bash shipping offer expires tomorrow, but because of the density of the grounds wonder if you would still end up with the majority of the grounds on the lower 3/4ths of the blank even if you did use equal parts.

As mentioned that I haven't used this product yet, I might venture to guess that since such settling occured, that you may be able to mix the same amount of grounds as you did into the alumilite after you had combined the 2 parts and say let it set for a minute or 2 first? It might be set just enough by then to more evenly suspend the particles while still giving you enough time to get into a pressure pot.

 

[leehljp]

I can't get Alumilite here and am not sure what it is that I am getting - in English terms. I have tried fiberglass (FRP) in which I add a few drops; I have tried a clear base that uses 2 parts one mix to 1 part other; and I have one brand that used 1 to 1 mix.

The 1 to 1 mix cures in around 5 minutes. The 2 to 1 mix takes 24 hours on average.

My process: I use Gadgets moulds and fill mine with coffee beans and on one occasion very coarse ground beans. (I actually over fill just a tad. Next I make sure the mix is around 90 degrees (I microwave it for a few seconds - up to 10 seconds). This thins it out and accelerates the hardening action, but it makes it very thin - enough to get into the cracks and eliminates bubbles because the viscosity is so thin. The beans want to rise a small amount and I place a cut open quart milk carton - the waxed kind, and lay it on top and place a board on that and a weight on top of that. It keeps the beans and grounds down.

I was VERY surprised that the coarse grounds were penetrated so well and without bubbles. By the way, this preheating to about 90° has eliminated most all of the bubbles without using pressure.

I was TRYING to get bubbles for a special effect, didn't use pressure or vacuum - and all of a sudden I didn't get ANY! The heating process eliminated the bubbles by making the viscosity such that the bubbles floated out quickly. I don't think this will work on the 5 minute stuff, AND I don't think it will work if it is heated any higher.

I have been experimenting just to see what would happen and to get some experience. I might post some photos tomorrow (Tuesday here) If I get the time.

 

[badger]

Regarding the settling problem... (and I've never done pen blank casting, so bear with me...)

Could you cast a blank in a long cylinder (like some PVC pipe), and cut off the top part where the coffee grounds settled out of. Does that work? can you cast into a cylinder without the blank getting stuck?

-- badger

 

[Stevej72]

Badger, I did a casting last night in a piece of PVC and made it long enough so I could cut off the end with very little coffee in it. I have it ready to turn and will post the results tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[badger]

I see you're way ahead of me! Good to know my idea would work. Looking forward to see what it looks like!