Problem With Casting Snake Skin Blanks,

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Termite1964

Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
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33
Location
Callaway, VA, USA.
I cast my first snakeskin pen blanks. I glued the skins around the tubes, placed BB's inside and glued corks in the ends. I pulled a vacuum on the resin for ten min. and poored it over the blanks inside mold. I placed under pressure for 20 hours at approx. 35 psi. I removed the blanks from the molds and cut them apart. I pried the corks out and found that the resin had went throug the corks and I had a BB and resin casting inside the tube. The corks were sealed good around the edges. I think the resin pushed through the corks into the tubes. I don't know what went wrong. Any IDEAS.
 
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My first guess would be leaving them in for 20 hrs.. The longest I've ever left mine was 4 hrs. and I've never had a problem.
After gluing I grind down the corks on the disc sander so there's only 1/16" sticking out. After I glue on the wood spacers there's really no place for the resin to get in.
 
Thanks Rick. I put together another skin blank this evening and in is in the presure pot now. I tried this one with no bb's and glued small pieces of corian to the corks. I made sure the corks were glued in tight. It's been in the pot for two hours. I will take it out shortly. I will try sanding the corks down on my next one.

Thanks again,
Bill Bandy
 
Leaving them in for 20 hours is not a factor...think about it. The resin will cure in a couple of hours....How can it get inside the blanks after it has kicked over and is rock hard? The leakage had to happen prior to the resin hardening. Check the qluality of your corks. The more little holes and cracks the more apt they are to leak. They must be pushed in far enough to make a good seal along with the CA to help out. Could I ask what kit you were casting and what cork # you were using? I know how you feel...a real bummer. sometimes the resin plug can be removed. BBs are hard to drill. I've started using shotgun shot...lead. Try to knock the plugs out with a drift...carefully. Good luck.

I don't sand the corks. I purchase lab quality corks from http://www.sumburstbottle.com I have sizes from #0 through #4.

Do a good turn daily!
Don
Originally posted by Termite1964

Thanks Rick. I put together another skin blank this evening and in is in the presure pot now. I tried this one with no bb's and glued small pieces of corian to the corks. I made sure the corks were glued in tight. It's been in the pot for two hours. I will take it out shortly. I will try sanding the corks down on my next one.

Thanks again,
Bill Bandy
Click to expand...
 
Hi Bill, had the same problems when I started. Too many bb's will keep the corks from seating good. Push the first cork in the tube , gently twisting and pushing untill it is almost flush. Put in bb's leaving room for 2'nd cork to seat as deeply as the first one. I leave under 35 psi pressure for 24 hrs. and have very few problems now. I also went to lead shot because on the occasion when I do get a leaker, I can drill it out.[:I] Hope this helps.
 
Bill,
You only need enough BBs or shot to keep the tubes from floating. I only fill the tubes about half full. Also, I slice the wooden standoffs really thin...less wood = less boyancy ... less floaty.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Originally posted by CaptG

Hi Bill, had the same problems when I started. Too many bb's will keep the corks from seating good. Push the first cork in the tube , gently twisting and pushing untill it is almost flush. Put in bb's leaving room for 2'nd cork to seat as deeply as the first one. I leave under 35 psi pressure for 24 hrs. and have very few problems now. I also went to lead shot because on the occasion when I do get a leaker, I can drill it out.[:I] Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
 
Also, some corks are more porous than others. I have had bleed through when I thought I had the corks sealed well. I am thinking about going to the rubber plugs.
 
I don't put any weight in the tubes I cast. I have the silicone molds sold here by "gadget" and they allow me to cut my wood spacers a little large so they're a snug fit in the mold. Keeps the tubes from moving and if I ever did have a leak I could just drill out the resin.
 
I go at it via a different route... I no longer use corks and wood standoffs. I use (and reuse) knitting needle point protectors (purchased from Walmart for under $2) and standoffs made from a thin cutting board:

PointProtectors.JPG


The set of smaller ones work perfect for a Sierra tube. I am also looking into putting the silicone plugs that I use for powder coating to a double use.

When I was using corks (which wasn't all that long ago) I would nuke a candle in the microwave for a minute and dip the corks in the wax to seal them.
 
Steve,
Moro info about the ubber plugs. Where so you get them and exactly what are they? Thanks in advance.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Originally posted by Stevej72

n dailoyd to rubber plugs and haven't had that problem since, and the are cheaper than corks.
Click to expand...
 
Do you have a link to get the rubber stoppers? quote]Originally posted by Stevej72

I switched to rubber plugs and haven't had that problem since, and the are cheaper than corks.
[/quote]
 
Thanks for all the advice. I got my corks at the local hardware. They were 14 cents apiece. I paid more attention on seating the tubes well on the next two castings I did. I also used the solid surface material instead of the wood cut offs and no bb's in the tubes. This worked really well. The blanks did not float in the molds and I did not get any resin in the tubes. I will post a picture of the pens shortly. Sorry for the delay in responding. My home computer sucks and I can only get dial up service or very expensive satellite service. My house is for sale and I hope to rectify that soon.
 
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