Some recents casts

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Brooks803

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Here's a sample of my most recent casts. Some are for orders, some were experiments, and some were from people asking on IAP for someone to make a certain type of blank and even though I didn't make them one I still wanted to see if I could do it. All are Silmar 41 PR and mica powders. Here are the colors from Top left down then Top right down. Any comments critiques questions welcomed.
Left:
Irridescent Green and White
Midnight Blue and Cobalt Blue
Orange and Yellow
Purple and White
Cobalt Blue and Electric Blue
Green and Yellow (Trial at John Deere colors)
Right:
White and Red
Chocolate Brown and Minty Green (My wedding colors)
Hot Pink and Semi pearl Black
Black and Orange (Harley Davidson colors or just Halloween)
Cobalt Blue and Yellow (Blue Angels)
Multi Colored Gold
 

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Brooks803

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Jonathan, those are beautiful! Looks like you are enjoying your experiments.:)

Thank you, I do like experimenting with the colors. I love that color yellow and orange...its just too bad my usual color place doesn't carry them. They were WAY more expensive than my usual place and for only 1/4tsp! I needed them for other blanks so I played with the rest.
 

brookswife803

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Don't look now but that purple and white one is MINE! :) Great job on all of them babe but you know the purple one was all you had to make. :)
 

rebelgal1

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where do u get your colors to mix these with, I tried my first attempt at casting yesterday but it was a clear one over pen tubes, just waiting to see how it turns out this afternoon
 

fiferb

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We can trade off for alumilite instructions. I've got my pressure pot and everything, but no success so far (using PR for WW castings).

Sometime between the 9th and 20th of May would be great for me as I'll be on break between semesters at school. Let me know if there is a date in there that works for you.
 

Brooks803

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Sometime between the 9th and 20th of May would be great for me as I'll be on break between semesters at school. Let me know if there is a date in there that works for you.

Sounds great Bruce. I'll have to check schedules just to be safe. My wedding date is the 22nd so most likely it'll be closer to the 9th bc things are going to be hectic later on!
 

rebelgal1

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when are the cast ready

I am currently doing my first cast, my question is when is it ready to pop out of the mold, It was still tacky yesterday... I cast it Sunday so was 24hrs yesterday......
 

Brooks803

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if you are using castin craft or even silmar 41 the top will be tacky, thats so you can add more layers to the resin if wanted. If only the top is tacky but the rest has hardened you can use a toaster oven that is ONLY for shop use (NO FOOD) and do what is called post cure or "pc". to post cure put the mold in the toaster oven on no higher than 150 for incriments of 10mins untill the surface has cured. You don't want to overheat the resin bc it will make it VERY brittle. Hope this helps some. Be sure to post some pics of the blanks and any finished pens!
 

RAdams

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I post cure for longer than that and have no problem with brittle blanks. I might try the 10 minute thing and see if i notice a difference.
 

Brooks803

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Since switching to silmar 41 I haven't had to post cure at all, but this was my method for pc with castin craft and I would get some blanks that were brittle. I just try not to overheat the blanks if I don't need to.
 

RAdams

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will it hurt S41 to postcure at 150??

My little oven only goes down to 150
 

RAdams

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Cool! Thanks! I have been quite happy with the brittleness, or lack thereof, of my blanks! When i first started, I really thought i needed to use 10 drop per ounce. I quickly realized this made lots of tiny tiny chips of PR all over my shop when i tried to turn it. I whittled it down to 2 to 4 drops per ounce depending on what i am casting.
 

awood6971

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Can you help me?

Brooks803: I am casting blanks with PR and have a question. When I mix my resin to pour I add extra catalyst, trying to accelerate the curing process slightly. I stir and stir and stir...you get the idea...but my PR doesn't gel until long after I pour. Then in the mold the colors blend to much. I figure its from the convection of the heat rising. So now the question...How do I get better color separation? Should I let the PR set in the cups longer, before I pour? Help please. :confused:

PS: Your blanks are awesome! I love the combos.
 

Woodkiller

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Awood6971, I just recently started myself, and can tell you it will take a little practice to get it right. Timing the different colors to get them to gel together is the trick. Variables include temp, humidity, how much catalyst, how much colorant, phase of the moon, & age of the resin. Keep good notes on amount of resin, catylist, amount of colorant, temp, length of time to gel, and anything else you think might be relevant.
I just did my first 3 color pour last night(red-white-blue) & the red gelled before the others. Poured the red as it thickened then poured the other two & stirred quickly till it got thick. Walked away unsure & worried but somehow it worked.
Basically, pour into cups, add colorant, mix well. Add catylist & mix well. In ~10-15 min should thickn and be ready to pour co.ored resin into the mold.

Jmoverhouse, I use the castin craft pr from hobby lobby. They sell liquid pigment that is castin craft brand & it works well.
 

Brooks803

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Wow this is an old thread! It's weird looking back at how I used to cast.


Working on answering your PM now...

I'm considering making my own pen blanks. What pigment do you use to get nice dark colors?

There are plenty of sources. Coastalscents.com is one of the better places to find mica powders. They have a great selection of colors.
 
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