some tries

[wimkluck]

I scored some pieces of burl and made some pen blanks out of them.

I just sand the blanks and put some oil on it. This epoxy must rest for at least a week. The open time is 40 to 50 minutes. Multiple colors is a problem because the waiting time is long. I will try a other type. I think it will be this type ALUMILITE CLEAR SLOW FOR WOOD TURNING APPLICATIONS link
Any comments?

 

[JohnU]

They look great, congrats! I would suggest the alumilite clear or clear slow for your next try. You will love it! Feel free to PM me any questions. I use that resin weekly. Looking forward to seeing more of your casts.

 

[wimkluck]

I have a question I cast 1/8" aluminum honeycomb in epoxy. Turning it was very difficult. Pieces broke out everywhere. I then put the leftover blanks in the back of the drawer and after months I had to make a special pen for a friend. Then took the blank and no chipout at all when turning. Yes, when sanding. A very small piece came loose here only at the end of the blank. I also had this problem with the following blanks. All blanks come from the same batch. And yes the aluminum is well degreased. Do you have experience with alumilite?
The shelf time of the alumilite? For my epoxy it was 9 month but i just did my last poor after 3 years without problems. Those 3 years never mattered. Due to circumstances it took me two years to get started.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

Something to think about. The Clear Slow has a heat index of 140 degrees, if I remember correctly. It takes 72 hours to fully cure. It's has higher properties than the other popular resins so taking that into consideration I'd watch for these tips. If the honeycomb is metal it will build up heat from turning and sanding. That will cause glue and or resins to " Let loose". I'd suspect the first blank gave you troubles because of heat and maybe not fully cured. Since the other blank sat longer it has more time to cure so it was easier to turn. Maybe trouble at the end because of heat. I don't know if that was the issue but keep it in the back of your mind for the next time. Good Luck.

 

[JohnU]

I second what Kenny said. Epoxy resins need a long time to cure. I don't use them much because of that. I prefer Alumilite clear for pen blanks. For thicker pours I use Clear slow. I think they both turn about the same. Make sure you warm your mold and the items you're casting prior to pouring the resin, it will adhere better. Clear slow is a good resin to learn with because it has approx a 12 min working time. You'll find yourself waiting on it to reach temp if doing multiple colors to keep color separation, but once you get used to it, and iron out your process you can switch to "Clear" which has about a 7 min working time. I actually warm side B up to 100 degrees prior to mixing to speed up the process, and make it easier to mix, but that comes with practice. Good luck!

 

[wimkluck]

I assume that the degrees is in Fahrenheit?

 

[JohnU]

Yes, but it wouldn't have to be that warm as long as the side B was not thick and thin enough to stir. If you get it too hot it will shorten your working time. if it's too warm, just let it sit for a few minutes before mixing and it will remain thinner as it cools down.

 

[wimkluck]

I have seen some youtube movies. They explaned the temperture range. I will take some notes and learn from my mistakes.

 

[JohnU]

Here is a link to one of my videos on color casting at Exoticblanks to show you how I do it. There are many videos out there and I suggest watching as many as you can since we all have our own way of doing things.