Totalboat Epoxy for Making Pen Blanks

[Hartwell85]

Has anyone experimented with Totalboat Epoxy for making pen blanks? I cast a few bars from this material and made some sample pen blanks to experiment with. I found that it did not turn as well as Alumilite or Rhino blanks do. Light cuts and slow feed rates were necessary to keep the carbide lathe tool from digging in. I also found that it was easy to overheat and soften the epoxy using my normal turning practices.

I would appreciate any comments and suggestions.

 

[jttheclockman]

Epoxy resins are known to be softer and dent more easily. The thing with them there is no way to control hardness. Their mix ratio is crucial to get to mix properly. Unlike Silmar41 just add a few more drops of catalyst and you can control hardness easily. That has always been my go to resin. I do use epoxy resins when doing things like watchpart blanks and things where it is crucial for the resin to adhere well and also seep into all the nooks and cranny and then I use Liquid Diamonds and have had good success.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I've never tried that brand but I have used 3 others. Everything you mentioned is the same with the ones I've used. Epoxy doesn't like the heat. If your too aggressive it will soften. I've had the clips dent the resin sitting on a shelf in the house at room temperature. You didn't mention yellowing but I had that issue with all 3 as well. The blanks yellowed the the resin yellowed the the bottle in a month or so.