Tube in mold problem

[Scotty]

I have a silicone cigar pen mold. I've used it with regular PR resin with no problems but when I use it in the pressure pot a lot of resin gets pushed into the tube. Almost full. What can I put in there to stop that or should I wait till the resin begins to set a little? Anyone else had this problem?

 

[JohnU]

That's been a problem for many. You can try using playdo or clay and stuff it in past the needed space at the ends for the mold. You'll probably have to reduce your pressure to 25 or less. I use removable tapered plugs to avoid that issue. It's not fun getting resin out of tubes.

 

[Curly]

To find out how high you can go put a mold and tube in the pot with water in it instead of resin. Then you will know how much pressure you can use before it leaks into the tubes. Back off from there 5 pounds. When Marla was casting she would use 10 or 15 PSI at most. Gentle mixing to avoid bubbles is also important.

 

[Scotty]

Thanks John and Peter. I'll do some experimenting before I try alumilite again. Drilling out a tube full of resin isn't something I want to keep doing. Thanks for helping.

 

[Curly]

Just to be clear I was talking about polyester resin.

 

[egnald]

I'm a big fan of the tapered silicone plugs that John talked about. Even though I haven't started tube-in clear casting yet, I've been using them for a long time now to plug the ends of my tubes when I'm repairing them with CA, when I am sealing the end grain of more porous woods, and when I'm dousing the ends with CA to let it seep down and fill any gaps in my epoxy between the blank and the tube. They are inexpensive, reusable, and they work great too! I'm thinking that the pressure in your pressure pot would only push them in harder which should even improve the seal. You can buy various sizes of them at Exotic Blanks. - Dave