Would Polyresin Be Strong Enough For Knitting Needles

[crokett]

just wondering. I've turned a couple sets out of wood. I was thinking of casting some but don't know how strong something that long and skinny would be.

 

[Snowbeast]

I would not try to do that as anything I've done that's near that narrow will snap if you look at it cross-eyed. You may try to cast a thin brass or aluminum rod in the center to give it some strength.

 

[BRobbins629]

1 test is worth 1000 opinions.

 

[firewhatfire]

I cast some in a 1/2 pipe and turned it down from there. I think you can do it with a little patience. truthfully I would cast it as close to size as possible and chuck it in the drill press and sand it that way.

 

[bigevilgrape]

It probably depends on the size of the needles and the knitter. I tend to bend thin needles, so a brittle rigid material wouldn't work for me. I have knit with some clear acrylic needles and some casein needles before. Anyway the only way to tell for sure is to make some and find out.

 

[Justturnin]

I would cast a small piece of stainless steel rod into it to re-enforce the stick.

 

[Sylvanite]

Do knitters care much about the weight of their knitting needles? All this talk about reinforcement materials has made me consider making a set from carbon fiber.

Polyester resin by itself has low tensile strength, so I suspect unreinforced knitting needles would tend to break easily. I'd suggest using fiberglass (or carbon as above) cloth, or if you don't want that, try mixing in some milled glass for strength.

Regards,
Eric