Cast Banksia S&P Grinders

[dai sensei]

Well these puppies have taken a while to finish, and not without plenty of miss-haps. After my cheese platter/cutting board stuff-up for my nephews wedding present, that I have ended up keeping :rolleyes:, they requested one of my pepper grinders as an alternative gift.

Rather than my usual large timber ones, I had a few WA large banksia staring at me, and with all the casting of banksias I've been doing lately I thought well why not :roll:. Due to my broken wrist still playing up, I also can't get into any larger turning job, although I have found WA banksias are pretty hard (especially when effectively soaked in CA :(). Each grinder took 2 banksia, with the left-overs made into candle holders (in a bit of a hurry :-, time is running out). One is cast with pearl white pearlex, the other silver pearlex (that comes out swirling dark grey & silver), overall height 170mm.

All are finished with Shellewax/EEE/Glow. I'll leave for a week, then re-buff with HUT.

Learning: When turning grinder body with jam chucks and you are using lots of CA, use plenty of wax on the jam chucks :rolleyes:, otherwise they stick permanently :doh:

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=126556&stc=1&d=1263207743

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=126557&stc=1&d=1263207743

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=126558&stc=1&d=1263207743

[brendan stemp]

Excellent stuff Neil. Nephew must be very happy with that gift.

[Rum Pig]

Now they are nice:2tsup::2tsup:
I like your choice of fillers and I think with those candle holders any table would look great well done very nice.

[rsser]

Clever work.

[Swino]

Very nice work Neil!! S&P grinders have been on my to do list for a while now.

Todd

[Enfield Guy]

Very nice work. Good to see something a little different.
Cheers

[Texian]

Neil,
Those are waaay cool!

[Ed Reiss]

:wts::kewl:

[tea lady]

:2tsup:Very nice. :cool:

[corbs]

I like them a lot:2tsup:

[rsser]

Do the 'eyes' follow you round the room? ;-}

[Wilco Flier]

What a very nice idea! :2tsup:Very good work:2tsup:

[Sawdust Maker]

great work
how solid are the 'eyes' in that casting?

[hughie]

Now thats a challenging material well executed. :2tsup:

[woodwork wally]

Quote[ (in a bit of a hurry :-, time is running out). One is cast with pearl white pearlex, the other silver pearlex (that comes out swirling dark grey & silver), overall height 170mm.]


Hi Niel Beautiful job :2tsup: Which casting medium are you using acrylic or poly? and who is your supplier please
]

[dai sensei]

Thanks for the comments, they were a challenge.


how solid are the 'eyes' in that casting?

Solid resin. After rough turning to expose eyes, I cast vertically under 3bar pressure in a sloppy mold to ensure the resin can get to every one and full depth.


Which casting medium are you using acrylic or poly? and who is your supplier please ]

Clear Casting Resin (Polyester resin). In small quantities, you can get Diggers CCR from most hardwares, but it is more expensive. I buy Polyplex CCR from fgi (http://fgi.com.au/), a lot cheaper.

[woodwork wally]

Thanks Neil cheers WW.Wally

[oakchip]

Solid resin. After rough turning to expose eyes, I cast vertically under 3bar pressure in a sloppy mold to ensure the resin can get to every one and full depth.


Great work.:2tsup: Very effective in the banksia nut.

Being new to this woodturning 'ADDICTION', I have no idea of the process involved in casting, or the products and methods used. Can you tell where I can find out more about it.:?

Cheers
oakchip

[dai sensei]

Being new to this woodturning 'ADDICTION', I have no idea of the process involved in casting, or the products and methods used. Can you tell where I can find out more about it.:?

Check under Pen Turning forum, under the casting and stabilization sub-forum. There are quite a few posts on pressure pots, vacuum, molds, resins, pigments and powders etc.

happy reading