Thread: Trouble with diggers casting resin

I am not an expert but my guess is that as you have sanded the resin and belt have hot causing the resin to soften, the timber to move and out it has come.

No doubt someone will explain what is happening shortly.

Originally Posted by Handyjack

I am not an expert but my guess is that as you have sanded the resin and belt have hot causing the resin to soften, the timber to move and out it has come.

No doubt someone will explain what is happening shortly.

You are partly right, in that the belt has gotten hot and melted the resin, pulling it out, the timber would not have moved.
Diggers is not the best for filling in voids in timber. Contact Brendan Stemp for some resin that is ideal for filling voids in wood .
Sambo, the best way to flatten the top after filling, would be with with a router, set up on some parallel boards using a really sharp cutter.
Kryn

My uneducated guess is that you have used too much of the mixture in the one pour.
Probably better off building up deep voids in layers, maybe a couple of millimetres thick, and allow to thoroughly harden before placing another layer.
As to the current dilemma, maybe it hasn't fully cured. If possible, can you drill a small hole (1.5mm dia.) into the deepest void to check if the resin is fully hard?

Alan...

I would use epoxy resin mixed with wood dust.

I've used diggers quite a few times to fill voids. I think you've probably not used enough catalyst.

Trav

Cheers for all the replies.

I tried the router on boards idea and it worked a treat, wasnt tacky in the middle of the puddles and didnt leave any residue on the cutter at all. I will be using this method from now on.

Trav, how do you flush the resin off with the timber? Any problems?

It has been very cold overnight and in the mornings here in SA in the last fortnight so this may also be a factor.

I just sand it flush. I make sure the resin is pooled above the surface of the timber, then I let it set (at least overnight) and then sand it flush. Never once had a problem.

I think it may be the timber. Olive being very oily. I let the last batch cure for 6 days and still had the same problem. I definitely over catalyzed this last batch. I'm going to try another product and see if that works any better. Another option may be to soak acetone in to the area and let it dry before applying the resin.

This last batch was rock solid but was still tacky where it came into contact with the timber.