What do I need?

[Rum Pig]

OK you resin people have made me do it.
I want to have a go at this resin caper manly in in-bedding things in resin like pine cones or the thousand mosquitoes we have at the moment. Hay I might try that:cool:

Anyway my question to you is what equipment do I need and where can I buy it from?
Your help will be much appreciated:2tsup:

[wm460]

I am also interested, been thinging along the same lines my self.
12 months ago I turned down a vacume pump, some one kick me.

[MBUMIK]

i am playing at the moment trying to get the embedding thing working but with not too much success

my casting kit includes
measuring jugs
paper cups
conduit galour, 20mm, 32mm and 45mm??? not sure on this sizes as it was FREE
ice block trays - the long ones (as yet unused
icy pole sticks - 2 sizes
tooth picks
Gaffa Tape
disposable gloves
resin and catalyst
pressure pot which of course needs a air compressor
vacuum pump
Pearlex powders (this is all i have used for coloring so far)

looks like a lot

i have also found that any containor that has a 5 recycle code on the bottom will not melt with the resin

i hope this helps, i will be interested to see if anyone uses anything else

MIK

[Rum Pig]

What is the idea behind the vacuum pump? I can understand the pressure side but not the vacuum.
Where do or can I buy a pressure pot from?
Where is the best place to purchase resin from?

Thank you MIK

[MBUMIK]

the vacuum pump doesn't get used all that much its mostly to pull the bubbles out pine cones and things like that when embedding

i got my last lot of resin from Barnes (http://www.barnes.com.au/)

i get my Pearlex from Dharma (http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1933-AA.shtml)

i got my pressure pot from ebay however super cheap has them at much the same price if you include shipping, thats if you have supercheap

i hope this helps

MIK

[wheelinround]

Just found this link Under Pressure (http://www.donjarrs-place.com/07-how-to-pressure)

[Rum Pig]

the vacuum pump doesn't get used all that much its mostly to pull the bubbles out pine cones and things like that when embedding

i got my last lot of resin from Barnes (http://www.barnes.com.au/)

i get my Pearlex from Dharma (http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1933-AA.shtml)

i got my pressure pot from ebay however super cheap has them at much the same price if you include shipping, thats if you have supercheap

i hope this helps

MIK
Phoned supper cheap and they discontinued them a few months ago:doh:

[dai sensei]

What MIK said, plus silicon if you want to get into mold making.

Did I mention lots of money to pay for it all, as it will become addictive :doh::U

I only use my vacuum for stabilizing now. I found it causes more trouble than it solves when it comes to actual casting :-

Pressure pots - check out "air pressure pots" under ebay

[Rum Pig]

Found a local supplier that sells 10ltr pot for $350 is that good value:?

[dj_pnevans]

Hell no Rum pig that is way to much, try ebay.
David

[dj_pnevans]

Hay mate have a look at this site Air Tools & Accessories - Supercheap Auto (http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/tools/air-tools.aspx?id=187)
David

[Resination]

Don't forget the Rum. Everything goes better with Rum.

I can't believe you guys pay that rediculous shipping to get Pearl-x. There isn't a distributor over there? Pretty limited on colors with the Pearl-x too.

[MBUMIK]

pearlex in australia is around $13 a bottle, so it is much cheaper to get it in and pay the postage although that has just gone up as well

[corbs]

Phoned supper cheap and they discontinued them a few months ago:doh:

Might not hurt to phone or visit a few other stores as I'm pretty sure I saw at least one locally yesterday in a Super Cheap. Wasn't actually looking for pressure pots so can't give you price sorry.

Now I'm interested as well, is a 10ltr pot big enough?

[MBUMIK]

i have a 10 ltr pot and it is fine for the amount of casting that i do

if you were to have too much to put in i would say that you would be better off with 2 due to the amount of time it takes to get the stuff ready, it would start to go off before you got it all cast and in the pot, then again maybe i just cruise too much

MIK

[Dorno]

My Pressure pot was around $120 from super cheap on Special But I did notice that they were around the $200 mark normally. But as david said earlier try freebay lol I mean ebay the have them on there all the time for a good price.

Cheers Ian

[MBUMIK]

i checked the local super cheap today and they have pressure pots in stock but they are dear as sin, $205 on special, i am sure you will find ebay much cheaper

MIK

[NewLondon88]

i am playing at the moment trying to get the embedding thing working but with not too much success

my casting kit includes
measuring jugs
paper cups

I had to stop and think at this one ..
paper cups are often lined with wax.. and this can break down when hit by resin. Mixing
wax into your resin can cause all sorts of problems with your casting. Also the glue
that holds the seam together may not be compatible with resins.

Just a couple of things that came to mind.. sometimes it's a little thing that wouldn't
seem important that can give you the most headache.

You're right about the #5 recycle symbol, those work fine. I've found sleeves of the
clear plastic cups for around $1 or less (check dollar stores or overstock stores) and
since they're clear, you can see your mix before you pour. I like the 9 ounce wide
mouth cups, plenty of room to work and they're wider than they are deep.

[dai sensei]

I have used many different mixing cups/containers in the past. The biggest problem is when I poured as I generally got drips going every where. Flexing the cup to form a sharp spout sometimes lead to the cup cracking and resin pouring around the molds instead of in them :((

These days I use a small transparent blue plastic measuring cup from Bunnings that is only $0.60. It holds around 300mls, has level/vol indicators on the side, and a long spout for easy pouring. I buy 10 at a time and rotate them. After a while the resin builds up, and by flexing the sides and pressing on the bottom the resin comes away, giving you a brand new cup again. Warning - don't try and help with resin come free by heavy handed techniques (like tapping with a hammer :rolleyes:), when the resin cracks, often the cup does too :-

[Rum Pig]

Thank you for all the information so far.
I had a look at SC site and there pot were $@05 and I had a look at Ebay and some were $99 so I might try my luck there first.

Is there anything else I will need that has not been mentioned yet?

[dj_pnevans]

Is there anything else I will need that has not been mentioned yet?
Yes you can fly me to Darwin to help you:U
David

[BoomerangInfo]

Looks like you've got lots of goold advice.

Did anyone mention disposable gloves? The stuff gets everywhere, mostly on you. Large bottles of acetone to clean up with are good too.

When the pressure pots are on sale at super chepa, they're usually around $100, or you get the combo deal with the compressure, tools etc for about $250 I think, which is a great price compared to the "normal" price for all that gear. I think they had one of those sales at mine just before Christmas.

Your biggest problem up there is probably going to be getting your resin cheap, unless you have a boat manufacturer or someone locally. Ordering through Barnes is going to hit you with postage. The small cans of diggers stuff you get in the hardwares is hugely expensive.

Regarding cups, I just get the plastic party cups from Crazy Clarks - 50 for $2 or something like that, around 220ml each, or 25 for $25 for the 400ml ones. Clear or white, both work. The 400ml are easier to use, but the smaller ones are handier. My moulds are around 300-500ml, and since I'm usually doing two colours, I just mix a batch in each cup then pour together.

I've taken to actually dipping the cup into the resin pot to fill it up, rather than pour out of the resin pot. Sure the cup gets all sticky on the outside, but as I said, everything gets sticky anyway, and the cup gets thrown away, whereas a sticky resin pot lid setting on your is not a good thing when you want to get more resin out.

Oh, mixing sticks. I get a pack of 200 paddlepop sticks also from the cheapy store for $2. They're also my spoons for getting the Pearlex and Polyester Pigments (was that mentioned too?) out of their jars.

You can also look for PSTF dyes if you want tinted colours. They're very expensive though. I just got some Pearlex from Dharma as well. Currently, you can get them, delivery included, for about half the price we pay locally. My originals I got when the $$ was way down and it wouldn't have been so economical then. I'm almost considering getting the large bottles you can get of the stuff too, as I seem to go through it pretty quick to get it opaque enough to not show the tube through.

Paper towels - lots and lots of paper towels for cleanup too. I highly recommend getting a set of the plastic 3ml pippettes you can get in packs. Barnes has them too, or several other suppliers. They are perfect for measuring MEKP and PSTF dyes without mess. I bought a pack of 100 and I've used about 5 of them so far in a year. I also use then to lubricate my drill bit with water as I'm drilling too. They have lots of uses. If only the darn mice would stop chewing holes in the ends of them!!

Do you realise what you've got yourself in for??

Russell.

[Rum Pig]

OK I have just bought my 10ltr pot:D
I had a look at Barnes web site and there are a number of resins available witch do I use:?
And what size should I buy to start with?

[MBUMIK]

i just got some of their clear casting/embedding resin (http://www.barnesonline.com.au/product.asp?strProdFamily=Clear Casting / Embedding Resin)

you will also need to get MEKP, but from what i have read MEKP is MEKP so it wont matter if you buy it locally from someone who sells fibreglass resin

i got the 4Kg size due to the price, much cheaper than the 1Kg size, i think i will save up to get the big one next time

MIK

[Rum Pig]

MEKP is that a catalyst?

[Rum Pig]

Another newbie question. How many pen blanks would 1kg make on average?

[MBUMIK]

MEKP is the catalyst

not sure how many you would get out of the 1Kg size, depends on a lot of factors, the biggest one is the size of the molds

out of 19/20mm conduit i would make a guess at 35ish maybe a few more

sorry mate i just pour, mix and pour, never taken any notice of the quantities i will have to take more notice next time

MIK

[Rum Pig]

That is good enough I just wondered if it was worth getting the 21kg but that is a lot of pens so I will probably buy 4kg that will do 140 so that should be plenty to start.

[Dorno]

my guess is nowhere near 35 blanks. I think 1 blank is around 70ml so 15 blanks are 1050 ml thats just over your 1 kg so after all that not many blanks at all.

Ian

[BoomerangInfo]

I use about 80-100mls per blank, being about 22mm square x 135mm long. You could get it down to probably 50 - 70mls if you used 20mm tubes @ 125mm long. Depends how wasteful you are too :)

Any clear casting resin should do, just make sure it doesn't have any wax in.

Russell.

[Dorno]

yeah I over stated it a touch but it is very surprising how few blanks you get out of 1 kg of resin.

Cheers Ian

[Rum Pig]

So resin is the same weight as water. I could work out what I get from 1kg now:)
I will be mainly trying wasted wood type stuff so the 4kg should still be fine for first round:)

Thank you for all your help I will be asking many more questions in the near future:rolleyes:

[MBUMIK]

i will have to fill up a tube tonight to measure how much resin is in each blank, but i am sure i was getting around 17 blanks from a 500gram tin

1kg is not quite 1ltr but close

MIK

[MBUMIK]

22 blanks out of 500ml, thats using 19/20mm conduit for the mold

of course the bigger the mold the more resin

MIK

[Rum Pig]

How do you get your blanks out of the conduit? or do you sacrifice the conduit?

[MBUMIK]

i tape the bottom with gaffa tape to seal the end, 1 strip across the bottom and 1 around

after about 4 hours a sharp rap on the bench will knock it free, if not then i use the bar that came with the lathe for knock stuff out of the MT to give them a helping hand

the resin shrinks a little as it sets, it doesn't stick to the tubes at all, i purchased 4 X 4m lengths and cut them all at 6" thinking that i would break a few here and there, not one broken as yet

MIK

[Rum Pig]

So to embed something as long as it fits in the conduit then you just need to pour resin over the top and away you go.
Only if conduit was square:rolleyes:

[BoomerangInfo]

So to embed something as long as it fits in the conduit then you just need to pour resin over the top and away you go.
Only if conduit was square:rolleyes:

Err, in theory yes, but remember, you'll be drilling a hole through the middle of the blank, then turning away most of what's there. So if you're talking about small things like hundreds & thousands, then it's easy. If you want to embed something bigger, such as the Redback on the toilet seat, it takes a little more planning :P

Russell.

[MBUMIK]

i am only playing with embedding at the moment

for most embedding that i have done i made some molds out of the white plastic cutting boards

i do have to remake them, i made them just a bit deeper than what i wanted the finished blanks to be, i didn't allow for -
Vacuum - the air escaping causes bubbles rising through the resin, and the resin jumps out all over the place
Pressure - you need extra resin in the mold, it is amazing how much disapears into the wood, the first WW i made i didn't even think about adding extra, the mold was only half full when i opened the pressure pot, fortunately the resin sticks to itself so i just made another batch and poured it over the top

this is only what i have found, neil (dai sensei) has done lots of embedding and should be able to add his experiences as well

MIK

[Rum Pig]

So that could be away to get a cool effect by slowly adding more resin and each time a different colour so as you turn it away all these different layers start to appear:rolleyes::cool:

[BoomerangInfo]

So that could be away to get a cool effect by slowly adding more resin and each time a different colour so as you turn it away all these different layers start to appear:rolleyes::cool:

Sounds good in theory, and I do this with the littl ebits of leftover resin after each pour. But so far, all of my results have been rather *meh*.

Russell.

[MBUMIK]

that would have to be the way that they make that blank i have seen with the thin strips of color sort of looks like a sideways licorice allsort

[dai sensei]

For WW blanks I only use pressure these days, the highest your pressure vessle can handle, the vacuum caused more problems than it solves.

My new molds have a well for extra resin, as MIK mentions, it is amazing how much the level can drop under pressure. I found it impossible to predict, so some come out with almost no resin lip, others with a large lip of resin which must then be cut off. Cut off bits get thrown in my left-overs jaw for throwing into the moulds next time I have excess resin (I add black tint to make chips stand out).

[Rum Pig]

Thanks for that Neil:2tsup:
What is your mould made from?

[BoomerangInfo]

What is your mould made from?

Fuzzy green stuff that grows on cheese :p

Russell.

[dai sensei]

Thanks for that Neil:2tsup:
What is your mould made from?

The mold is from Silicon. Basically I hot melt glued some truestone blanks to 3ply strips slightly large than the blanks, then glued that to a larger piece of ply, with ply sides. All glued with hot melt glue. Just make sure you seal all the way around all joints, this one I didn't and hence the little flaps. I fill the mold form with oil as a release and to measure amount of silicon, drain well, then fill with silicon. I get mine from FGI.

Another learning, after stripping the next day, allow another week before casting any resins. I was advised on IAP site if you use it any earlier the blanks stick to the mould. I found this to be true with the mold I made Gawdelpus :-

[dj_pnevans]

The molds I have made were use the day after with no problems. With the amount you use, fill the mold with water pour water into cup and mark the cup. Empty the cup dry and pour resin in then weigh no problem.
David