Thread: How do I mix small quantities of casting resin

Use a hypodermic syringe - big one (without the needle) for the "table spoon full of resin" and a small one with fine needle for catalyst.

Mix accurately at the suggested ratio - you can keep a larger amount of catalyst in the small syringe, and just add the exact amount each tome to a fresh glob of resin.

If your first batch kicks off a little too fast maybe reduce the catalyst a fraction until you get the working time in ambient temperature that you need.

The fine needle syringe should allow you the accurate measuring control you need.

Go to a druggies needle exchange place or your local vet for e.g. or ask a mate who is a insulin dependent diabetic, for some syringes - that or rob a hospital...

Good luck... that stuffs the debil i tell you...

When mixing if you stir it too fast (i.e anything above dead slow) - you entrain air bubbles that set into the resin and dont come out spoiling the clear view window effect.

I once poured it in large qty onto a flat jarrah Burl slice with about 10 gazzilion little holes in it...and as each drop worked its way down into the holes to fill them - a little bubble of air would burp its way out of the hole into the clear window of wet resin...

You can draw these bubbles to the surface and they burst and the resin then flows to a level surface again - before it kicks off - by passing CO2 gas over the surface of the resin - it somehow draws the bubbles up to the top quickly - something to do with differing partial pressures or Boyles Law or something.... the easiest way was with a gas ciggy lighter just gently waft a naked flame over the air bubble area.

Anyway my burl top had about a dozen bubbles for each of the 10 gazzilion holes...

I was there all night - drawing bubbles out with a ciggy lighter. In the wee hours when I got the last ones out and no more were coming I finally got some shut eye...

In the morning when I woke about 3 or 4 more bubbles came that I wasn't awake for... & the resin kicked off trapping them forever more in the surface finish and spoiling what was otherwise an immaculate piece of wood and work....

To this day I hate those catalytic clear resins with a passion and would never use one again... just not worth the grief IMHO(well at least not on burl wood with all the pin holes).

Good luck with it.

Syringes readily available at pet stock or similar apparently horses dogs and cats all love medicine (not) and best practice is to have medicine syringed down their throat. they have five or six different sizes.
cheers

You could use a syringe, but it would be easier if you use a disposal medicine glass. The big green shed also has small measuring cups on their shelves with Diggers Casting Resin.

A medicine glass is okay for resin but I wouldn't pour catalyst if I had a choice.
If the catalyst container has a large enough neck, use a syringe or disposable pipette then wrap it carefully and chuck when finished.

Both are available at most pharmacies.

Ok, so I have sourced a 1ml syringe which allows me to measure down to 0.02ml with accuracy. With 1 Aus tablespoon being 20ml, then I should need to measure out 0.3ml of catalyst. Easy done.
Thanks Guys
Cheers
Arron

I used a cheap balance from ebay like this and do it by weight rather than volume. The density of the resin I use is usually 10% greater than the hardener so I should use 10% more weight of resin than I would otherwise use but I have never done that and never had a problem.

The balances are dirt cheap and useful for lots of other things
Digital Weight Balance | eBay

I use a 300g jobbie that can weigh to 0.01g - they are amazing accurate as I have tested them with a set of calibration weights and they are good to 0.01g

I mix then into round plastic chinese food sauce containers using disposable syringes.