Thread: Casting blanks for beginners

Been thinking the same thing Greg. It all looks too painstaking and difficult for me. I really love the blanks that 'Chrome' makes. They are just pure art, not a mish-mash of thoughtless sloppy colors like 99% of the commercial blanks.

Casting is done in a pressure pot, I modified a Supercheap Auto one, they have them on special regularly at $99

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f204/pressure-pot-76319/

Moulds can be seen here

Handcrafted Pen and Bottlestopper Blank Molds

Greg
I have done a lot of casting with a pressure pot but more with out it. You can make your own moulds and you can use a pressure pot but you don't have to as when I did mine I didn't use one.
David

Thanks for the links Fred. Regards the moulds, what types would you recommend for the pen kits available in Australia? Is there anything 'standard'?

Ta in advance

I am far from experienced in this casting caper but have had a go at it and it really is neither painstaking nor difficult. I found all the info I needed on these forums. I use a pressure pot basically as per Big Shed's mods, resin saver molds from a group buy, and either 20mm conduit or melamine coated chipboard molds for ww. Mostly I have done burl end caps, (I was hooked by what I was sent by my pen swap partner) and a bit of experimenting with a few other ideas.

I have not done any for a while but am sending off an order for more resin etc. today. Have a go fellas, it is really satisfying turning it down and seeing your own creation on a finished pen.

Right on seriola, not very difficult at all, and as mentioned before a pressure pot is not always necessary, but the chances of entrapped air bubbles are higher.

Another material I have used for moulds, particularly for block moulds, is HDPE cutting boards.

Again I am pretty sure I have shown pictures of those somewhere.

Basically any hollow object that will hold the resin, and not be dissolved by it, will work.

In addition to the wealth of information on this forum, there is a lot of information on the internet, including Youtube videos.
I have learned most of what I know from the internet, and then trying things out for myself.

Another very good source of info is the IAP Library where there are quite a few tutorials on casting, pressure pots and moulds.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f139...casting-79502/

Thank you all. The thread on your modified pressure pot was very handy thanks Fred. I phoned Supercheap Auto and they now only sell the complete unit with spray gun for $199. I will have a look at them tomorrow.

If the pressure release is removed from the pressusre pot and a pressure of 60psi set on the compressor will that overcome any chance of the pressure building up too much in the pressure pot?

Unless you absolutely cant wait, the price of those pots at supercheap gets reduced several times a year and they sell the complete outfit for $99 Probably not recommended to remove safety valve from tank I think its set at about 45 PSI ! more than enough for most casting .

Originally Posted by plantagenon

Thank you all. The thread on your modified pressure pot was very handy thanks Fred. I phoned Supercheap Auto and they now only sell the complete unit with spray gun for $199. I will have a look at them tomorrow.

If the pressure release is removed from the pressusre pot and a pressure of 60psi set on the compressor will that overcome any chance of the pressure building up too much in the pressure pot?

As John says, they have the pressure pots on special quite regularly for $99, complete set.

They also used to be available on Ebay from several suppliers for around the $100-$125, but they seem to be around the Supercheap normal price now.

I don't have a pressure relief valve on mine, I just set my compressotr to around th 60psi mark, bring the pot up to around 45-50psi. and disconnect the air hose.

I have been criticised for that but it works for me

When I was after a pressure pot sca didn't have any at our local store, I checked out their web site and there they were at $199. I rang our store and they had got some in that day so I went and picked one up at that price, I was impatient to get started and it was indeed much the same as e bay. 2 days later I was in town and called in to sca and they had them down to $94, they had been sent to the store for the sale. I returned mine the next day as I found it totally unsuitable for my purposes. My wife called in and picked one up at the special price that same afternoon, that one I have found quite suitable.

Yes, funny how a reduction in price can increase the suitability for purpose of an item isn't it

This is the cheapest I could find on Ebay, $148 w/- free delivery

10 Lt PRESSURE POT SPRAY GUN TANK HOUSE PAINT AIR TOOLS | eBay

Thanks I will wait for SCA to bring them on special. No point in spending an extra $100 when it will probably take me ages to get it set up properly. I will read up on casting in the mean time and get some mo(u)lds for the few types of pens that I will make.

Mainly I was interested at the outset in water clear resin for the stuff I have in mind. Can you suggest the best place to get the very clear stuff and what I will need.

Thanks for the great advice

One more question that just occurred to me.

If the safety valve is left on the pot do you leave the compressor running at around 45psi to keep the pressure up in the pot or do you disconnect it. If disconnected it must have a one way air flow on it or do you fit that yourself

Thanks
Greg

Nuplex Composites

Polyplex 61209

They also sell solid colur polyester pigment paste, but I can't find it on their website.

Barnes

Clear Casting Resin

MEKP Catalyst