Thread: Commercial casting project

Yep, thanks John. Nailed it in one. I really hate not been able to show you most helpful guys but it will come out eventually. I'm definitely no hit and run poster either. Ive jumped across from the renno forum on advice Ive received over there. As a lover of all things timber and a been carpenter I assure you all that wood and all things associated with wood are my life. This, however, is a little side project that may fly and I have to keep it under my hat a bit as my intended market is small and finicky. Then again, it may fail, in which case I'll blow a lot of time and money. As a gesture of good will I have emailed some photos to dai sensei to show what Ive been up to.

No offence intended here Ringtail but you have asked heaps of questions and got a lot of help here, in someone else's thread I might add (commonly known as a hi-jack).

Now if I remember correctly it was you that said you would put up some photos of what you were up to and then went all coy about it and assumed our "understanding", which Dai-sensei quite righly pointed out wasn't forthcoming, at least not from everyone.

Now I don't really care whether you put up photos or not, but once you make a statement like that, I repeat in a thread you hi-jacked, then it would appear to me that you make yourself look rather silly by claiming "commercial-in-confidence".

OK Ringtail, have separated your thread from Tony's original thread as your questions and answers rather interfered with his original thread.

(Sorry can't address you by your proper name as I don't think you have disclosed that?)

Originally Posted by Big Shed

No offence intended here Ringtail but you have asked heaps of questions and got a lot of help here, in someone else's thread I might add (commonly known as a hi-jack).

Now if I remember correctly it was you that said you would put up some photos of what you were up to and then went all coy about it and assumed our "understanding", which Dai-sensei quite righly pointed out wasn't forthcoming, at least not from everyone.

Now I don't really care whether you put up photos or not, but once you make a statement like that, I repeat in a thread you hi-jacked, then it would appear to me that you make yourself look rather silly by claiming "commercial-in-confidence".

Yep, fair call on the hijack. Sorry.

I had no idea my project would actually work. As is it neither new in concept or principle,all I have is been first to market. Posting photos would be the worst possible thing I could do if I want a decent shot at that.Appearing "rather silly" is better than proving stupidity by posting photos. Sorry, but circumstances change, I can't help that. I'm also sorry if I led people to believe I was making a pen or other turning item of interest. If only I could turn the item to finish it I would be in heaven.

Now, if anyone wants advice on how to build or renovate a house properly, jump over to the renovate forum and you will see that I'm more than happy to share my considerable experience with anyone that wants info.

Cheers,

Alex.

Just a followup question ? How did the adding another thin layer over the casting workout ,should of been fine in theory hehe, cheers ~ John

I havent actually got that far with it yet John. Had a few other little refinements to finish off. It wont stop me putting it into service for some R&D. As usual, I'm a bull at a gate when I get on a mission. I'll be casting again tomorrow hopefully so I'll have some leftovers I can smear on

Cheers,

Alex.

Hehe! we are all a bit guilty of rushing into things while the flame of inspiration is burning brightly Refinements come in time cheers ~ John

Indeed.

Ah well, it had to happen eventually I guess. I tried to make a small bowl and all was well until the exotherm. It got super hot but didnt smoke. The outer mould was shiny plastic bowl and the inner was 90 mm PVC. I forgot all about release agent on the PVC so while the PR shrunk away from outer mould, it was stuck fast to the inner. I wonder if this had any input to the cracking. I also chucked some small flowers in. They got cooked too and most of the cracks seem to originate from a flower ??? 1% MEKP and about 450 ml of resin all up poured in 3 stages

Were the flowers dried,as even a small amount of moisture will affect the PR ,it does not like moisture That stuff is very brittle I have had major cracks just trying to knock them out of conduits I forget the release agent on ,and dropping on concrete floors is not good either , Looks like some more cutting up for "Fill" with that lot ,ahh well it happens to us all that stretch the boundaries ,as they say nothing ventured =nothing gained cheers ~ John

Flowers straight off the tree and into the resin. That will teach me for trying to make a birthday present for my niece. If I were to flash the flowers in a strong hardener mix before embedding it might have been a different outcome.

Cheers,
Alex

At least I didnt waste any pinkysil making a mould

At least you are trying ,and that,s not a bad thing I have heard that once the mold has jelled and starts to warm up in the process ,you can put in the fridge to help slow the heating up ,or at least dissipate it a bit . Most things for embedding need to be very dry ,and in some cases even stabilised, coffee beans are another of these things that need to be treated before casting You may need even less activater for the larger projects as well, it may take a little longer to setup properly but it will ,I have made mistakes in my mixes at times and its taken days to set lol, but in the end all good. Cheers ~ John

I have played around with the hardener a bit but I cant go below 0.6 % according to the tin. 0.75 % seems to be a good compromise for the bigger casts and 1 % for the smaller stuff

Cheers,

Alex