Thread: Lessons in Pictures from Sturdee place

Great reminder in pictures. think you got all of it there.

The best part I got from it was I was told by FGI to use 3 to 5% of MEKP (by weight).
but Mark and Neil said to only use 2% for block casting.
Means my 2 piece Sierra mould that uses 40 grams of resin now gets .8 gms of MEKP and not 2 gms.

And everyone who is new to casting use glasses and gloves with MEKP.
if you get it on your hands and rub your eyes, your BLIND.
Flick it from the end of a pipette or have a tiny bit left and drop the pipette and have it flick towards you and get a bit in your eye , same result.

Peter

Great shots Amos

Originally Posted by _fly_

..The best part I got from it was I was told by FGI to use 3 to 5% of MEKP (by weight).
but Mark and Neil said to only use 2% for block casting..

The amount of MEKP I use varies considerably, due to me being lazy mainly, except when doing large volume pours that Fly refers to above. The more MEKP you use the more brittle the cast and the more heat that is generated. In large pours, such as pepper grinders where I can use up to 2 litres in 1 pour , and the heat build up can easily crack the cast. You can have large volume pours without issues if it is spread out, what I am talking about is large volumes in a concentrated lump. In the demo day I used 1 litre cast with the Cypress pods and actually used only 1% and still got some minor cracking. With a 2 litre pepper grinder I will use as low as 0.5%, you just want the cast to start setting, the heat will do the rest. Once I used too much and I had to put the entire mold in the freezer as I was concerned the plastic mold was going to melt . You should use multiple smaller pours, which is fine if casting clear resin, but when using colours it is hard to get them exactly the same when using pearlex etc. If it cracks you can use more resin and cast more, but sometimes the cracks are internal and you wont find them until you turn

Originally Posted by _fly_

...And everyone who is new to casting use glasses and gloves with MEKP. if you get it on your hands and rub your eyes, your BLIND. Flick it from the end of a pipette or have a tiny bit left and drop the pipette and have it flick towards you and get a bit in your eye , same result.

Absolutely, this is dangerous stuff! If you get it in your eyes, there is no cure and no going back, so please be very very careful.

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Great shots Amos



The amount of MEKP I use varies considerably, ..........................................I am talking about is large volumes in a concentrated lump. In the demo day I used 1 litre cast with the Cypress pods and actually used only 1% and still got some minor cracking. With a 2 litre pepper grinder I will use as low as 0.5%, you just want the cast to start setting, the heat will do the rest. Once I used too much and I had to put the entire mold in the freezer as I was concerned the plastic mold was going to melt


Absolutely, this is dangerous stuff! If you get it in your eyes, there is no cure and no going back, so please be very very careful.

I have to agree totally Gloves and Glasses EVERY TIME No excuses !!!

remember the hotter the day the less MEKP, the greater the volume the less MEKP. Higher ratios of MEKP cause greater shrinkage and MORE brittle blanks - so when the blanks are super chippy and explode, or the resin is not attached to the pod or timber think back to the amount of MEKP used and adjust

Great set of photos Amos. Amazing how many things came flooding back when I saw them.
I noticed one of the jars of pigment says it was packed by Martini Marine in Geelong. Not sure who it belongs to, but can it still be brought from them (my home town)?
One thing I did not clarify on the day as we did not have the time to get that far, is when you turn the blank which has been cast around wood or seed pods, do you finish it off with coats of CA to cover the exposed wood as you would for a normal wooden blank?

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Great set of photos Amos. Amazing how many things came flooding back when I saw them.
I noticed one of the jars of pigment says it was packed by Martini Marine in Geelong. Not sure who it belongs to, but can it still be brought from them (my home town)?
One thing I did not clarify on the day as we did not have the time to get that far, is when you turn the blank which has been cast around wood or seed pods, do you finish it off with coats of CA to cover the exposed wood as you would for a normal wooden blank?

I think those jars belonged to Peter (_FLY_)

Martini Fibreglass Industries
23 Fernleigh St, Newtown VIC 3220
Phone: 03 52211672
Fax: 03 52231364

Originally Posted by DSEL74

I think those jars belonged to Peter (_FLY_)

Martini Fibreglass Industries
23 Fernleigh St, Newtown VIC 3220
Phone: 03 52211672
Fax: 03 52231364

I got them from FGI or NUPLEX (Same mob) when I got my resin.
they were about 15 or 16 bucks a jar.

Peter

I had just enough time to rough turn my cypress seed pod small pepper grinder blank today - 65 dia 180mm long with a quick coat of CA to bring out the colours and seal it ready for tomorrow or the next day maybe (my mother has more doctor's appointments). Certainly looking good so far

cypress sml pepper grinder blank.jpgsml grinder1.jpg

Originally Posted by Treecycle

..One thing I did not clarify on the day as we did not have the time to get that far, is when you turn the blank which has been cast around wood or seed pods, do you finish it off with coats of CA to cover the exposed wood as you would for a normal wooden blank?

Yes a thick coat of CA though, to ensure as the wood/pods etc move in the future, there is enough CA to hold them together. Another tip, sand your blanks approximately round before you start, it will help avoid chipout.

Thanks Amos, Neil and Mark

Originally Posted by _fly_

I got them from FGI or NUPLEX (Same mob) when I got my resin.
they were about 15 or 16 bucks a jar.

Peter

Might have to give Martini a visit and see what they have. They have been around for years, but never used them.
Was that just green perlex used in the pepper grinder blank Neil? It looks very colourful.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

..Was that just green perlex used in the pepper grinder blank Neil? It looks very colourful.

No, it is an emerald translucent green dye plus gold powder (looks real , costs like it is , but isn't ), my favourite green & gold mix

Final pepper grinder shown here https://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/sma...5/#post1726674

Well I'm a happy little Vegemite. Picked up my new pressure pot today. Well not new, but new to me. Picked it up off Gumtree for $75 and it has never been used.
Ordered some resin and pigments off Mark tonight, so I will be ready to have some fun when they arrive. I will make up some basic moulds to start with and progress to better ones once I understand what I am doing.

Pressure-pot.jpg

Good score Dallas,
The rest of us wait for supercheap to have them on special for 99.

We'll be looking forward to results.

Peter

I was also looking at these before I came across my bargain. They have stores in Preston and Dandenong so you can pick up instead of paying shipping.