Thread: Taking The Next Step (Casting)

Neil has covered the pros and cons pretty well
I mainly use clear casting PR for labels, watch pens ,copper and stainless braid and so on. Easy to use and reliable . I tend not to make solid blanks from PR as too many nice ones available hehe, so for me is more for protection of whats underneath ,and for a lasting and attractive finish with no hassles . Cheers ~ John

Hi John and Neil
When you mention barnes, are you referring to the supplier in Melbourne?
I have had limited success with Solid Solutions Epoxy 606. I am also about to try West Systems product

There are a few stores, see here: Barnes Products Pty Ltd

I haven't used Epoxy before, but as I've never done any WW casting, it's been perfectly fine for all the blanks I've done, never had any problems.

I try never to go past 1.5% MEKP, and sometimes even use 1% on the smaller quantities of PE, as it seems to set faster in smaller doses. What i do is use the graduated pippettes that Barnes sell as my catalyst measurers. If I have say 200ml of resin, i'll add 2-3mls of MEKP.

Russell.

% of catalyst for PR is not that critical, I only measure it for large pours, the smaller ones are by eye .

One thing to note however is be extremely careful with this stuff, one drop/splash in your eye and you can be blind for life, there is no cure.

Thanks Russell & Neil,

Still getting my stuff together but starting to get there, bottled up all my Pearl-Ex pigments today but ran out of the small bottles, so i will finish the rest another day.

I am going to be looking at making some casting moulds for blanks as well, thinking of making a reverse mould and then pouring in silicone to make a casting as the blanks seem to release very easy from the silicone and no need to dismantle moulds for release, what do the rest of you guys use.
Thought I would ask as maybe I am going down the wrong path



Cheers
Tony

I have three basic types of moulds. First, a silicon one, which I made myself, and ut was a pretty expensive exercise in the end, as I only got the one mould out of the can, plus over time they wear out.

Second, my cutting board moulds. A long as you can seal the leaks around the joins, they're cheap, reusable, and if you are using PE resin which shrinks when it sets, easy to remove.

Third, i have some PVC pipe tubes. As I cast mostly coloured blocks, I don't use these much, but they're good for tube-in casting and doing clear casts. They're also the most economicsl resin-wise, but tbh, I think you'd want to be doing multiples at once to make the time effort worth it if you do it regularly.

I also have ideas for several other mould types which I'm still exploring, so I won't mention those for now.

Russell

Thanks Russell,

If I could find a supplier of that cutting board material that had boards thick enough and if they are available I could machine the moulds up on the cnc giving a single piece mould but for multiple blanks. The bottoms of the moulds could also be rounded off too to save on Resin just like the resin saver moulds but for full size Pen blanks.

Just throwing things around to see whats out there and see what I can come up with.
Need something shortly as I want to start a few castings

Cheers
Tony.

Yeah I'd thought about doing that too, and several years ago I did find a supplier of custom HDPE, in Salisbury I think it was, but never went through with it. I think they had a minimum order size which was more than I could afford.

Russell.

Started with reverse molds, and found Olive oil spray the beat release agent, although there are quite a few commercially available release agents. Then the price went up on silicon here and now I just buy ready made ones from USA.

I still have quite a few large block molds made from malemine hot glued together, mainly for pepper grinder blanks etc, they last up to a dozen casts.

Cheers

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Epoxy:
Advantages - sticks very well, slow set (if you need more time), limitted shrinkage
Dissadvantages - expensive, not always 100% clear and can go yellow with age (although new forms appear to correct this), slow set (if you are in a hurry), components are mixed by weight, limitted working temperature for curing and often requires post curing, does not polish to glass finish

just an FYI on the epoxy ..
there' several types out there.. I've only used the West Systems on boats, not
on pens. But I did pick up some epoxy bar top finish on sale (closeout .. $5/qt! )
That stuff WILL hold a glass like shine, but usually that's only if you pour it that way.
It isn't really meant to wipe on. Someone showed me how to use a slow speed
motor to turn the blank while it cures overnight. (it's around 6 RPM) and I found that
it will have a good gloss.
Also, you can polish with micromesh, but you have to go very slowly. Wet sand,
don't turn on the lathe, do it by hand and don't overdo it. Tedious, but it can work.
Biggest problem with the epoxy for me is that it is soft.

I agree,

The blanks I cast several weeks ago, have hardened and dried. However they still feel slightly soft when pressure is applied as a pose to PR being very hard.
It was also the West System Epoxy Resin I used. But now onto PR

Cheers
Tony

Hey Guys what do you think about this casting resin Ian

I'm about to start casting and have been undecided on using PR or Epoxy. Tony, I'm not questioning your methods but, would the epoxy set harder, quicker with more hardener in it or does this not seem to effect the finished product?

I think I'll start with some PR but I'm a bit concerned as I plan on casting around tubes and I don't want the shrinkage to expose the brass yube at the ends.