Resin Casters Assemble....

[badwhiskey]

So I'm thinking of getting into resin casting. Probably going to do pens and bottlestoppers. I think I'll be mostly casting stuff into the resin (pine cones, coffee beans and the like). What do you guys use and where do you get your supplies?

Thanks.

[Gregory of Sherwood Forest]

When I first started doing it, I first used a pressure pot (The HF one commonly altered), and later upgraded to a great vacuum bell chamber that worked much faster and effectively. I got lucky and got it from a science lab that shuttered their doors.
I don't recall the brand name of the resin I used then, but it was prior to the Cactus Juice that is commonly used now, and it was slightly less expensive, but a little more work in use.
I casted all sorts of items, from labels to fruit loops, to watch gears and even dead critters like spiders and scorpions. Some things worked great, others needed special treatment.
I recommend that you get those silicone casting forms that hold the tube centered. They really are worth the price and can be used hundreds of times. There's a seller on IAP and also on ExoticBlanks who makes them.
Good luck! Oh, and don't get frustrated, mistakes happen sometimes until you get a little practice.

[Wipedout]

Gregory of Sherwood Forest said:

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When I first started doing it, I first used a pressure pot (The HF one commonly altered), and later upgraded to a great vacuum bell chamber that worked much faster and effectively. I got lucky and got it from a science lab that shuttered their doors.
I don't recall the brand name of the resin I used then, but it was prior to the Cactus Juice that is commonly used now, and it was slightly less expensive, but a little more work in use.
I casted all sorts of items, from labels to fruit loops, to watch gears and even dead critters like spiders and scorpions. Some things worked great, others needed special treatment.
I recommend that you get those silicone casting forms that hold the tube centered. They really are worth the price and can be used hundreds of times. There's a seller on IAP and also on ExoticBlanks who makes them.
Good luck! Oh, and don't get frustrated, mistakes happen sometimes until you get a little practice.

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I beleive cactus juice isn't used for resin casting it's used for stabilizing wood. products like Alumilite is what you are looking for. Curtis has some great how to videos under the pen black how to section on that site also

[Gregory of Sherwood Forest]

Yup, I stand corrected. I casted and also did stabilizing.

[Arlin Eastman]

I would also like to try that someday when we can get all the stuff we need to make pen blanks and up to bowl blanks.

Does anyone know how much the system costs and where I can buy it off the shelf so I do not have to figure out how to put it all together or rebuild it?

[iclark]

You need the same sort of vacuum pump, valves, gauges, and filters for casting, stabilizing, vacuum veneering, or vacuum chucking.

I had several very nice conversation with Bob and Diane of The Frugal Vacuum Chuck. They were very helpful and I brought one of their kits home with me. I went with the kit because I wanted to do a slightly different plumbing configuration and it came packed in a smaller box.

Joe Woodworker has a good page on the plumbing setup.

Once you have the pump and manifold, you need something that you can use as a vacuum chamber that is big enough to hold your mold(s). A pressure cooker is certainly strong enough and can work, but it is really helpful to be able to see when the bubbles quit coming out. You can turn a clear plexiglass top for the pressure cooker that you can put in a hose fitting for the vacuum line and watch the casting/stabilization process through the plexiglass. Someone here should be able to tell us how thick the plexiglass needs to be for a given diameter.

[Arlin Eastman]

I talked to Bob a few years ago and he really gave me a great price on his system and he even put it all together for me and mailed it for the price too.

That is why I did a post here 18* months ago about his awesome prices which are $200 to $350 cheaper than anyone else.

I do not know how to take his system and use it for making epoxy blanks nor do I know how to take what he gave me to make a smaller suction cup for smaller bowls and boxes.

Arlin

[badwhiskey]

Thanks everyone for the information. I'll be investigating further.

[Arlin Eastman]

Frank

So it seems if you buy Bobs system it can be used for a few things and pretty cheaply too.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

badwhiskey said:

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So I'm thinking of getting into resin casting. Probably going to do pens and bottlestoppers. I think I'll be mostly casting stuff into the resin (pine cones, coffee beans and the like). What do you guys use and where do you get your supplies?

Thanks.

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Hello Frank

Not to take away from this site but for the most comprehensive site about pen turning I highly suggest you join the IAP site. www.penturners.org There you will be able to get exact answers to all your pen questions. There is so much info there it will take some time to catch up. To quickly answer your question. There are 3 forms of casting resins Aluminite, Silmar41, and West Systems clear casting resin. Some of these fall under different names such as Cast-N- Craft resins and so forth. The members there can tell you where to buy and best ways to use and what molds to use. You do not need a pressure pot all the time and there are tricks for that also. Welcome to the world of pen turning. Good luck.