1st time for casting - Alumilite & Cholla Cactus

[Bigj51]

Yay! Fedex showed up with my Alumilite today.... so excited! My first attempt will be with Alumilite Clear, Orange Alumilte dye, Copper Alumidust and a piece of cholla cactus. To start off with, last week I oven baked the cholla to make sure it was completely dry. I then stabilized the cholla with Cactus Juice and my vacuum chamber. I wanted to make sure the cactus had really good structure and would be just as hard as the alumilite during turning.

Let me post a few pics of my setup.


I am going to use baby soda bottles to cast some of my blanks in, so I used my laser engraver to cut out the acrylic parts necessary to build a casting rack.



Here is the pressure tank I bought. A 7 gallon capacity from Paint Sprayers Plus in New Mexico. Note that I also rigged up the fluid output valve with a vacuum port, so this can also double as a larger vacuum chamber. When under pressure I just make sure that the ball valve to the vacuum port is closed.





Here are all of the ingredients prior to mixing. I did preheat the soda bottle prior to mixing materials. I have had it in my pressure pot at about 60 psi now for about 2 hours. I cant wait to see the final result. When it comes out I think I will cure it in the oven at 140* as per the instructions. The color once mixed was really outstanding, so I can't wait to get it cured and on the lathe!

I have a feeling that casting is going to be quite addicting....

I will post pictures of the results of the blank when it finishes. If it works I will post pen pics as well.

 

[Edward Cypher]

Love the casting rack. I too am using Baby soda bottles. Using PR instead of Allumilite under pressure they did not want to let go. I think I may need to use a mold release with the tubes when they are under pressure.

 

[warthog]

I have read about baby soda bottles...I don't have a clue what they are.

 

[PTsideshow]

Plastic child safe test tubes

They are what are sold as the start of the 2 liter soda bottle's water etc. Cheaper to ship as the smaller size, they are blow molded once at the bottling plant to there full size.
You can amazon or google them, depending on your terms you may end up with a lot of baby feeding bottle sites too.

My questions for those that use them as casting molds. Do you turn them off?
:clown:

 

[Bigj51]

Plastic child safe test tubes

They are what are sold as the start of the 2 liter soda bottle's water etc. Cheaper to ship as the smaller size, they are blow molded once at the bottling plant to there full size.
You can amazon or google them, depending on your terms you may end up with a lot of baby feeding bottle sites too.

My questions for those that use them as casting molds. Do you turn them off?
:clown:

I sprayed mold release agent in the tube but that did not seam to help. That blank was really stuck! I've got pictures, but they are too large to upload from my iPad. When I get to work I will scale down the pictures and upload. There was an immense amount of work to get my blank. Tools used included hammer, screwdriver, dowel rod, lathe, and band saw. Tube had to be destroyed to get to the blank, but oh well.

On the other hand the blank turned out awesome! Pictures really don't capture the depth of color. And I've already turned a pen out of it.

Pics to be uploaded shortly!

 

[Leviblue]

I'm using the soda bottles as well. They all didn't release, so I drilled a small hole in the bottom. When casting I place some clay in the hole, to release I place the compressed air nozzle at the end and give it a little blast. Its very entertaining to watch the blank rocket across the shop so don't over pressurized it. You can apply a little pressure and when they start you should be able to pull them out. YMMV

I like the setup you have for casting!

 

[Bigj51]

I'm using the soda bottles as well. They all didn't release, so I drilled a small hole in the bottom. When casting I place some clay in the hole, to release I place the compressed air nozzle at the end and give it a little blast. Its very entertaining to watch the blank rocket across the shop so don't over pressurized it. You can apply a little pressure and when they start you should be able to pull them out. YMMV

I like the setup you have for casting!

Thanks! Are you cast with alumilite or PR? I've heard that PR shrinks a little bit. Or did I just not use enough mold release? Any help is appreciated!

 

[Bigj51]

Here is the blank fused into the tube...



The blank after a little tube demolition



And the end result after turning



I am still learning on the photography end, so I was not able to capture the full depth of the Alumilite color. The finish is smooth as glass. I think that stabilizing the cholla first made all the difference. It has very open grain, so I don't think it would have turned out as well otherwise. I think my first try was definitely a success!

Let me know what y'all think.

 

[Turned Around]

man, that came out great. makes me want to start casting myself. good job.

P.S. if i get into casting at some point, expect a PM from me about that holder you made.

 

[Bigj51]

man, that came out great. makes me want to start casting myself. good job.

P.S. if i get into casting at some point, expect a PM from me about that holder you made.

I own a laser engraving business so I am constantly coming up with new things to make. Let me know. I can make one to fit the dimensions of the fresure chamber you decide on.

 

[Edward Cypher]

I have been casting with PR and Baby tubes and underpressure they are a little hard to get out. If you are just casting colors not burl cap or cholla cactus or waste wood. they come out pretty easy after dry. The Pr does shrink a bit. I too would be interested in a tube holder like you made. Awesome!!!!