Advise for casting horse hair

[JoeCallahan]

Hey everyone,
So I'm working on a very special pen for my girlfriend's birthday, and I wanted some advice before going ahead with casting the cap blank. I have a hair from the tail of her horse she rides at lessons every weekend, and I plan to wrap it around my brass tube then clear cast it in a tube-in mold from ptownsubbie. What I wanna know is how I should go about sealing the hair after drying it and wrapping it around the tube, so I don't get bubbles trapped on the surface. I'm casting in alumilite clear slow.

 

[egnald]

Hello Joe,

I'm sorry I can not be of much direct help, but last weekend I attended the Midwest Pen Turners Gathering in Chicago. While I was there, John Underhill did a clear casting session that was simply outstanding. It sold me on ordering his clear cast equipment and supplies from Exotic Blanks. He casts a multitude of materials including organics like feathers, snake skins, and such. I recommend reaching out to him with your question. His Username on IAP is JohnU.

Regards,
Dave

 

[JoeCallahan]

Hello Joe,

I'm sorry I can not be of much direct help, but last weekend I attended the Midwest Pen Turners Gathering in Chicago. While I was there, John Underhill did a clear casting session that was simply outstanding. It sold me on ordering his clear cast equipment and supplies from Exotic Blanks. He casts a multitude of materials including organics like feathers, snake skins, and such. I recommend reaching out to him with your question. His Username on IAP is JohnU.

Regards,
Dave

Thank you Dave. I was also at the MPG last weekend. I actually know John very well, and have gotten help and advice from him many times in the past. I just decided to post here on the forum to see if anyone else had any tips to share as well. The IAP really is the greatest wealth of information I've ever known, and I've always welcomed any and all insight people have to offer.

 

[JoeCallahan]

Has anyone here ever casted horse hair before?

 

[JohnU]

Joe, I got looking through some of my past notebooks and found where I had tried it around 2010. I used Silmar and had failed results. Today I would do it differently. I would suggest dipping it in denatured alcohol to remove any oils, then after it dries, secure it to the blank with Clear Nail Polish and apply a couple thin layers over it. Let it dry for a day before casting and keep your fingers crossed. Don't use any brand of CA if you're using urethane resin. If you find it difficult to get the hair on the tube with nail polish, do only a little bit at a time so it doesn't shift on you. Best of luck and I hope to see a successful pen posted here soon!

 

[JoeCallahan]

Joe, I got looking through some of my past notebooks and found where I had tried it around 2010. I used Silmar and had failed results. Today I would do it differently. I would suggest dipping it in denatured alcohol to remove any oils, then after it dries, secure it to the blank with Clear Nail Polish and apply a couple thin layers over it. Let it dry for a day before casting and keep your fingers crossed. Don't use any brand of CA if you're using urethane resin. If you find it difficult to get the hair on the tube with nail polish, do only a little bit at a time so it doesn't shift on you. Best of luck and I hope to see a successful pen posted here soon!

As always, thanks for the tips John! I was gonna use ca, but no I know to avoid that. Could I get away with some uv resin to adhere and seal the hair?

 

[JohnU]

I haven't tried the uv with urethane but I think others here have with success. I would keep it to small amounts.

 

[JoeCallahan]

I haven't tried the uv with urethane but I think others here have with success. I would keep it to small amounts.

So I unfortunately don't have quite enough hair to wrap the whole tube. Instead, I'm gonna turn 1 or 2 grooves into the wood blank, then inlay the hairs.

I'm using a "Band-It" rollerball kit from exotics, and just finished the centerband this weekend using smaller hairs from her previous horse. I used CA to adhere and seal the hairs, then UV resin to fill the rest of the channel. I've gotta say, I'm pretty happy with the results.

 

[JohnU]

Looks great! Congrats..I'm very happy it worked for you. She's going to love it. I can see orders piling up for you once she shows it off.