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Jgrden

Jgrden

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Joined
Mar 27, 2009
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Location
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Why did my first pour:eek: come out spongy? I am too lazy to look up the past conversations, but will if need be. :angry:
 
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you didn't measure correctly, they must be equal part a and part b by weight not by volume. Or..you did not stir enough. Those are the two most common reasons, and probably the only two reasons. I use a digital scale. Place cup on scale and turn on scale, it will set to zero. pour in part a. turn off scale, put cup b on scale and turn it on again. pour in same weight you did part a. Typically if you are using the same cups, they should weigh the same of course..but can you be sure they are the exact same every time? Might seem silly, but cups are not exactly required to be perfect. Pour the two together and add color then mix the dickens out of it. Try and avoid cups that are not flat on the bottom...some cups have indents on the bottom which will cause all the stuff not to get mixed together.
 
If you can get a picture of the finished blank we can usually tell what happened. Most likely it wasn't mixed completely. If it is a clear, you need to mix it until it is completely clear again with no swirls in it or anything, it should look like water almost. It could also be whatever you added to color the Alumilite, sometimes the additive isn't compatible, especially if it has water in it, they don't mix well.
 
workinforwood said:
you didn't measure correctly, they must be equal part a and part b by weight not by volume. Or..you did not stir enough. Those are the two most common reasons, and probably the only two reasons. I use a digital scale. Place cup on scale and turn on scale, it will set to zero. pour in part a. turn off scale, put cup b on scale and turn it on again. pour in same weight you did part a. Typically if you are using the same cups, they should weigh the same of course..but can you be sure they are the exact same every time? Might seem silly, but cups are not exactly required to be perfect. Pour the two together and add color then mix the dickens out of it. Try and avoid cups that are not flat on the bottom...some cups have indents on the bottom which will cause all the stuff not to get mixed together.
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wolftat said:
If you can get a picture of the finished blank we can usually tell what happened. Most likely it wasn't mixed completely. If it is a clear, you need to mix it until it is completely clear again with no swirls in it or anything, it should look like water almost. It could also be whatever you added to color the Alumilite, sometimes the additive isn't compatible, especially if it has water in it, they don't mix well.
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BINGO, I had not mixed it enough because when using resin, mixing it too much introduced air. THANK YOU. I can't wait to try another pour tomorrow. And Thank you for reminding me about the measurements. Thank you.
 
workinforwood said:
Place cup on scale and turn on scale, it will set to zero. pour in part a. turn off scale, put cup b on scale and turn it on again. pour in same weight you did part a.
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Jeff,

You sure are creating extra work for yourself and wasting extra cups! Why not just put the cup on the scale and tare (zero) it out. Then if you are needing 10 ounces of resin, pour A until you reach 5 ounces. Then switch to B and pour until you reach 10 ounces. Bingo, one cup and it is already combined and all you need to do is stir. This will make your mix more accurate too since you will not have to worry about scraping all of the material out of the one extra cup.


Also, I HIGHLY suggest that everyone use clear cups and mix the 2 parts together BEFORE adding any color. When you first pour the parts together, they will be cloudy. Stir THOROUGHLY and don't worry about bubbles. Stir it until there are no swirls at all and it is completely clear. Then add your dye and stir it again. Then pour. This will eliminate the possibility that you did not get it mixed well enough.

I have helped many of the members here that use Alumilite regularly as well as a lot of folks that Alumilite gives my number to. The VAST majority of failures that I have helped fix were due to not getting the resin mixed completely. Folks are WAY too worried about getting bubbles and air. If you are using pressure (like you should) then the bubbles will not be an issue. I mix very aggressively and have quite a few bubbles when I am done. I don't whip it into a froth but I don't pussyfoot around either.
 
MesquiteMan said:
Jeff,

You sure are creating extra work for yourself and wasting extra cups! Why not just put the cup on the scale and tare (zero) it out. Then if you are needing 10 ounces of resin, pour A until you reach 5 ounces. Then switch to B and pour until you reach 10 ounces. Bingo, one cup and it is already combined and all you need to do is stir. This will make your mix more accurate too since you will not have to worry about scraping all of the material out of the one extra cup.
Well then, no more PUSSYFOOTING around for me either.

Also, I HIGHLY suggest that everyone use clear cups and mix the 2 parts together BEFORE adding any color. When you first pour the parts together, they will be cloudy. Stir THOROUGHLY and don't worry about bubbles. Stir it until there are no swirls at all and it is completely clear. Then add your dye and stir it again. Then pour. This will eliminate the possibility that you did not get it mixed well enough.

I have helped many of the members here that use Alumilite regularly as well as a lot of folks that Alumilite gives my number to. The VAST majority of failures that I have helped fix were due to not getting the resin mixed completely. Folks are WAY too worried about getting bubbles and air. If you are using pressure (like you should) then the bubbles will not be an issue. I mix very aggressively and have quite a few bubbles when I am done. I don't whip it into a froth but I don't pussyfoot around either.
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Well then I won't be PUSSY FOOTING around any more.
 

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MesquiteMan said:
I wasn't meaning to imply that YOU pussyfoot around! I was just saying that I don't.
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Please don't take me tooooo seriously. I was just excited over solving a problem thanks to you.
Thank you again.

Say, while we are on the subject of Alumilite, Mr. Manzanita Man ( I mean Mesquite Man) what do you use as a mold for a pen tube? I have been using 1/2 X 3" plastic tubes. The issue with that is centering the brass tube. It tends to lean toward the edge and does not leave enough Alumilite to work with.
Please take a chance on my irony in a repsonse by helping me with this issue. The mold has to withstand 15 degrees heat in a baking oven, as you well know.
 
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Jgrden said:
Please don't take me tooooo seriously. I was just excited over solving a problem thanks to you.
Thank you again.

Say, while we are on the subject of Alumilite, Mr. Manzanita Man ( I mean Mesquite Man) what do you use as a mold for a pen tube? I have been using 1/2 X 3" plastic tubes. The issue with that is centering the brass tube. It tends to lean toward the edge and does not leave enough Alumilite to work with.
Please take a chance on my irony in a repsonse by helping me with this issue. The mold has to withstand 15 degrees heat in a baking oven, as you well know.
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For the way you are casting, I would highly recommend the molds that Newlondon88 sells in the business classifieds. I alos take the measuring one step further, I use only one cup and I actually measure by the gram instead of by the ounce, it is more accurate that way.
 
I hadn't thought of that Curtis. But what if I over pour, then I have to add more a, then more b and so on. I see what you're saying though. Fortunately, my wife is the Queen of Coupons. I have hundreds, maybe thousands of cups and never pay a dime for them. She just sold $8500 worth of free crap she bought couponing last weekend!!!!!!!!! Now I have no more credit cards. She has a forum just like this and teaches classes on couponing too...so I'll just pour and pour the cups so that maybe I'll eventually have some more shelf space from what all those darn cups are hogging up.

Capt G casts his tubes in clear plastic molds. He uses a cork with a nail in it down at the bottom..something like that..look him up.
 
I hear you on the free cups, Jeff. What about the landfill that all of those extra free cups go into? Don't get me wrong, I am not a tree hugging enviromentalist by any means but I do try to think about these kinds of things a little.

If you overpour (which I have only done once, BTW) the you just add a little more of the component you were short on.

Remember, it is not rocket surgery :) The mix does not have to be so precise. I use a dial postal scale with 1/2 oz graduation. I would hate to see how far off my ratios are when talking in grams on a digital scale! I have yet to have a failure due to improper ratio, though.
 
wolftat said:
For the way you are casting, I would highly recommend the molds that Newlondon88 sells in the business classifieds. I alos take the measuring one step further, I use only one cup and I actually measure by the gram instead of by the ounce, it is more accurate that way.
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You are going to make me a pro at this. It sounds as though using the tubes is not too good an idea. If you use an open mold, won't the tube float?:confused:
 
Jgrden said:
You are going to make me a pro at this. It sounds as though using the tubes is not too good an idea. If you use an open mold, won't the tube float?:confused:
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Never mind, that is what the BB shot is for. To weigh the tubes down. I am thinking three BB's for a 2" 7mm tube.
 
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