Hello fellow pen turners, i know this subject has been brought up time and time again, but i live in Arizona and it being summer theres tons of scorpions out and are easy to find. Could someone that has experience in casting these little devils tell me how to do it? I would greatly appreciate it.
Casting a scorpion HELP
- Thread starter beardaisy
- Start date
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Dudley Young
Member
The last one I tried, he kept walkin away. Hope ya get some good info, i'd like to know also.
Pioneerpens
Member
John Sherman~screenname: johnspensandmore ~ he casts them~send him a message, i'm sure i'm sure he could help.
MyronW
Member
Man, that brings back memories. My folks owned a resort on Lake Havasu when I was a kid, and we used to cast scorpions, wasps, tarantulas, any poor critter that was too slow to avoid capture.
We were making bolo tie clasps, paperweights, and stuff like that that, but the process was the same. Cast the top layer, let it gel, put the specimen in upside-down and pour the middle layer just deep enough to cover it. We would use mounting pins poking through styrofoam boards to hold them down while the second layer cured. Then we would cast the final layer.
Don't mix the resin hot. The bubbles need time to work out from around the bug. You can help them with a needle.
We were making bolo tie clasps, paperweights, and stuff like that that, but the process was the same. Cast the top layer, let it gel, put the specimen in upside-down and pour the middle layer just deep enough to cover it. We would use mounting pins poking through styrofoam boards to hold them down while the second layer cured. Then we would cast the final layer.
Don't mix the resin hot. The bubbles need time to work out from around the bug. You can help them with a needle.
PaulDoug
Member
Don't you have to dry them somehow? They would be too thick otherwise, least for a pen blank.
MyronW
Member
The folks who keep scorpions as pets know...
Yeah, forgot about that part. They will rot inside the casting if they are still juicy. They were pretty crispy from the desert air by the time we cast them.
I found this thread in a scorpion lover's forum. She uses hairspray as a fixative. I think her process could be adapted to wrap a scorpion around a tube, let it dry, and then cast it into a blank. One tip I picked up was that the heat from the curing resin will boil any residual moisture and cause bubbles, so cast in thin layers.
Yeah, forgot about that part. They will rot inside the casting if they are still juicy. They were pretty crispy from the desert air by the time we cast them.
I found this thread in a scorpion lover's forum. She uses hairspray as a fixative. I think her process could be adapted to wrap a scorpion around a tube, let it dry, and then cast it into a blank. One tip I picked up was that the heat from the curing resin will boil any residual moisture and cause bubbles, so cast in thin layers.