Casting corn cobs

[tool-man]

I'm pretty new to the casting business. I have a question about a corn cob blank I was given some time back.

The corn cob has a resin coating, but was not cast in a mold. It looks as if it was dipped in the resin and then hung up to dry. Or maybe the resin was poured over the cob. In the process much of the resin flowed off leaving the surface somewhat pocked by the original indentations in the cob. I'm pretty sure that the resin coating that remains is thick enough so that when turned it will result in a smooth barrel.

My question is are you really saving anything by doing what appears to be dipping? It seems as if it might save resin if you were doing a large number of corn cobs, but even then I have to wonder. Is any one doing that sort of casting, with corn cobs or anything similar?

 

[cozee]

I'm pretty new to the casting business. I have a question about a corn cob blank I was given some time back.

The corn cob has a resin coating, but was not cast in a mold. It looks as if it was dipped in the resin and then hung up to dry. Or maybe the resin was poured over the cob. In the process much of the resin flowed off leaving the surface somewhat pocked by the original indentations in the cob. I'm pretty sure that the resin coating that remains is thick enough so that when turned it will result in a smooth barrel.

My question is are you really saving anything by doing what appears to be dipping? It seems as if it might save resin if you were doing a large number of corn cobs, but even then I have to wonder. Is any one doing that sort of casting, with corn cobs or anything similar?

Sounds as though you have a stabilized cob. One that has been placed in a vacuum with a stabilizing medium to help solidify a cob which can be quite punky and blow apart as it is turned. Stabilizing especially helps to solidify the pith or core of the cob as, even when dry, is very soft and mushy like. Stabilizing will not fill in the pockets where the kernels had resided as this really isn't going to be a part of the pen once turned anyway. That is unless one is using some very small diameter cobs! And I wouldn't have wanted to be the farmer who harvested them. It more than likely was a bad year!