CASTING SIZE

[PaulDoug]

After seeing the casts that Brooks803 posted in his thread titled: "More castings and a delimma " I remembered a question I've been wanting to ask. How big of a brick could a person cast and have good success? I mean would 6"x10" turn out or bigger. Something a taller candle stick or something could be made out of.

 

[Dorno]

I cannot see why the 6x10 wouldn't work. you just need a bit of practice first and keep details of how long things took to gel. if you do all that it should work fine.

Ian

 

[Brooks803]

6x10 would work. I mainly use a 6x3 and get three 7/8 blanks out of it. That big slab you saw I used a 8x8 brownie pan. just make sure you measure how much resin it will take to fill it up first. I do it by filling my pan with water and then pouring it into a measuring cup and thats how much resin to use. Besides that, getting all the colors to gel at the same time is the HARDEST thing to do. some colors tend to set faster, you could be wearing mix-matched socks that day, it doesn't matter....it's something trial and error can only teach. try a couple small pours to get your feet wet if this is your first time casting. Hope any of this helps and feel free to ask any questions. thats what we're here for!

 

[PTownSubbie]

Also, keep in mind the larger the brick you cast, the more heat is created and your cast can crack or become very brittle making it difficult to turn successfully.

I think many reduce the amount of catalyst as they increase the size of their casts.

 

[PaulDoug]

Thanks for the replies. Darn, just don't seem to have enough time and TOO many hobbies! Maybe if I spent less time on the computer, but than this where I learn things.

 

[Craftdiggity]

Paul,

I've done a couple of 8" x 8" x 1" casts and have had no problem so I'd say you are safe. If I wanted to do a candlestick or something thicker like that, I'd sure turn one out of a cheapo wood first and then make a silicone mold for it so that I'd save resin. At least turn the general shape out of wood so that you don't have to turn a block of resin. I'm thinking you'll use less than half the resin that way.