Casting without pressure

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SSchamel

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So, space in my shop is a premium, but I want to start doing some casting. Is there a resin that does not require pressure? I do not have a pressure pot or an air compressor, nor do I really have the space for either.
Thank you....
 
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SSchamel said:
So, space in my shop is a premium, but I want to start doing some casting. Is there a resin that does not require pressure? I do not have a pressure pot or an air compressor, nor do I really have the space for either.
Thank you....
Click to expand...

I started with polyester resin, and you do not need a pressure pot to cast with it.
 
I also use PR, most of the time w/o pressure on simple pen blanks. I try to mix slowly so as not to introduce air into the PR. If I am casting PR with pieces of wood or other materials I do this under pressure just to allow better penetration into the objects.
 
You don't need pressure for Polyester Resin. But I still put my blanks in a pressure pot (without pressure) to help contain the smell.
 
You can get away with no pressure using PR, but don't expect perfect blanks every time. It helps a lot if you put the bottle of resin in a bucket of warm water which makes the resin thinner and allows the air bubbles to escape more easily. It also helps if you cast in a block mold and vibrate it a bit by hand. Using vertical pvc molds means any air bubbles down in it have a lot farther to go to get to the top. In all honesty, I was never happy using PR even with vacuum, using pressure guarantees void free blanks 99% of the time. The 1% it doesn't is probably caused by not getting the molds in the pot and up to pressure in time.
 
I don't have a pressure vessel in my shop either. I am slowly getting back into turning and will eventually get my casting setup out, but I did casting without pressure. I used heat, both to thin the resin out to get air out and because it cures much faster when it's warm. I have an old crock pot I got at a yard sale.

I would get the crockpot warm then put the molds in it and pre-measure/mix the resin and the tint and get the resin warmed up, then mix in the catalyst and pour. As long as I was careful mixing and pouring I didn't have problems.
the only issues I had were some embedments making sure resin filled in everywhere.
A pressure pot would help with that.
 
Liquid Diamonds works great without using a pressure pot.

Les
 

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ok, so here's an update.....

I tried Liquid Diamonds and did a couple of Label casts. I haven't had a chance to turn them yet because it's been too cold, but when I held them over a light, I noticed really small bubbles around the tube. I'm hoping they won't be noticeable after turning, or maybe I can fill them in with some CA
 
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