Did I Do Somehting Wrong?! PB&J Pen, (HELP)

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Pen_Turner_Dan

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Hey guys, as taken up on the challenge, I spent many hours making a Peanut Butter and Jelley Sandwich pen, first two are the before casting, 3rd is after. What Did I do wrong? Or is it just because they aren't dry material that this happened? Anyway, here.... :crying:

So, does life just hate me? And who here thinks I should go ahead and turn it anyway because it's still pretty neat...?:frown:
 

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If you are using real peanut butter and jelly, you will have to dehydrate it for a long tiyme and I'm not sure you can ever get the oil from the peanut out, so it is possible you have found another item that is uncastable. Life can't hate you, you can only hate it, relax and try something that resembles what you are trying to attempt.

Give it a shot at turning it, you have nothing to lose now.
 
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Yuppers, all comments make sense. In my limited experience, when pouring with any humidity or water, the resin will cloud. There were times in Texas that Resins just would NOT work.
I think you should go ahead and see what you get, but I think it will be the same.

An oatmeal pen was completed, but the oatmeal was dry.
 
you could try a dehydrator...not sure what it would do to the colors. Jonathan (Brooks) is probably working on a PB&J swirl as we speak!
 
Ah well...I think it was ugly anyhow. Maybe if you did it vertical it would look better..as it is right now it's too stacked..I don't know anyone that would eat a sandwich with that many layers. Otherwise, I do not know what the water content of peanut butter or jelly is. I think peanut butter would cast just fine. The jelly I don't know. Maybe the bread has moisture in it too, but that can be dried out real fast. I kinda think the whole thing is possible with alumilite, but wouldn't bet the farm on it. Unfortunately it's not just moisture to contend with, but thickness is another issue. You only can have so much wall thickness on a kit pen and if you could get it to cast you would not be able to spin beyond the outer layer of resin or else any peanut butter and jelly would obviously fly across the shop.

If you lived near me, I'd offer to let you come over and try. You'd have to get that mounted as thin as possible on those tubes and let it sit a day for the bread to get crusty, then it's in gods hands.
 
Maybe some things are just not conducive to casting. Casting resins do not like moisture, oils or oily substances. We need to just let some things go. But, some of us consider casting everything they see to be fun, which is just fine. Have fun but at the same time know when it is time to move on to another possibility (to cast).
Do a good turn daily!
Don

Pen_Turner_Dan said:
So, there's no way to cast jelly and peanut butter unless its dried?
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I was successful in casting banana's with alumilite. If those were not oily, then nothing is! I was told by Dawn that still has some of those, that they are still leaking banana oil out of those blanks to this very day..but they are cast, solid and spinable.
 
workinforwood said:
I was successful in casting banana's with alumilite. If those were not oily, then nothing is! I was told by Dawn that still has some of those, that they are still leaking banana oil out of those blanks to this very day..but they are cast, solid and spinable.
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OMG Jeff! You should try a peanut butter banana blank with an ELVIS scrolled in it! That'd be cool!
 
Brooks803 said:
workinforwood said:
I was successful in casting banana's with alumilite. If those were not oily, then nothing is! I was told by Dawn that still has some of those, that they are still leaking banana oil out of those blanks to this very day..but they are cast, solid and spinable.
Click to expand...

OMG Jeff! You should try a peanut butter banana blank with an ELVIS scrolled in it! That'd be cool!
Click to expand...

then fry it! uhn huh....
 
HAHA..you guys are too funny!

Alumilite is from Alumilite.com and it comes as a clear resin, or you can dye it colors. Will it cast peanut butter and bread..as long as the bread is dry, it sure will, but the peanut butter will not become plasticized..so if it was exposed to the surface, it will fly around the shop, but in an encapsulated state on a tube it would be just fine. I do not recommend alumilite for clear tube casting, but in this situation, with the dry bread and other stuff coating the tube, that is different than casting a super thin label and the resin will penetrate the bread turning it into plastic, so absolutely. The only thing that I worry about is the jelly. If there is water in the jelly, you are screwed. Alumilite will not tolerate any water, it will turn into a bath of foam, just like the spray foam that expands like insulation.

Attached is fried banana pen. It is not cast in clear resin, but you can see the banana's in it. It was the most challenging spin I ever did. There is no question that peanut butter is oily but it is not any more oily than a fried banana! These came out of the pot completely solid. When I cut up the block into blanks, the blade revealed the banana's to the atmosphere..well the alumilite penetrated the outer portion of the banana's, pushing the oil with the pressure deep into the banana's. When cut open, the oil comes gushing out and months later is still coming out of those banana's..ask Ed/Dawn..they'll tell you! When you drill it, wow..it's self oiling the drill bit! I had to clean the drill holes and then immediately get them glued in and they held just fine. I had to spin and stop constantly and soak the banana centers with ca because the banana's kept wanting to blow out. When completed, I cleaned the blank and quickly applied a ca finish to seal the pen, and once the blank and ends where sealed with CA, the pen no longer leaked and the finish held up no problem. My intention was to sell these blanks, but after using 2.5 pen blanks to complete 1 pen, I decided the blank is too challenging for the average turner..I don't want to sell stuff that have a high chance of not becoming a pen, so I just gave the extra blanks to Ed/Dawn..told her that Ed can't make a pen from this ..yes, I issued a challenge, and maybe Ed hasn't gotten around to trying yet, but so either way, that means he hasn't been able to make conquer that pen blank! :biggrin:
 

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Peanuts can be cast. I've done it. Dunno about peanut butter though...

What if you cast dry roasted peanuts and dried berries instead?
 
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Jeff, that pen is just too cool. I love it. I would have to say NEVER SELL and blow everyone's mind with that one. Just finding out it's made of fried bananas is like watching one of those carnival tricks you'll never be able to fully explain. Well done, sir.
 
You are filling my head with idea's now Charlie. The PB&J doesn't inspire me so much, but now you've got me thinking about bacon and eggs..now that's a pen! I'd call it Breakfast of Champions. I'll have to put that on my list of thoughts for when I'm back at work on Tuesday..driving is when I like to think about the ins and outs of an idea. I do hate the idea of casting real bacon though. Not that I don't think it can be done..but how do you get cooked bacon into the shop without eating it all???
 
workinforwood said:
You are filling my head with idea's now Charlie. The PB&J doesn't inspire me so much, but now you've got me thinking about bacon and eggs..now that's a pen! I'd call it Breakfast of Champions. I'll have to put that on my list of thoughts for when I'm back at work on Tuesday..driving is when I like to think about the ins and outs of an idea. I do hate the idea of casting real bacon though. Not that I don't think it can be done..but how do you get cooked bacon into the shop without eating it all???
Click to expand...

Buy a can of BacoBits. You won't be tempted to eat it... ;)
 
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