Epoxy resin blanks for kitless pens

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Ironwood

Ironwood

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I am sure this has been asked and answered already, but I just can't seem to find a definitive answer.

Are epoxy blanks suitable for cutting clean threads ?
I know Alumilite is favoured by many, but the resin is not easy to get in Australia, and very expensive.
 
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I can tell you, that PR (polyresin) is too brittle for cutting threads. I don't know what is available to you in Australia, so I cannot tell you what is good. Some of our other Aussie friends may chime in, and offer their advice. You might state if you are looking to cast your own blanks, or if wanting to buy already cast blanks. My impression is, you want to cast your own.
 
Yes, preferring to cast my own blanks. I have done some casting with PR, but not tried epoxy or polyurethane.
I know that a lot of people are using epoxy for hybrid, or worthless wood type blanks, just wondering if anyone has any experience with cutting threads on it.
 
I just found this thread that sheds a bit of light on the subject. Sounds like epoxy might not be the best option.

Threading Liquid Diamonds Epoxy

Hi everyone! I am looking to cast parts for my kitless pens instead of turning raw material to size in order to save a bit of time. I was attracted to liquid diamonds due to its ease of use and apparent ease of turning. However, I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered the threading issue...
www.penturners.org
 
There are many, many different types of epoxy (see the wikipedia article), so it may depend on which one you choose. .
I am really not qualified to attempt an answer, and so have delayed doing so.

However, having been a user of epoxy for casting and gluing (mostly in physics research projects) for 55+ years, my first reaction to the suggestion of threading cast epoxy is that I would be wary of doing that, especially if the threads are "fine" and get a lot of use.

I just did a google search on that subject and got only this one link with specific references to threading:
.... http://www.crosslinktech.com/support/tips-and-tricks/machining-components.html ....

It's obvious, but still worth saying, that you should mix the components in such a way as to avoid/remove bubbles.
I would think that slow-cure epoxies would give the best chance of success.
If you decide to give it a try, please report back on which epoxy or epoxies that you used and your results. . Good luck.
 
Ironwood said:
I just found this thread that sheds a bit of light on the subject. Sounds like epoxy might not be the best option.

Threading Liquid Diamonds Epoxy

Hi everyone! I am looking to cast parts for my kitless pens instead of turning raw material to size in order to save a bit of time. I was attracted to liquid diamonds due to its ease of use and apparent ease of turning. However, I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered the threading issue...
www.penturners.org
Click to expand...
Ah yes, that was my thread. I should probably give a bit of an update on that...
I used several approaches to polishing the threads and basically ended up getting to a semi-gloss finish at best. Polishing bodies and caps made with liquid diamonds epoxy is a breeze though. I would love to hear from anyone else who has used liquid diamonds for kitless pens.
Liquid diamonds and similar slow curing epoxies offer a lot of time benefits (obviously), so I'm still debating how I want to approach my resin-based kitless pens. I understand Alumilite threads like a dream, so maybe I can do a hybrid approach of sorts.
 
Thanks everyone for your inputs, every bit of info helps.

I think I will put the epoxy on the backburner for now, as I just don't have the time to conduct the experiments needed.
I will continue using the pre-made and already proven blanks for the time being , though I will keep researching the subject and will add any helpful info here.
 
G'day Brad,

I have been using epoxy resin for some years now, this will be the 4th brand of epoxy resin I bought from my regular supplier in Adelaide, the brands have changed due to various factors, availability and prices would be an important factor but quite honestly, I have never cut threads in any of the blanks I've made but I can try on the Bio-resin I'm using now, and my metric dye set and the largest size I have which may be about 12mm or so.

What type of threads will make a big difference in my opinion, superfine threads may be difficult. All epoxy's I have used are the fast set type, I don't know the differences between the fast and slow set but I wouldn't be surprised if the slow set epoxy will allow better threading, what I can tell you before I try to thread one of my blanks is that epoxy resin in fast set does "soften", become "flexible" to a point exposed to heat so preventing causing any heat while threading this resin type would be an absolute necessity.

For CNC work (the reason I started to use epoxy and not PR) the difference is considerable, the cuts come up cleaner and sharper if the cutters are sharp and if they are not turning too fast and the CNC has no cooling capabilities.

If you would like to try cutting the threads yourself with the gear you have and not having to by some of this epoxy resin to cast some blanks, I can send you some pieces for you to try, one thing I will remind you and others that you would need to wait for a minimum of 7 days to an ideal 14 days curing time before attempting to cut the threads, the extra hardness resulting from complete curing will probably be the difference between success and failure.

Good luck,

Cheers
George
 
Thanks for trying this George.
When you are cutting the threads, try using some cooking oil for lubricant , it will help to get a cleaner finish.
 
Ironwood said:
Thanks for trying this George.
When you are cutting the threads, try using some cooking oil for lubricant , it will help to get a cleaner finish.
Click to expand...
G'day Brad,
I apologise for not yet tried to cut threads on some of the blanks I cast as I have quite busy trying to have the bigger logs stored in my storage paddock cut into manageable sizes and have them brought to the house so that I can cover them up with plastic for whatever the time it will take me to get through all them on the bandsaw to clean them up so that I can store them as I did with these, 005b.JPG
but will be stored some in some spots I still have available but the majority will go down to the workshop area in one of the old wood storage areas that I have cleaned up ready to store these ones.

Anyway, I hope to get some time after Wednesday next week, I will do it sooner if I can...!

Cheers
George
 
Sounds like you have been busy George. There's no hurry mate, I am away working at the moment, don't know when I will get time for any pen making.
 
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