I got the idea of using those plastic tubes, such as t track come in for stabilizing and dying pen blanks. These ones are all green , but you could easily do a mix of colors. These are all green because this is the first try with this method. They have been going about 45 minutes and all looks good. There are 4 tubes with juice and the chamber is filled with empty ones just to keep anything from tipping over. This is using far less juice. Wouldn't be useful if they were clear as you don't lose any, but when it's dyed it's dyed. Just thought I'd share to the group. By the way, the blanks are 2 spalted maple and 2 maple burl.
Here’s an idea.
- Thread starter KenB259
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1080Wayne
Member
Don`t know what those tubes are made of , but can tell you that clear thin tubes made from cellulose acetate butyrate will lose integrity after a few hours in cactus juice .
Good to know. They've been going for a little over 2 hours and everything's fine.
KMCloonan
Member
Super idea Ken! I have 3 or 4 quart-size containers of different colors of dyed cactus juice that are at or past 1-year (the approximate shelf life). If I had used smaller tubes for dying specific colors. I would not have needed to make up such large batches that just sit there. Also good to know the possible dangers of using tubes of the wrong material. This is definitely something I will explore.
I imagine, when you started the vacuum, you needed to tend to the foam levels carefully, as with narrow diameter tubes, the foam level will rise quickly (until the system stabilizes),. Did you start with just enough resin to cover the blank in each tube?
I imagine, when you started the vacuum, you needed to tend to the foam levels carefully, as with narrow diameter tubes, the foam level will rise quickly (until the system stabilizes),. Did you start with just enough resin to cover the blank in each tube?
I started without 1.5 inches above the blanks. They've been going since 9 this morning and the tubes are working fine so they must not be the material that cactus juice reacts with. The new cactus juice formula foams way less than the original.
Update, 8 hours later, all bubbling stopped, vacuum released, plastic tubes I used held up just fine. They'll soak overnight and I'll cure them tomorrow after work. These are the first I've ever tried dying, hopefully they'll look good.