Loofah

[larryc]

Been reading with great interest the posts on casting loofah.

Bought some on Amazon and have come up to a roadblock.

This is a cross section of what I bought:

How do I get it down to a thickness that can be placed on a tube like this:

Thanks to Penl8the for the pic that I stole.

The pics didn't come out in the text where I wanted them to but you get the idea.

 

[DaddyO]

I considered the same and thought about making it in 5x5 acrylic molds. Interested to hear other ideas.

 

[TimS124]

Remove the center and the cross pieces, leaving only the outer rim.

Slice the outer rim lengthwise on ONE side.

Unroll it.

If one thickness isn't enough....repeat as need and stack them on top of each other to the thickness desired.

Nope, haven't tried it myself (yet)....

 

[edman2]

Core out the center. Cut the remaining into strips and fit in a blank mold. Pour clear pr and cast the loofah into blanks. When you get ready to turn paint the inside of the drilled blank any color you want. Black is very dramatic as is red. Did this a few years ago and sold the pens immediately. Good luck.

edit: here is the link to the ones I made and posted here on the IAP.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/my-first-cast-no-they-not-cactus-49570/

 

[johncrane]

The Center is the best part, but whole lot is usable.

 

[denniszoomy]

Crap it is almost 9:30 pm and I want to go to walmart and get a loofah and give it a whirl.

:search: keys.

 

[Marko50]

Crap it is almost 9:30 pm and I want to go to walmart and get a loofah and give it a whirl.

:search: keys.

Same here! I'm on my way! :big grin:
…the wife thinks I'm nuts. Yep.

 

[bruce119]

The Center is the best part, but whole lot is usable.

Yes it is BUT don't throw ANYTHING away it ALL can be used just chop it to fit in your mold and no one with know the better...


Clear cast is good I put a little glitter in or some pearl...


Don't forget loofah takes a nice die...Like Ritz Dye just heat and soak per instructions...then let dry...



good luck

 

[sdivot]

I cast a loofah in PR clearcast yesterday. Instead of painting inside the drilled blank, I painted the brass tube. Didn't work for me. I can see air gaps between the tube and the casting.
Now I see why it's best to paint INSIDE the blank. There should not be any gaps using this method.
I'm in the process of making a couple more. This time I will paint inside the blank.
I'll report how it goes...
Steve

 

[bruce119]

Yes you have to paint the drilled hole inside the blank...painting the tube is just insurance....Also try to get a good clean drill hole with a sharp drill nice and slow...If you get a bad hole with a lot of rough marks that will show also...

good luck....

 

[ttm7]

Wet loofa (sp) now run a tapered shaft down the center "tapered shaft same size as your pen blank brass tub. now let it dry. put your brass tub in pre-dry or post dry then do your casting.
just a thought.

 

[sdivot]

Here is the Loofah pen I made today. On this one I learned from my mistakes and painted inside the blank rather than painting the tube.
It turned out pretty nice, but there seems to be a bit of separation in a couple of spots at the ends of the blank. Also, I cast it under pressure, but there were still two tiny air bubbles that did not resolve. I filled them with CA when I was turning the blank, but you can still see them as little whitish spots. Is there a trick I don't know about to fill pinholes and have them blend into the clear resin?
Sorry for the lousy photo. I am working on a setup that will work much better. Baby steps...
Steve