Problem with Resin Saver Molds.

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toolcrazy

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I have a Sierra resin saver mold from NewLondon. I really like it, but I am having problems with it. When you put the tubes in the mold, the mold squeezes so tight that when the resin sets, the tube is slightly beyond the edge of the resin resulting in the tube being too short for a Sierra pen. Luckily I have some Le Roi Elegants that I can use them on. I have tried to loosen it by pulling out on the ends, but it only helped a little. Is there a way to prevent this, or do I have a defective mold?

Thanks.
 
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?????
Are you really sure that the mold caused the tube to shorten?
I have had the resin remain proud of the tube and sanded it down to tube length.
Sounds really strange.

Lee
 
If you haven't already, you should contact Charlie with your questions. He makes the resin savers and will have the best answer or solution for you. I use them and have no problems. My first thought is the tube you are using may be just a little long. From what I understand, Charlie's molds are just a bit longer than the tube to compensate for the PR shrinking.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

I have a Sierra resin saver mold from NewLondon. I really like it, but I am having problems with it. When you put the tubes in the mold, the mold squeezes so tight that when the resin sets, the tube is slightly beyond the edge of the resin resulting in the tube being too short for a Sierra pen. Luckily I have some Le Roi Elegants that I can use them on. I have tried to loosen it by pulling out on the ends, but it only helped a little. Is there a way to prevent this, or do I have a defective mold?

Thanks.
 
First, thanks for the info and the answers.

Second, I just realized that I am using the Le Roi hardware, not the Sierra. And it is critical with the tube length. I am going to have to do some measuring to find out if the Le Roi tubes are a bit longer than the Sierra Tubes.

<edit>
There is a slight length difference between the Le Roi and the Sierra. But now that is irrelevant. I am so used to doing Le Roi's, I forgot how forgiving the Sierra hardware is.

But the issue still stands that the mold is slightly too short for the tubes. The cavities are exactly the length of a Sierra tube. I thought they should be a couple mm longer. But as long as I stay away from the Le Roi's, I will be fine.
</edit>
 
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The tube got shorter?

Wouldn't it be easier just to square the excess resin off with something?
What do you do when the wood is longer then the tube?





Scott (maybe I'm missing something) B
 
You can also :eek::eek:, use a razor and cut the nipple off one end, use the razor to make the cavity longer, then silicone the nipple back on.

No more problem.

Not a bad idea, thanks.

The tube got shorter?

Wouldn't it be easier just to square the excess resin off with something?
What do you do when the wood is longer then the tube?

Scott (maybe I'm missing something) B

Yep, missing something.

The resin isn't to the end of the tube, this is why I have to trim the tube to the resin.
 
Woah.!! I just saw this. You should have dropped me a message so
we could figure it out.

I'd be interested in the length of the tubes you have (sometimes there
are longer/shorter parts out there)

There isn't any way for me to make the mold shorter except to use a
different master. So either the tube is longer,or something is causing
the silicone to creep while the resin is curing. The only thing I've seen
that causes this is excessive pressure.

There are 4 molds that use the same tube diameter. The Sierra pencil
is the shortest, then the Sierra, then the Click which is longer and the
V-Tex which is very long.

The molds are also made with an extra 5mm or so length. The tubes
shouldn't go end to end.. there should be some wiggle room when you
install them. You can check either the blank itself or the inside of the
mold.. the mold type is stamped on each blank. That will tell you if
it is the correct mold.

If it is the correct one, I suspect that too much pressure is warping the
silicone and causing it to collapse toward the middle. These are meant
for clear casting over labels, decals, embedments etc.. and these things
don't need more than 20psi if you use pressure at all. I stopped using
a pressure pot a couple of years ago (just warm resin) and haven't had
any problems casting that way.. in fact it simplified everything and
cut the time down to almost nothing.

If it isn't pressure, it would have to be the incorrect mold. The only one
shorter than the Sierra mold (with the same tube ID) is the pencil mold,
which is stamped SWEB-P.

The masters are Delrin, so they can't change size.. there's no way for
me to make the mold too short. I could only make the wrong mold, but
the parts are easily identified by the stamp
 
Woah.!! I just saw this. You should have dropped me a message so
we could figure it out.

Sorry, you are right and I want to apologize for not sending you a message, first.

The tube length I'm using is Sierra tubes from Bear Tooth Woods. 2.2005 if I remember right. And yes, I am using pressure, but no more than 20psi or so. I have some tubes to cast and will without the pressure. BTW, I am using Alumilite.

Sorry again,
 
HI

First, thanks for the info and the answers.

Second, I just realized that I am using the Le Roi hardware, not the Sierra. And it is critical with the tube length. I am going to have to do some measuring to find out if the Le Roi tubes are a bit longer than the Sierra Tubes.

<edit>
There is a slight length difference between the Le Roi and the Sierra. But now that is irrelevant. I am so used to doing Le Roi's, I forgot how forgiving the Sierra hardware is.

But the issue still stands that the mold is slightly too short for the tubes. The cavities are exactly the length of a Sierra tube. I thought they should be a couple mm longer. But as long as I stay away from the Le Roi's, I will be fine.
</edit>
The Le Roi Elegant Tubes are a tad shorter than Sierra tubes. Not much shorter but shorter. Nominal length is 2.16 or so.
 
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Sorry, you are right and I want to apologize for not sending you a message, first.
No worries.. I just didn't know the thread was here till someone tols me to look it up. (I usually just check the UserCP and browse the front page) Didn't want you thinking I would ignore an issue.. I just need to know about it.
The tube length I'm using is Sierra tubes from Bear Tooth Woods. 2.2005 if I remember right. And yes, I am using pressure, but no more than 20psi or so. I have some tubes to cast and will without the pressure. BTW, I am using Alumilite.,
OK, that makes a bit less sense to me. I just measured the masters and come up with 2.310" for length. Can you measure am actual tube? We know what they should be, but sometimes things get by people.. The Sierra tube should fit with room to spare. The LeRoi .. even moreso. (unless the mold is stamped SWEB-P )
 
OK, that makes a bit less sense to me. I just measured the masters and come up with 2.310" for length. Can you measure am actual tube? We know what they should be, but sometimes things get by people.. The Sierra tube should fit with room to spare. The LeRoi .. even moreso. (unless the mold is stamped SWEB-P )

First, the mold is a SWEB and I just stuck a BTW Sierra tube in and it fits snug on both ends with no room to move. Which is fine, actually, for Sierras due to the forgiving nature of the hardware. But won't work for Le Roi as it fits a bit snug. But, will be fine for the elegant Le Roi. But the mold isn't 2.31 in length. At least it isn't by my calipers. ;)
 
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Be a little careful

OK, that makes a bit less sense to me. I just measured the masters and come up with 2.310" for length. Can you measure am actual tube? We know what they should be, but sometimes things get by people.. The Sierra tube should fit with room to spare. The LeRoi .. even moreso. (unless the mold is stamped SWEB-P )
First, the mold is a SWEB and I just stuck a BTW Sierra tube in and it fits snug on both ends with no room to move. Which is fine, actually, for Sierras due to the forgiving nature of the hardware. But won't work for Le Roi as it fits a bit snug. But, will be fine for the elegant Le Roi. But the mold isn't 2.31 in length. At least it isn't by my calipers. ;)
All of the tubes will be cut with a tolerance that will be +/- something and I seriously doubt that all of them are measured individually so you will have a certain amount of variation. I specified 2.15 to 2.17 for the Le Roi Elegant. I don't know the actual spec for the Le Roi but I'll ask my supplier - whatever it is it will be the same for all Sierra Types from Rizheng.
 
OK, that makes a bit less sense to me. I just measured the masters and come up with 2.310" for length. Can you measure am actual tube? We know what they should be, but sometimes things get by people.. The Sierra tube should fit with room to spare. The LeRoi .. even moreso. (unless the mold is stamped SWEB-P )

First, the mold is a SWEB and I just stuck a BTW Sierra tube in and it fits snug on both ends with no room to move. Which is fine, actually, for Sierras due to the forgiving nature of the hardware. But won't work for Le Roi as it fits a bit snug. But, will be fine for the elegant Le Roi. But the mold isn't 2.31 in length. At least it isn't by my calipers. ;)
When did you buy your mold from Charlie? As I recall, his early molds were made to be the same size as the tubes and he later started making them a bit longer. I own a few of his early resin savers and just checked and verified that a sierra tube fits the mold with no wiggle room.

Further, I have experienced your issue. When casting a PR blank under pressure in my resin savers, I end up with a bit of tube sticking out of the mold. My short term solution was to pour in a bit more clear resin and repressurize.
 
Ah .. Steve mentioned something I forgot about. The original molds were
the exact lenght of the tubes. In theory that made them less likely to leak.
But people were putting them under pressure, which caused the creep so
we made them a few mm longer.
The tube length doesn't seem to be the issue.. all of the tubes mentioned
should be fine.

I'm curious though.. why are people putting these under pressure at all?
The type of work these are meant for doesn't require pressure. I haven't
used pressure for about two years now, and only used it at first because
other people did.. and said you have to. Even then, I was really using the
pressure pot just to contain the fumes.. not even hooking it up to the
compressor. The only time i get any bubbles is if I don't adequately seal
the labels/decals .. or if I try to cast before CA is fully cured. (both are
my own fault) For what these are designed to do, I just don't see any
advantage to using pressure, and see a lot of downside. Is it because
that's how it was done in the past? I'm not sure..

As Steve also mentioned, there's no problem putting the cast back in the
mold and pour a little warmed resin over the ends. It will bond well and
give you the length you need. I do that with blowouts, too.. just throw it
back in the mold and pour a little more resin and I'm good to go
 
Aaargh Charlie !!! I also have a problem with my molds!!!
I can't find them!!!!!!. :redface:

If the issue is with them being squeezed into the tubes while under pressure ( compressing that small void of air in the tube ) then surely a simple fix would be to place a small dowel inside the tube that fits neatly between the two silicone nipples?

( no Charlie, don't go anywhere with that!!:wink:)
 
Aaargh Charlie !!! I also have a problem with my molds!!!
I can't find them!!!!!!. :redface:

Wow :eek: You had a full set, if I remember.. :confused:

If the issue is with them being squeezed into the tubes while under pressure ( compressing that small void of air in the tube ) then surely a simple fix would be to place a small dowel inside the tube that fits neatly between the two silicone nipples?

( no Charlie, don't go anywhere with that!!:wink:)

You're just no fun in your advanced years.

I think the issue is that pressure can warp the silicone, and it pulls in from
each side. So the walls opposite each other are trying to meet in the
middle.
 
the mold squeezes so tight that when the resin sets, the tube is slightly beyond the edge of the resin resulting in the tube being too short for a Sierra pen.

I think the issue is that pressure can warp the silicone, and it pulls in from
each side. So the walls opposite each other are trying to meet in the
middle.

Thats not how I read it Charlie. :confused:
In fact I'm pretty sure no amount of pressure could affect the sides of the mold unless the tube collapsed. You can't compress a liquid, so why would the side squeeze in?
 
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Thats not how I read it Charlie. :confused:
In fact I'm pretty sure no amount of pressure could affect the sides of the mold unless the tube collapsed. You can't compress a liquid, so why would the side squeeze in?

The material isn't liquid anymore and I'm sure it contains
some percentage of air. And I'm only guessing at what is
happening here.. I don't have anything in hand to test.
But before making the masters longer, I had someone who
thought the PR was shrinking in from the ends (it shrinks
from the top down) and it turns out that pressure was the
cause. Found that out by hooking up a compressor to a
pressure pot that had a 1" thick plexiglas lid and watching
it deform once it got over about 40psi.
But again, I don't know for sure what is happening. But I
doubt the tubes are getting longer. :tongue:
 
Go to the bank on that

Thats not how I read it Charlie. :confused:
In fact I'm pretty sure no amount of pressure could affect the sides of the mold unless the tube collapsed. You can't compress a liquid, so why would the side squeeze in?

The material isn't liquid anymore and I'm sure it contains
some percentage of air. And I'm only guessing at what is
happening here.. I don't have anything in hand to test.
But before making the masters longer, I had someone who
thought the PR was shrinking in from the ends (it shrinks
from the top down) and it turns out that pressure was the
cause. Found that out by hooking up a compressor to a
pressure pot that had a 1" thick plexiglas lid and watching
it deform once it got over about 40psi.
But again, I don't know for sure what is happening. But I
doubt the tubes are getting longer. :tongue:
I think I'd almost take bets on that.
 
Seems like several have measured the tubes. Did anyone measure the inside dimension of the mold? I too doubt that you could compress the mold significantly when filled with resin.
 
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