questions from a casting/stabilising newbie....

[NobbysNibs]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of trying to cast my own blanks for the first time. I don't want to go the expense of a pressure pot (ok, ok, to be honest the wife won't let me!!).

Without a pot, my choice seems to be limited to Alumilite White + dyes. I just wondered if anyone has had success with any other ways of casting without using a pot. Ideally, I'd like to make hybrid wood/acrylic blanks - can this be done without a pot?

 

[Monty]

You will not get good results with alumilite without using a pressure pot. It will result in many small bubbles in the blank. You can cast PR , ie Silmar, without using pressure. Don't know if pressure is necessary when using epoxy as I've never used epoxy.

 

[mecompco]

I've had good luck with PR (get mine from woodnwhimsies.com but I suppose any will do). No pressure required. You can make your own molds or buy them (the resin savers tube-in molds from ptownsubbie are great).

Regards,
Michael

 

[NobbysNibs]

Thanks guys. Looks like the PR route may be best. I had ruled this out after reading about the smell, but am now reconsidering...

 

[mecompco]

Thanks guys. Looks like the PR route may be best. I had ruled this out after reading about the smell, but am now reconsidering...

I don't find it too off-putting, if you have some ventilation. You'd probably not want to use it in the house. I've been using mica powder for coloring, have not had any problems with bubbles.

Here's a Comfort pen I just finished, cast in PR w/yellow and interference yellow mica powder over yellow painted tubes. Mold was Ptownsubbies tube-in mold:





Regards,
Michael

 

[jttheclockman]

Hello Nobby and welcome to the site. There is a lot of information in the library here about casting. You can also do some searches for past threads on this subject.

But to address your concern it is like many things in life there are trade -offs when going from one thing to another. The end results are the same but getting there may vary. Alumilite will need a pressure pot. PR resin casting can be done without and there are a few tricks to help in this. That is why I suggest try doing some reading because it would be too lengthy to get into it in one thread. Will tell you heating the resin will help with the bubbles. Learning a good method of stiring will also help. But PR will be smelly and good ventilation is a must. It affects some more than others so be ware of this. Also using the right amount of catalyst will be important when determining hardness and dry times. Adding colors has affects on this as well. Using epoxy is another avenue but is more costly and it too has an odor. It does require a pressure pot for bubbles a re a concern.

Good luck and enjoy the site. Also have fun learning all these new things.

 

[Brian G]

A pressure pot is an upfront expense, but over time it will be the least expensive part of a casting venture. If you like casting your own blanks, you'll spend more on resin in a short time than the upfront cost of the pot.

You need the pot for hybrid blanks, and Alumilite is the resin for that purpose.

 

[endacoz]

Pressure pot setup you can get for less than $100 (plus air compressor)

When I started My only option was Alumilite. I heat my shop (minnesota) and if I used PR i would have to vent my shop because the odor is nasty and strong. I use alumilite, yes more expensive but Its worth it in my opinion.

If your thinking hybrids, go Alumilite for sure!