Resin saving moulds

[Dorno]

I am here to ask what could be a silly Question.

The Resin saving mould is there such thing that can be used universally because some of the barrels in pens available here in Australia are of a different size to the ones in the USA. I would very much like to buy at least 1 mould from Charlie but I am struggle to work out what pens I can make with them (besides the cigar) can anyone help me out or know how I can solve that problem.

Thanks Ian

 

[maxwell_smart007]

What pens do have available locally? If we can figure out the sizes of the tubes, maybe we can find a mold from Charlie that will fit your needs...

Andrew

 

[Karin Voorhis]

Many of the molds Charlie has work for several kits. They a must have. I would bet he can help you out with something!

 

[seawolf]

An idea I have been tossing around is using a router to cut a U shaped groove in a piece of uhmw. End caps could be cut and either turned to make a plug for the tube or drilled and a piece of rod inserted through the end caps to seal the tubes. Alighnment pins and a clamp to hold the ends in place.

 

[NewLondon88]

Sorry, I just saw this now
Ian, I think the SWEB mold does the most pens, but that's only because that pen
kit has the most names. Don't know about real numbers.
The molds I make are one piece, so they can't be modified. But one of the
original ideas behind the mold (and the original prototypes) used a stepped
bit to form the stopper rather than using an end mill as they do now. That
did allow more variation in tube width. And since the mold was vertical, you
could change the tube length.
Great in theory, but in practice, it just wouldn't work.

Mark .. I can see that working, but one thing you'd need to watch out for is
the fit of the parts. Resin warms as it sets, and that lowers the viscosity so
the resin can flow into and around every crack/seam. It MIGHT lock your parts
in place when it cures unless you can find a good method for release. Some ideas
that come to mind are making the ends tall enough so that they don't get completely
encapsulated in the resin. That will allow you to break off any resin shell (if there
is one) or making the mold walls firm, but the ends out of silicone? Silicone can
'squish' up against a wall nicely, blocking the resin from moving. Making it slightly
oversized might help with that, too .. especially if you can brace it from behind.