Vertical Casting Cholla

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PSNCO

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Jun 7, 2013
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Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Just kinda thinking through casting some cholla....

I have a bunch of fairly straight cholla that is about 6"-8" x 3/4"-1.25".

I was going to cast with some PR in horizontal molds. Then I got to thinking...

Can I turn the cholla wood on the lathe down to just under 3/4", drop it into some 3/4" PVC pipe, and fill it up PR, then throw it into the pressure pot?

My thought process is that I'd have a straight piece of cholla being cast and save a lot of resin casting round instead of square.

Any flaws in this though process?

Mark
 
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It is much easier to mix mica powder with two part epoxy and fill the voids. Use 5 minute epoxy. I can post a picture if you would like. I have an article I could send to the library. But, of course, casting will work also.Not sure there is any advantage to vertical casting. Whatever process you use the cholla needs to be drilled and the tubes inserted first. But, you probably knew this already.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
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I don't guess you need to but it seems to me that a blank made with the tube glued into a judiciously drilled piece of cholla would yield a better blank than casting then drilling. Just the way I do them. Never bought one someone else made.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
PSNCO said:
Don,

Why would I need to drill and insert tubes before casting? I've seen numerous 5" undrilled cholla blanks offered for sale.
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I have a couple pieces of cholla in the pressure pot now. I am casting vertically in PVC pipes. I did not prepare for the fact that the cholla seems to want to float!
I hope I don't find the cactus sticking too far out of the PVC.
We'll see how it comes out. Any ideas for blocking the top of PVC without capping it or sealing it?
For that matter, what do you use on top of horizontal molds (cutting boards) to hold down things that want to float? Not a big deal to find something heavy, but I'm just curious how others do it.
Steve
 
I'm guessing you're using tape to seal the bottom of the tube. You might try some hot glue. Just put a dab on the end of the cholla that goes into the tube 1st. While the glue is still hot, stick it to the glue.Pour the resin, then tape the other end just enough to ensure the cholla doesn't come free of the bottom. I've never tried this, but it seems like it should work.
 
PSNCO said:
Why would I need to drill and insert tubes before casting? I've seen numerous 5" undrilled cholla blanks offered for sale.
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I've always cast my cholla in the tubes. The reason that I do this is because it eliminates the need to drill a perfect hole through the center of an imperfect item.

sdivot said:
For that matter, what do you use on top of horizontal molds (cutting boards) to hold down things that want to float? Not a big deal to find something heavy, but I'm just curious how others do it.
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I use a piece of UHMW or cutting board with some random heavy thing on top of it. Water bottles work well to weigh the top.

BSea said:
I'm guessing you're using tape to seal the bottom of the tube. You might try some hot glue. Just put a dab on the end of the cholla that goes into the tube 1st. While the glue is still hot, stick it to the glue.Pour the resin, then tape the other end just enough to ensure the cholla doesn't come free of the bottom. I've never tried this, but it seems like it should work.
Click to expand...
Goop works well for this.
 
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