Resin?

Re: Resin?

David Walser

He uses a casting epoxy. (Casting epoxy is designed for casting thick items. Most of the epoxies woodworkers use will overheat if the pour is more than an inch thick.) I'm not aware of a USA source of casting epoxy available in hobbiest quantities. You could use 3 System epoxy if you did several shallow pours. However, your best bet is most likely Alumalite (so?). It's not an epoxy, but it is a casting resin.

Re: Resin?

John C Lucas

You can buy casting resins at many hobby stores. I bought cast-n-craft from Hobby Lobby. They also had other brands. It can be challenging to turn. Pour some into a dixie cup. Let ti dry than glue it to a waste block and turn it. This should show you what technique to use to get the final product .

Re: Resin? *LINK*

Dave Paine

Brendan Stemp likes to cast gum nuts in various forms. He uses an Australian casting resin likely not available in the US. Go to YouTube and then search or his name you will easily find his channel.

I like the Smooth-On casting resins. These are often used for large sculptures, concrete forms, etc. Link below.

I use the 690 resin for filling cracks due to the low viscosity. It can get into the narrowest crack. Long pot life (5 hrs). Long curing time (24 hrs). Other products with shorter pot life and curing time.

Available in what they call "Trial size" which is not cheap but affordable.

Weight based mixing. At first I did not think I would like this. I purchased an accurate digital scale and now can mix even small amounts more accurately than volume based mixing.


http://www.smooth-on.com/Castable-Epoxy-Res/c1295/index.html

Re: Resin?

Steve Worcester.

Alan Trout would be a good one to ask b0ut this. I have used Alumilte Clear or Water clear on smaller casts. Best to vast under pressure to remove bubbles

http://www.alumilite.com/store/pg/46-Casting-Resins.aspx

Re: Resin? *LINK*

Dick Coers

There are polyester resins and urethanes. Polyester resin can have a slow set and bubbles are less of an issue. It stinks like crazy and will drive you out of a shop. It can also shrink and not be really tight on included pieces. Alumilite is a urethane, but has a really short pot life. You have to have a pressure pot to put the casting in to reduce the bubbles. It does not shrink, does not stink, but is expensive. Moisture in the added materials is death to the urethane, so you have to bake the included pieces till they are bone dry. Lots of information on casting at the link below. Casting is not a simple task, it takes practice, new skills, and possibly new equipment.


http://www.penturners.org/forum/#community-forums

Re: Resin?

john Lucas

I've been using weight based measuring for years with West System epoxy. Works fantastic. I have not tried it with casting resins because usually I'm mixing larger quantities of those.

Re: Resin?

Justin Stephen

I think that was me that posted the video in question.

I traded emails with Stemp about 18 months ago about that and he definitely uses an epoxy brand that is not (or was not) available in the U.S. However, he also said that he had heard that the West Marine two-part resin was similar so that's what I bought and played around with. It works well, but I never tried to duplicate his off-cut bowl technique with it so I cannot vouch for that.