Xmas Cast Trial

[Dave Bell]

I've been fooling around with casting and now I wanted to upscale the process to multiple colours. One of my casts yesterday produced this bowl and a few pen blanks.

Bowl - Maple Burl
Blanks - (front to back)....cherry burl, pine cone and curly maple

Alumilite with red dye/gold pigment and green/yellow dyes with silver pigment. All products are Alumilite.

Dave

[Jon Prouty]

Cool! Do you cast with a pessure pot?JP

[Dave Bell]

Yes I do Jon....Thanks

Dave

[charlie knighton]

looking forward to finished product, blanks outstanding Dave

[James Combs]

Did you build a form fitting mold around the vessel form or just set it in a box or something? Great looking pen blanks, let's see them made into pens.

[Dave Bell]

Did you build a form fitting mold around the vessel form or just set it in a box or something? Great looking pen blanks, let's see them made into pens.


James,

This is a link to my first bowl. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?171950-Bowl-Casting-101 I built a mold around the bowl blank. In the first bowl I attempted, it was hollowed out by the previous owner, so it was a little more involved for making the mold. The first bowl is almost completed, but since I do not have a vacuum chuck with me at my home away from home residence for work, it's waiting to be taken home for completion of the foot.

Alumilite is expensive, so the mold needs to be fitted with very little clearance, this is a time consuming process. I do not know what Alan Trout does for his bowls, but I would assume it's close to my procedure.

The pen blanks are actually being used in a couple of swaps I am involved with on other forums. They were basically a test of using multiple colours for the first time. Obviously they were a success and the pens should be just as nice looking. I can not decide if I should keep the pine cone blank or the cherry burl blank. The pine cone might be my keeper as it is the first time I have cast one.

Dave

[Billy Tallant]

Nice job there. I really like the pen blanks. Looks like they would really make a sharp looking pen.

[Kathy Marshall]

Very cool! The pen blanks all look great, but my vote is for the cherry burl!

[Tim Rinehart]

Sweet. I can't wait to see bowl/HF when complete...I can tell the pens will be knockouts! Man...I can see I'm gonna be looking at some HF pressure pots!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is cool. Pen blanks should make some super looking pens.

[Jim Burr]

Those are really cool Dave!! Casting is tons of fun...glad you're good at it!

[Bill Bolen]

Those are very cool. Pen blanks should be real winners but I am most looking forward to all the color showing in the finished bowl. Good luck with them.

[Michael Short]

Looking forward to seeing how you pen blanks turn out.

[James Combs]

James,

This is a link to my first bowl. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?171950-Bowl-Casting-101 I built a mold around the bowl blank. In the first bowl I attempted, it was hollowed out by the previous owner, so it was a little more involved for making the mold. The first bowl is almost completed, but since I do not have a vacuum chuck with me at my home away from home residence for work, it's waiting to be taken home for completion of the foot.

Alumilite is expensive, so the mold needs to be fitted with very little clearance, this is a time consuming process. I do not know what Alan Trout does for his bowls, but I would assume it's close to my procedure.

The pen blanks are actually being used in a couple of swaps I am involved with on other forums. They were basically a test of using multiple colours for the first time. Obviously they were a success and the pens should be just as nice looking. I can not decide if I should keep the pine cone blank or the cherry burl blank. The pine cone might be my keeper as it is the first time I have cast one.

Dave

Thanks Dave, I recall seeing that post earlier, I had forgotten that is was your post.

Have you tried any of the PR resins? I believe they are less expensive although I have read that they do not adhere to wood quite as good as say epoxy resins. I am not sure how Alumilite adheres to wood.

[Alan Trout]

Not trying to hijack the thread but my name was mentioned by Dave so I figured I would give my opinion. PR resin will not work with what I am doing. It does adhere to wood but the shrinkage is to great to stay put. Also PR is quite a bit thicker in its liquid form so it does not flow as well.



Alumilite is expensive, so the mold needs to be fitted with very little clearance, this is a time consuming process. I do not know what Alan Trout does for his bowls, but I would assume it's close to my procedure.

Essentially all casting is the same. The part must be formed and poured and put under pressure. I have techniques that are quite a bit different than Dave's. But I am not saying I have all the answers. I have just built on my success. I pretty much had to figure all this out on my own as larger pressure castings in wood turnings had not been done to any great extent before I started doing it. Like I have always said there is more than one way to skin a cat. As the piece gets bigger with more volume, problems tend to creep into the castings that need to be addressed. There are times that the exothermic reactions can be to much and damage a casting which has to be address. My large pressure pots interior is right at 14.5" to about 15" in diameter by about 22" tall so it is very large for a typical casting pot. But I needed it for some really large pieces I have planned.

Dave is right it can be a time consuming prospect and expensive. There are cheap pots out there but if you want to do anything of size it takes a big pot. Between my 3 pots and associated equipment just for casting I have about $2000 invested equipment not including resin and my last order of resin was probably close to $650 with shipping. then you have to consider pigments, forming materials, mixing cups, scales, and so forth. So yes casting can be as much of a Vortex as turning, carving, or burning just different tools and techniques.

Good Luck,

Alan