turning epoxy

[jeff oldham]

I have been thinking about using epoxy to do some turnings,,i have been told that a pressure pot is needed for removing the bubbles after you pour it,,,i was actually thinking about putting different wood chips in it and turn it ,,can anyone tell me the process for doing this and what a good brand is to use,,and after being turned,,i assume you sand it down going from a med grit to a very fine grit,,any help would be appreciated,,thank you

[Bill Boehme]

A pressure pot won't remove the bubbles, but it will make them smaller. You can remove the bubbles by applying a vacuum. It doesn't need to be a hard vacuum... just put the piece in a five gallon bucket that has a lid with a hole that can be attached to a shop vac hose. Run the vac for several minutes to remove most of the air bubbles and then open it to atmospheric pressure while the epoxy is still fluid.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I've used quite a lot of Alumilite to do the kind of casting you are talking about. I've tried both pressure and vacuum. Alumilite recommends pressure and that has given me the best results. For vacuum, I used the same vacuum pump that I have for my vacuum chuck. If you do try vacuum, be aware that the air will seem to "boil" out and it can make a hell of a mess in your container. Remember, it's not just the air in the epoxy that you put there stirring it, it's the air in the wood that you used. DAMHIKT Also, make sure the walls of the container are rigid enough not to collapse when the vacuum is pulled. Again, DAMHIKT

You will find lots of youtube videos, particularly of pen blank makers, showing both pressure and vacuum methods.

[Scott Ticknor]

Could you please explain the acronym DAMHIKT

[Brian Brown]

Could you please explain the acronym DAMHIKT

Don't ask me how I know that

[Don Frank]

You are going to want pressure instead of vacuum. A container of resin will loaf up to 3x it's volume when a vacuum is being pulled. A container used has to allow for that. You can vacuum the mixed resin if you want then pour it into the container with the wood and put under pressure but it's usually unnecessary. No need to exceed 60-65lbs of pressure while it is curing. Guys use vacuum for pen blanks with cactus juice and it does drive the resin completely thru punky wood. It's a slower process and needs to be heat cured when removed. For just filling voids pressure is fine.
If you ever get a chance to see Alan Trout do a seminar be sure and do it. He had one at the last swat show. I work with plastics every day in my day job but I learned a lot in his seminar about blending resins with wood.