Resin casting

[Jerry Lear]

I would like to try resin casting with pressure pot.I need some help on proper resin to choose along with any tips about procedure.Any how to books or articles would be helpful. Thanks, Jerry

[Steve Eure]

If you are into video watching, check out Zac Higgins channel on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCai...gXjk1qN7qevQUQ
He has a wealth of information there to help. I son't like watching the "live" broadcast because, well, they take way too long and they tend to blab a lot. His other videos, though, are thorough and will give you a good place to start.

[David Walser]

Jerry -- Steve has already recommended Zac Higgins' videos. I second that recommendation. Zac has a series of videos directed at newbies. He calls it "Resin Casting 101". On his YouTube channel, his Resin Casting 101 playlist contains 22 videos. On his website, he's more selective -- only 13 videos (and they're not all included in the YouTube playlist). I suggest starting with his website list: https://nvwoodwerks.com/category/casting-101/.

In addition, Zac has an e-book, The Beginner's Guide to Resin Casting. You can find the e-book here: https://nvwoodwerks.com/product/the-...resin-casting/.

Resin casting is fun and addictive. Good Luck!

[Jim Tobias]

Jumped off the cliff into this myself a few months back.A whole lot of info(you have to decide which is good or bad) on Youtube.
Alumilite and Total Boat are the two brands I see most often, You're also probably going to want to read up about Cactus Juice and stabilizing with a vacuum chamber. Curtis Seebeck (Cactus Juice CEO?) is Fantastic about customer service and help
As other have said, Zav Higgins is excellent......lots of info. Also, Jake Thompson(link below does a lot of demos and testing different resin casting materials.
Also, a plug for Alumilite is their YouTube channel...lots of detailed instruction and very user friendly. Below.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+resin+casting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpqh3vNEsMs


Jim

[Brice Rogers]

A new-to-casting question: I saw a cactus juice video showing using a vacuum pot. But most resin users seem to use a pressure pot instead of a vacuum. Wouldn't a vacuum pot work as well or better - - it would make the air bubbles expand (and hopefully pop) whereas pressure will just make the bubbles really tiny. Or am I all wet on this?

[Jim Tobias]

OK....without getting into the weeds to deep, the resins (Cactus Juice) used in a vacuum chamber is to "such air out of wood and "suck" Cactus juice into the pores of the wood to "solidify" the wood It becomes denser, heavier and in the case of spalted or punky woods, you can turn/shape with less or no tearout.
With the Epoxy or urethane resins, you are using the pressure pot to force the resin into the pores and openings of the wood and compressing any air bubbles so small that the human eye cannot see. Main issue with Vacuum chamber vs pressure pot is the amount of time you ha e to work with Epoxy resins before they heat up and begin to cure. There are a variety of different types and cure times but the vacuum could easily make a mess in your vacuum chamber if you aren't very careful.
I am no expert but this is the info that I have gathered from reading and doing some of this to date.
There is a ton more of detail on "cooking th Cactus Juice after the vacuum chamber, etc. You also need to dry the wood out to the max before putting it in the vacuum chamber.
Both processes have their place depending on exactly what you are attempting to do.
Jim

[David Walser]

A new-to-casting question: I saw a cactus juice video showing using a vacuum pot. But most resin users seem to use a pressure pot instead of a vacuum. Wouldn't a vacuum pot work as well or better - - it would make the air bubbles expand (and hopefully pop) whereas pressure will just make the bubbles really tiny. Or am I all wet on this?

Brice -- You are correct. In theory, putting the resin under vacuum would be better than using a pressure pot. In industry, many casting resins are 'degassed' in a vacuum chamber before being poured into a mold. There are two reasons we generally don't use this approach in casting woodturning blanks: First, the casting resins we use harden too fast. The pot life for Alumilite Clear Slow is 12 minutes. Regular Alumilite Clear has a pot life of only 7 minutes. Unless you're very organized, that's just not enough time to mix part A and part B of the resin, stir in colors and other enhancements, and then degas the resin before pouring it into the mold. Besides, many casting methods involve using different colors of resin that are then swirled in the mold. (The results can be stunningly beautiful. It can also end up looking like mud.) Even if the resin had been degassed, swirling it in the mold would add in air bubbles. Again, there simply isn't enough time for those bubbles to rise to the surface before the resin sets. Using a pressure pot makes the bubbles too small to see with the naked eye.

The second reason for using a pressure pot has to do with the fact we often cast wood -- say a piece of burly cap -- in the resin. Even if you've successfully degassed the resin and poured the resin into the mold without introducing air bubbles, air will (almost always) migrate into the resin from out of the wood. Again, using a pressure pot addresses this concern. Degassing does not.

HTH