Another Round of Pen Turning

Dan Mosley

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Palm Springs, Ca
Decided to explore a couple different ways to make pens - First, I made a couple vertical molds out of PVC with a section of glove and a wood plug - swabed the inside with a bit of wax - then mixed up some polyester resin in a couple colors (trans tint) in some cups and poured it into the PVC molds - Let dry for 24 hrs - used a dowel rod and hammer and popped it right out easily - and then drilled and turned it down. See pic below
Learned a few good lessons here - first was mixing colors in the cups is fine but the amount of color added in can be deceiving - you think it looks great but when cured it came out a whole lot darker than I imagined - secondly, if it is to clear the brass tube will show right on thru it (which it did in the yellow area but not to bad) paint the tube or wrap it next time i suppose - Third, you really need very sharp tools and you should take very light cut in the beginning - Fourth, try to stir this stuff as slow as possible because even if you think there are no air bubbles you will be suprised to see them appear (hint i did repair alot with medium CA but its kind of a pain) - I sanded to 2000 and used Menzerna fine to buff out as last step but alot of people add a additional coat of Ren wax - Fifth, you really have no control over what it looks like (coloring) so its a gamble on how it will turn out when you pop out the blank.
I made a horizontal mold and filled it with wood chips and casting - ill post later when i complete it.............fun to experiment with this casting

Pictures 4-5 are the other Pens I turned out of wood, sanded to 2000 and finished with mylands or shellawax - nice finish - Done - a much easier process to do after going thru the above
 

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Mack - well I have a way to go to get to where you are in pen making but thanks...........LOL............... I gave away the first round of pens to people at work - this second round im starting is the slimline Pro kit which I like better - they use gel inserts which is what most people where I work use - with the next round ill try to sell off some of them - im still trying to get a better grip on resin molding.
Thanks Dan
 
Pens look good Dan. I thought about doing my own molding but just never got around to it. I guess I figured it was easier to buy them.:rofl: Just to many irons in the fire. Will be following your process as I may get there one day.
 
Casting is a lot of fun Dan, a couple of tips I learned the hardway; PR shrinks, so you don't have to use any release agent...just a good smack. Pam or other cooking spray works good if you feel the need. When I mix cups of color, 1/2"x1/2" mound of powder on the end of a popcicle stick is a good measure for 5oz of resin. You can warm the resin so bubbles flow out easier or shake the little buggers up like crazy. My drill press is a old clanky HF...just put my mold on the table and turn it on...bubbles are gone!
Resin blanks always need paint either reversing the blank of paint the tube. Different colors will have a different effect. I'm a fan of silver because it brightens the colors. Black and white are common too.
You are making light year leaps...keep up the great work!!
 
Thanks to all im having a blast playing with this molding

Picture below - used some scrap pine and made my own molds - waxed the sides with some old paste wax laying around - made 2 molds - pictures show one still in mold that I made today - the other is from a mold I made 2 days prior and cut it up into blanks - I made a couple mistake on the first mold.
1) It did not appear to be as dry as I thought so I put it in the oven at 150 for a couple hrs and walla - it was dry and hard as a rock - that is the one I cut up in the pic's
Probably not enough catalyst but this part was a easy fix
2) When i made the first mold I really packed in wood shaving while i was pouring - Mistake - because it also made the blanks much more brittle and prone to comming apart
during the turning process - I blew the first 2 apart in seconds - it was not the CA holding the tube to the blank as there was still part of the acrylic still on the tube when it
flew apart - therefore, Im sure it was because I used way to much shaving making weakening the strength of the acrylic resin as it cured.
3) To much Dye as i stated in the other thread - I mixed this batch for the horizontal mold at the same time as I made the verticals - came out way to dark in relation to what it
looked like during the mixing process - next time less dye

Well, I still have a few more of the above blanks to see if they will hold up and if not - I have the other mold ready by tomm and it has very little compared to the first and ill try again.................................anyway thnaks to all for the comments..............its helps alot to hear what others are doing
 

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