Casting with aluminium honeycomb.

[David M]

Hi Chaps,
My first visit and first post. I have only recently started turning pens and have become addicted! I also acquired a casting pot with the lofty (and perhaps foolhardy) ambition of casting unusual hybrids and would welcome some advice. My questions:-
1. I have tried epoxy resin so far which seemed very hard once set but the temperature during curing did vary and the catalyst percentage is very difficult to achieve accurately....sensible choice or not?
2. I tried to set aluminium honeycomb into resin and ended up with a lot of small hexagonal pieces of resin all over my workshop when I tried to turn it because resin does not appear to adhere to aluminium! Has anyone else been successful with that? I've seen Pam do it on You Tube!
3. I also tried Banksia Nuts which seemed to remain soft in places.....does it need to be stabilised first.
PLEASE HELP!
David M

 

[Sawes]

Hi David

I am a little confused by your issue measuring the catalyst with epoxy as most epoxy is 100:100 or 100:45

Polyester resin, normally the cheapest where most people start, is often 2% max.

Also epoxy bonds very well to other items and polyester tends not to so well.



Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[Paul hd]

Here is an interesting vid from Zac Higgins on honeycomb. He mostly uses Alumilite which I think is the best resin out there.

You may get better results if you go with his idea of soaking in acetate.

Where to Get Aluminum Honeycomb for Resin Casting | NV Woodwerks - YouTube

 

[Penpal]

How convenient Paul Zac took much of the mystery out of the product with lots of tips along the way.Well noted mate.

Peter.

 

[David M]

Scott, you are quite correct. I have bought both polyester and epoxy and it was the polyester that I used (sorry about the confusion)....which may account for the poor bond with the aluminium. I still did not get a good result overall which I suspect is due to the varying temperatures during curing. I will sort out some form of temperature control and give it another go.
Thanks for the feedback.

 

[wm460]

Interesting hints on the video.