Pressure Pot to Cast my Own Blanks

[Jim]

Well i have gone and got myself a pressure pot in the hope of making my own stabilised blanks. I haven't a clue what to do at the minute so i guess searching the internet for advice is inevitable. I will add pictures later, also if anyone has any advice i would be grateful.

 

[yorkshireman]

Can you give details of the pressure pot please Jim. What do they do and where do you get them from

 

[Jim]

Here is the picture of the one i just acquired Keith, bought second hand, it is a paint sprayer but i have read somewhere this will do the trick. I am going to try and make my own blanks Keith and using this pressure pot to help stabilise the PR. But firsrt i need to get some info on where to start lol .....

 

[Jim]

Well i have a start at least, and identical to what i want to try ...

Resin Blank casting pressure pot overview - YouTube​

 

[ataylor]

Looks big Jim? I will be down next weekend mate so will see how it is coming on. Look forward to some free blanks, well someone has to test them for you lol.

 

[The Wood Bucket]

I am also interested in doing this. I have the chamber, compressor, vacuum pump to do vacuum, so anything you find out would be helpful. I will share what I find also. Thanks!

 

[Jim]

Good to know we are learning this together Gary, i had a good look at the pot today and found that i have to make some alterations to the lid, so this will knock me back a little. But in the mean time i am looking for all the accessories that is need so that when i finally get the pot to work there is nothing stopping me casting. I will be using the same compressor that is set up for my vacuum, just need different connections for the lids inlet.

 

[Mattyd]

what connections do you need...???
May have access to them... (happy to receive payment in stabilised 'Lovelies' )

 

[Jim]

Thanks for the offer Matty, i can get hold of the connector to fit the vacuum, but if you see the pipes coming from the top of the pot, well i removed these today as they are surplus, now i need to somehow block the holes that is left by them, i have a few ideas but now i will need to wait until next weekend before i can give a full assessment to what i need to do.

But not t worry Matty, i promise you will receive some blanks, gratis of course.

 

[ataylor]

Thats interesting Jim, wouldn't mind nipping over to test one of the 1st castings.

Good look guys and keep us informed of your progress. We could call this US versus UK in the race to pressure pot casting, round one.

 

[Mattyd]

well, if we knew the thread.. Likely BSP, I probably will have blanks on the shelf.

 

[ataylor]

Does pressure reduce the size of the bubbles or actually remove them?

 

[The Wood Bucket]

Does pressure reduce the size of the bubbles or actually remove them?

It forces the bubbles out of the resin.

 

[Jim]

well, if we knew the thread.. Likely BSP, I probably will have blanks on the shelf.

Not to worry Matty, i hope to have everything running by the weekend, wont be long before you have a blank between centers. I also found a couple of Euro gun metal pen kits last week which i will put into the same package ....

Does pressure reduce the size of the bubbles or actually remove them?

I am hoping that they remove them Tony, all of the reading i have done on this is telling me that it will ...

 

[Mattyd]

as long as your sorted Jim...........

If your ever stuck for that sort of stuff let me know.........

I'm group engineer for a large company, so that sort of stuff ..air fittings and alike....... are normally on the shelf..

 

[Jim]

as long as your sorted Jim...........

If your ever stuck for that sort of stuff let me know.........

I'm group engineer for a large company, so that sort of stuff ..air fittings and alike....... are normally on the shelf..

Thanks Matty, that's good of you ...

I now have all the parts that is needed to use the pressure pot, the only thing that i don't have is the carousel that goes into the pot which holds the PVC tubes with the resin in. Thou i do hope to have one made in the morning.

 

[Jim]

Got it all built up this morning did a test only to find that the on/off valve that was on the pot when i bought it has a leak, off out now to B&Q see if i can get a new one ...

 

[ataylor]

Hope you got it sorted mate, i know you work mainly at weekends so i know you will be disappointed.

 

[Jim]

No i never got the part Tony, organised to pick it up Monday fom a lad i know ...

The leak is due to the valve not shutting off fully .. (See Red Arrow) Once i got the pot up to pressure and took off the pipe, air was coming from the nozzle (See Blue Arrow) I am home Monday Tuesday so hopefully i will have it running then ...

 

[Jim]

I read the other day that PR has a shelf life of about 3 months (but does last up to a year) so i checked mine yesterday knowing that i have had it quite a while, well it was out of date by about 10 months. When it goes off it is supposed to go yellow but this was still clear? So i thought that i would use some and try to make some blanks after the disappointment of the pressure pot leaking. I made this about 7pm last night but after leaving the shed late tonight the PR was still nowhere near set ... I know the weather has a lot to do with this so i will just leave it to see what comes of it ..

These were the colours i mixed...