Clearly, a Penn 49

[Bill B]

Good progress brother, enjoying this project...Bill

[Crow]

   Been raining, so, a little more time to work on this. I set up my "forms", and made the "silicone pour", for what will be the "outside" of the plates, and spool halves. Before I did it, I "greased all the areas that I DIDN'T want the silicone to adhere to....mainly, the "stubs" of silicone that protruded though the shaft hole, the bearing holes, the eccentric holes, and the "clicker" slotted hole.  I filled the empty form (the outside of the plate) with the silicone mix, "lowered" the completed "inside" form (with the "master plate" installed) into it, and screwed them together....I did, before I started, drill two 3/8" holes into the "join" between the forms, to act as "fill", and "vent" holes, for the clear acrylic (I recorded the distance from the outside edge of the form, to the edge of the "master", subtracted 1/8", screwed the forms together, and drilled , with the "center point" of the hole on the "join" of the forms).
   For the spool half castings, I did , basically, the same thing....filling the empty forms with silicone, and screwing the forms together. As I had said, in an early post...this is a "messy" way to do it, and, I've "wasted" quite a bit of the silicone in doing it this way....but, I've learned a few things, and, for later projects, I *think* I can cut both the "mess", and the "waste". The spool half 'Pours" did NOT turn out well...at all! So those will have to be " do over" . The plates came out "pretty good"...not perfect, but, good enough to continue on with.....at a later date, I'll *probably* do these over, as well, but for now, I'll continue on, using this as a *test*, of all that's coming next, in the project.
   I separated the forms, this morning, cleaned up the worst of the "mess"...where the silicone "oozed" out, between the forms....and installed the "nuts" !  Two of them...where the end bearings screw into...were salvaged from some broken plates I had, and one...where the click spring attachment screw will go, I made from a 5-40, stainless nut. I "tapered" the flats on the nut, so it wouldn't tend to "pull out" of the plate, when the screw is tightened. The attachment is an easy thing....the bearing "nuts" were greased, and "screwed onto the stubs of silicone that I left protruding form the mold, and the "click nut" was basically the same thing...I had drilled a shallow hole in the plate, in the correct (I hope !) location...this left a "stub" of silicone on the mold (where the silicone was forced into the hole) to push the nut onto.
   One of the hardest things for me has been the "reverse thinking" required, as everything on the mold that's "IN", will actually be "OUT" on the completed plate !  Anyway, I'm ready to make the "pour" of the acrylic on the plates. The spool halves will have to wait (I need more silicone !! Wasted too much !) until later.

[xjchad]

I'm loving watching this project come along Arlyn!  Keep up the great work!!

[Dominick]

More...more...  Dominick

[Crow]

  I just got back to the house, from making the first clear "pour".  I'm not very "optimistic" about it, either !  The stuff I'm using ...when mixed together, IS fairly "thin" (viscosity wise), and seemed to flow pretty well, into the molds. BUT, there were LOTS of "bubbles" in it, even though I tried to stir it together *carefully, and slowly*  . I decided that, maybe, it would benefit from a little "vibration"....help the plastic get into all the "little places", and maybe get rid of some bubbles...so, I have a small "muffler gun" type of air hammer, and with a flat-head hammer chisel , I "vibrated" each form/ mold assembly...not too long, and not too "severely", and, after that, I WAS able to add more plastic to each mold...maybe a teaspoon full...so, I'm *hoping* it helped !!  I'll find out, tomorrow, I guess  ?!

[Bill B]

Thomas Edison had 1,000 failures, or as he put it 1,000 steps, to perfect his lightbulb. I'm sure you will need far less steps  to make this a reality.  Watching with lots of interest brother....Bill

[Crow]

   Drizzle stopped, and the sun started peeking through, so I went for my "walk-a-bout", and when I returned, I "checked in" at the shop. I was pleased to discover that the small bit of un poured resin left in my container was free from "bubbles". So , by just "sitting there", the stuff "cleared up" nicely ! Hopefully, the stuff "in" the molds, did the same !

[mhc]

Great stuff, it's looking good.

Mike

[Crow]

    I just got done "un molding" the plates........and, there ARE some bubbles , but, not as bad as I had feared. There are two spots on the rim of the "head plate" that will need 'filled', .....I should have went back, one more time, to "top off" the level, I guess . Tail plate looks good...better than the head plate. I haven't removed it, completely, from the mold yet, because, when I removed the head plate, it was still a bit "soft", and started to "deform" a bit.  The resin I used said to "de  mold" in 24 hours, and allow 48 hours more to "totally harden".
     I "installed" the chrome rings on the head plate, to get it back "in shape", and will let it "totally cure", before I start cutting the "sprues", and "flashing" off of it. I'll drill all the holes out, and install the bridge plate....just to make sure that everything is as it should be. If so, I'll continue by finishing up the spool halves, and knob.....then it will be a LOT of "polishing"....and maybe some "engine turning" on the brass "innards". I'll see , then, if it's a "Yay, or a Nay".......if I decide to "try again" (and I'm thinking I will !), it won't be until spring, probably , because the time is fast approaching to USE reels, instead of WORKING on reels 
    Anyway....here's what it looks like, so far....I think I'll call this one ,"Bubbles"

[mo65]

   Cool project Crow!

[milne]

Yeah, super cool
  Very keenly watching !!!!


Col

[oc1]

It looks great.  That wet weather is probably what kept it from curing on time.   If you have access to a vacuum pump you can put it in a vacuum chamber (a large mouth jar is good enough) as soon as it's poured and the bubbles will come right out.
-steve

[Crow]

    In all my "reading" on the subject of mixing / pouring the resin....the vacuum pump /chamber was mentioned a lot. Another thing that was mentioned was temperature....it seems the warmer the stuff is (within reason), the less viscosity...and there fore , the less "bubbles". The head plate is still somewhat "tacky" to the touch, this morning, but I'll give it several days, before I make any "judgments". Instructions said to stir for 2 minutes, pour into another cup, and stir for a minute longer...which I did, but, I still wonder if I didn't mix the stuff "vigorously" enough . I was attempting to NOT incorporate too much air, into it . It is pretty warm , in the shop, but before I pour the spool halves, I think I'll "crank up" the heat, and also "warm" the resin...see what that does for me?!

[oc1]

As a last-ditch effort to salvage something that remains tacky for a long time, you can wipe it down with acetone.

When you pour resin into a cup it wants to stick to the sides so after adding the hardener you have to really scrap the sides and bottom well with the stir stick.  That's why they say to transfer to another cup.  Adding the hardener to the cup first helps a little because it is less sticky.

Also, measuring by weight instead of volume is important for some resins.

Heat is a double-edge sword.  After mixing, the resin is going to heat up from the chemical reaction. The more it heats up the faster it will go off and harden.  A very large batch cannot dissipate heat and it may ruin the pour or even catch on fire.  If you make small batches or immediately spread it out it will dissipate heat better (more surface area) and not heat up as much.  But, spreading it out slows the hardening time and allows it to trap more moisture from the air.

For me, doing the mixing and pouring and then putting an infrared heat lamp or incandescent bulb over it works better than pre-heating the resin in a warm room.

-steve

[jurelometer]

What are you using for the clear resin?   

As a side note:  Don't try to use a home vacuum sealer for a vacuum source.  It will not provide enough vacuum, and you run the risk of contaminating food.   Vacuum cleaners pull a lot of volume but don't generate enough vacuum.  If you have a compressor, a venturi attachment and a vacuum gauge is the cheapest way to get started.

I have done a bit a silicone mold making, but very little clear resin work.   I have also built a compressor based vacuum system, but I use it for laying up laminates, not for casting.   Feel free to PM me if you want to talk mold making, casting or vacuum systems. 

-J.