Can You Turn Styrofoam ?

On this episode of Ben's Worx I attempt to turn styrofoam on the lathe.
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#resinart #styrofoam #woodturning
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[@BensWorx]

Grab your workshop Tee here ➡️ teespring.com/stores/bensworx

[@latenighter1965]

styrofoam shrinking is a 2 part thing, the pressure pot squeezes it and the heat shrinks it. They use styrofoam heads as tests for under sea compression videos.

[@m2mbestfan]

I have an idea hope you can test it Can you do a Styrofoam sandwich/ Sphere First you plave a 1 inch wood pice Green 1 inch layer of green styrofoam as a letucce Pink 1 inch layer of green styrofoam salmon,/ meat then yellow layer (1inch to) styrofoam as cheese maybe one extra layer of red tomato and another wood layer as top bread but what you can do is use fishing line to keep all the layers together and when pouring the resine make sure to leave at least 1 or 2 inches of clear resin on the bottom, and also you can stick the sandwich of materials using fishing line glued to the bottom of the container. that way if the sandwich try to float you will still have more clear resin at the top because the sandwich will not scape the reasing like on this one Another important thing is that you dont have to glue the stryrofoam to the wood, to see if it does the same shrinking efect you get on this one Hope you like the idea

[@marthacoomber3188]

Ordered that up resin online😎👍 but had to get minimum of 5. I might try putting a thread through dyed styrofoam balls and putting a drop of resin on them to see what sort of beads they make 🤠

[@marthacoomber3188]

Great paper weight!

[@evilcanofdrpepper]

Expanded Polystyrene balls or cells are made by heating the plastic a bit then subjecting it to a low enough pressure that causes all the tiny trapped air bubbles in it to expand. The sizes and shapes are then frozen in the soft plastic by letting cool and harden before it is brought back down to normal pressure. Putting it in a pressure pot is basically undoing the previous expansion and shrinking them down again and surrounding them in epoxy that locks them in that shape by polymerizing and hardening everything under pressure. You basically reversed the process that they are made with...

[@neonhorizon]

Styrofoam is mostly air and can compress a lot, that’s what makes it great for shipping items. I think the pressure pot just compressed it like crazy

[@BensWorx]

Yeah your probably right 👍

[@colvyre6622]

would it work to use stabilizing resin on it first?

[@kasuraga]

@@colvyre6622 Oooo that might be a good idea to try.

[@demonknight7965]

Actually it's not air its a chemical called iso-pentane which is flamable when exposed to air. I used to work at a plant that made foam takeout containers and they would extrude the foam into sheets about the size of 3 pieces of paper thick. Then to entertain the noibs theyd cut piece off walk across it and where they stepped would be flaming

[@bmw370]

That or I was thinking the heat from the resin melted some, too

[@corpusdelecti]

I love how Ben was like, "Now we have our shapes made! Let's put it into our mold." *no more shapes to speak of*

[@moni588]

Even a “failed” piece ended up looking like a beautiful magical forest 🙌🏻👏🏻

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Monique 😊

[@gummy_shark968]

that's so true

[@mabinogidrws]

Reminds me of the forest turning from summer to autumn.

[@gummy_shark968]

@@mabinogidrws I know right

[@DadHD]

With the excess resin, use it in the bottom of the cup and sit something that would sink in the resin otherwise.

[@jeremydalebeck]

I wasn't too sure about this one, Ben, until the end. It's actually really pretty and reminds me of a coral reef. Great work, as usual

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Jeremy 😊

[@samanthasimental3788]

I does totally look like coral reef. Very fitting since he is in Australia.

[@jeremydalebeck]

@@samanthasimental3788 I went snorkeling around a reef in Hawaii, and those pale/dull colors in the piece look just like some of the areas I swam around in. I love these unintended outcomes from Ben's experiments.

[@samanthasimental3788]

@@jeremydalebeck wow that must have been amazing. I loved the one with the crack in the star track toy. But I love all his creations.

[@williamellis8993]

Definitely looks like a coral reef.

[@anton4video]

Styrofoam expands in a vacuum chamber and shrinks in a pressure chamber. In addition, the temprature from the epoxy curing probably make the styrofoam shrink.

[@williamellis8993]

Totally agree.

[@nightwingnum1226]

Yea The Vacuum was not a bad Idea but the pressure pot was.

[@ruolbu]

@@nightwingnum1226 I totally expected it to expand out of that cup when he put it into the vacuum chamber. To me it seemed like a bad idea.

[@puestoak]

You could always use that bit of cutoff as a weight in another resin pour, if you're casting something lightweight. I love how this project turned out!

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou

[@stormchaser1423]

Listening to him playing with it activated a scent memory, I remember playing with it as a 7 year old.

[@ianmccarty3080]

This turned out great. I would suggest trying this again with stabilizing resin. The styrofoam probably shrunk because of the pressure.

[@saram4427]

Anyone else think he’s got the perfect podcast voice !

[@lynniev]

The texture of the styrofoam is so cool. I love the bubble details! For the clear end piece, you could cut it into discs, layer with wood and turn it to be a small vase, pot, etc. I think the clear would be pretty against some nice wood!

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Lynnie, great idea

[@isturma]

I think you had multiple reactions. First the foam expanded in the vacuum pot (why it floated to the surface) and then you compressed it tightly in the pressure pot, creating the tight disc. I think you also had some color leach into the resin, because instead of the super clear of 99% of your projects, this one has a "dirty water" appearance. Still super cool! Thanks for stuff like this!

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Mate 👍

[@ellenyager9577]

A funky, ethereal piece! You always seem to be able to make good things out of what seems to be “bad” things. You are amazingly talented!

[@suewarnes9469]

Hear ! Hear ! 👏🏻👏🏻🤩

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Ellen 😊

[@MrBooga2011]

Wow, talk about unpredictable outcomes! Just like in my science class, failures are just as valuable as successes. That turned out beautifully, even if it wasn’t the intended result.

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou 😊

[@siegesgaming5163]

For the clear piece you chopped off, you could do a small layer of one item, clear chunk, then another item on top... 2 materials with a clear center...

[@frankierzucekjr]

Man I wasn't expecting it to look as cool as it did. You made it look freakin awesome. I just love your show buddy. I share it with all my friends, especially the ones in Australia. I've met quite a few really nice people through the years on here since the tragedy with my family. Some of the nicest people I've met have been from Australia. So it makes me enjoy your channel a little bit more. Cheers mate.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Frankie, I really appreciate it

[@frankierzucekjr]

@@BensWorx of course bud. You deserve it, you have great content. You're a nice humble guy, thank you for giving us something enjoyable to watch every week.

[@1986krazy]

That was a pretty neat experiment, Ben! I like how the resin magnifies the styrofoam, and to me it looks almost like a coral reef. Great piece, for sure! 👍

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Alex

[@lisamaries5677]

That's way awesome! I wasn't expecting that at all! It would look awesome in a fish tank honestly! 😲

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Lisa, yeah that would be cool

[@johnbennett7099]

That turned out great! Wasn’t expecting it to turn out so good, we used to take polystyrene cups on deep dives and the air gets squashed out of them under the pressure, they turn out like thimbles. Kinda looked like a coral reef effect in the finished piece. Take care Ben 👍🏻

[@jameshammond42]

The access resin you didn’t use could be a invisible stand for when you want to suspend something in another project!

[@datgaydangernoodle1315]

Its excess but awesome idea!

[@Zeldur]

For the extra piece, if you have a dremel, maybe loosely try one of Bobby Duke's sculpting videos and attempt subtractive sculpting.

[@Kathy61954]

Any time you say "Well ,I didn't expect tthat " --- you have me glued to your video.

[@lechatbotte.]

Looks like a piece of coral. Came out amazing. The heat and pressure most likely compressed it but it’s great just the same.

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou 👍😊

[@lexwithbub]

I have zero interest in wood turning. Zero interest in epoxy resin. I have absolutely no wish to set ever up a workshop. BUT I am really glad the algorithm showed me your videos. I love your energy, particularly your curiosity about how things might turn out, and your honesty when things go wrong. Thanks for a great channel.

[@ratykat]

Wow the finished piece is so cool, that stuff would make an amazing base for another one of your pieces with a model in it, perhaps like a fantasy forest character or something?

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou, yeah for sure 👍

[@mainelife6432]

At first, I was thinking "Well, even Ben can't save this piece..." But...in the end...WOW! The close-ups make it look like little, colored coral. You also have a way with lighting effects. Great work as always!

[@leshtshow]

I swear you can turn literally anything into a beautiful art piece. again, lovely work on this one mate!

[@voldem0rt]

@Ben's Worx, I think the reason the styro foam condensed down to a fifth of its size is simple. Styro foam is a plastic that is full of AIR. When you place it in a vacuum chamber, all the air is sucked out. But I am pretty sure you know exactly where the styro foam all went.

[@albertberg2656]

This turned out super cool!!! Loved it! Had the idea for the clear section: Turn it into a mini egg and then cast it into a larger colored dragon egg with or with out a wood base.

[@candacehoffacker9644]

Wow the texture and color is awesome. Who knew it would come out so great. Really appreciate your skill, talent, and creativity. Keep the videos coming.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Candace 😊

[@vanerek]

I agree with some of the comments, the pressure pot + the heat helped with the shrinking. The leftover piece seems like it could be a transparent standyfor something. Theyend result looks truly mesmerizing!

[@Rookie_Rockounding]

Mate that turned out really beautiful! Like a neon underwater scene. Love it!

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Mate

[@saber-jocky3436]

As someone who has not yet watched the video but has done high speed cnc machining of both expanded and extruded polystyrene in a high volume production environment, I can say yes, if you keep the temperatures down. This stuff is prone to plasticizing with just a moderate temperate build up. Chip load calculations are imperative. Air or liquid cooling of any sort are a god send.

[@thegrafxguy1]

That thing is absolutely gorgeous. All the depth and colors and everything. Just wow. That turned out awesome man!

[@rickseiden1]

I've never heard of Flocking, so I did some searching, and came across a video that explains how it's done. I click on the video, and it's Ben's Works!

[@BensWorx]

😊

[@denielleplummer]

The noises it makes when you speed up the video are hilarious.

[@aureliusrusticus2320]

If you want to know what happened to the styrofoam, just have a look at Beyond The Press Channel's pressure tank that simulates extreme ocean depths. High pressure, such as you produce in the pressure pot, can reduce styrofoam down to a small fraction of its normal size.

[@jeremyhire5516]

wow that turned out amazing! it looks almost like a multicolor coral reef or a sea anemone forest. I especially love the tiny bubbles.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Jeremy

[@Randomperson-sg8vy]

The first half had me thinking it was gonna flop but it turned out like a beautiful landscape of majestic greenery, I would sit there for a long time analyzing it.

[@justinbisc]

Beautiful as always Ben. When I first saw the finished product the first thing that came to mind was Wow that looks like coral.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Justin 😊

[@itsdweezy]

Thats awesome. Looks like some coral. Could be cool to use with a blue tinted resin and put a little turtle figurine below the Styrofoam so when it compresses it looms like the turtle is swimming over the coral.

[@samanthadean1083]

Lol, any video of yours that starts with, “Well, I didn’t expect that.”, is going to be interesting!!! 😂

[@paisleykitty7]

It looks like coral! Super cool! I love all your experiments! Even when things don't go as planned you create the most interesting and beautiful things! ♥️

[@tarbabysbest]

That piece is so pretty! It looks like a hill of trees in the autumn as they are changing colors. Thanks for sharing.

[@kristinebaker5477]

Very Beautiful, it looks like the Coral Reef 35years ago. All beautiful and lush. Cool piece 😀💙

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Kristine 😊

[@johnathan71118]

i love that so much of this channel is just Ben just curiously casting staff in resign as we all wood if we had a shop lol

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Mate

[@MrScorpianwarrior]

Wow! That final piece looks like some hyperbolic camera projection!

[@OllieOxyn]

Looks like coral, so pretty!

[@katlynjohnson9093]

You should take a bunch of different shards of different colors of resin and wood and cast them in resin. Also styrofoam shrinks with out air inside it. Try a long cure time thinner resin and no vacuum chamber or pressure pot. Or maybe a low temp curing stabilizing resin

[@Hazza_Jacko]

I love the ideas that come from these videos

[@zachaliles]

The styrofoam shrank from the pressure in the pot. Same it's the same idea as diving deep in the ocean. There was an experiment where they tied a styrofoam head to a deep sea dive vehicle and the head shrank so much smaller than it started out just from the pressure.

[@celestevolschenk9110]

Wow, it looks like coral! I've heard that polyester melts in resin, but I guess the sticky stuff that was put on the styrofoam protected it. I totally expected it to melt! Maybe the heat shrunk all the beads? Sure looks like it; doesn't look like some of it dissolved in any way.

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou 😊👍

[@Psych02K]

Saturday morning, another Ben's Worx! Your positivity is always a great start of a great day!

[@aldmarius1060]

I did not expect it to look like that in the end but that turned out really neat!!

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou

[@tracybowling97]

Hi Ben! You always have the coolest ideas! This reminds me of what newborn/ newly formed coral might look like. I can't believe it turned out like that.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Tracy, yeah it does 👍😊

[@joshcarver5231]

Didn't expect it to look like that at the end! Looks really awesome!

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Josh

[@M0UNTAINEER]

I think that clear piece you cut off the end would make a cool display for something if ya polished it up. either something flat or make it a lil concave to hold something round 👍

[@Dennis-ye4kf]

Fantastic Ben, looks like coral. (with a bit of imagination) . My guess would be that the pressure in the pot squished all the beads, like when you squeezed them in your hand. Interesting. 👍

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Dennis 😊👍

[@sparkyprojects]

Drill a load of holes in the clear blank at different angles, fill with whatever.

[@Sch1220]

That was not what I was expecting, I thought the styrofoam would puff up after absorbing the liquid. Love the end result!! That chunk would be a fun base for some rocks, or earthy material. I like the shape the cup gave the bottom of it.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Scott 👍😊

[@MnACreations]

That came out really neat, Ben! I was not expecting to shrink all up like it did..

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Mike

[@lyrieth8833]

That is amazing!!! I know it isn't what you expected but, it turned out great! Nice paper weight!

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Leah 😊

[@CeruleanSeal]

Wait I love this? This might actually be one of my favorite pieces ever. Like you could honestly make a killing off these styroreef domes. The things I would do for my own in blue, purple and pink

[@yesterdaydream]

That triumphant music at the end always gets stuck in my head. Especially when I'm microwaving anything.

[@datgaydangernoodle1315]

SAME

[@brookhaven86]

Not sure if this has been suggested before but seeing some custom 6 sided dice would be cool. Maybe with different dyes or materials inside.

[@LunaP1]

I used to have that as a kid and it was just as relaxing as current day fidget toys.

[@happyheather7428]

That looks awesome. I wasn’t too sure about it at first but once it was shined up……WOW. 😍 Awesome job Ben.

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou

[@douglascampbell9809]

Styrofoam is a expanded polystyrene. It it's non expanded form it looks like little pellets of plastic. When you put the expanded beads under pressure you forced them back to close to their original size before the expansion process.

[@dougstidham3557]

Ben, I came across you and your amazing work a couple months ago looking for "how to do" resin stuff. You are a truly amazing artist and i love watching you work. Keep on making the coolest shit I've ever seen and recording it for the world to see!!!

[@jencstephens5452]

Turned out way better than I expected. Actually quite neat. 😊

[@faeryprincezz]

That did turn out amazing!! I was shocked to see how it turned out.

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou, me too

[@jessicacolombo6630]

It looks so cool! Great job making it look great even though it didn’t turn out how you wanted. I do have a idea that may be worth trying if you’d like to try it again. try putting resin in the bottom and let it harden. then glue the styrofoam to it and glue another hardened resin piece to it so it stays in the middle and then see if you can fill in the middle with UV resin.

[@SamTheBattleshipp]

That looks so cool! It makes me think of coral, as if you have a little piece of a coral reef. Awesome!

[@PhyleXTension82]

Well done Ben, looks great! As for why it shrank so much, I reckon you hit the nail on the head with the high temperature causing the styrofoam to shrink.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Glyn

[@marty01957]

I really liked the way this one came out, Ben! Nice piece!

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Martin

[@Gkitchens1]

I gotta tell ya, that turned out SO much cooler than I expected. I thought it would all melt and you'd just be left with a sticky blob at the tip you couldn't do much with. But man the final product is amazing!!

[@garzilla7123]

I kinda thought that they might melt from the heat but never thought of the chemical reaction too, but it makes sense, But all in all it really did come very cool. I like the looks of it.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Mate 😊

[@monkeyballable]

That came out really good! Thanks for showing us 💕

[@BensWorx]

Thankyou

[@robertperren1684]

WOW that’s amazing,loved the colours and it looked like a under water Garden would pay for something like that

[@joshuap.4731]

After seeing the shape you turned,I was reminded of a mushroom and I thought it would be really cool to either use the styrofoam to make psychedelic colours or use coloured resin I don't know what would work or be best.but it would be cool to make a little psychedelic looking mushroom lamp. Also this looks really cool! Another awesome video!

[@alicianorris9352]

I feel like the finished product looks like a little coral reef! It's so pretty!

[@coreycarpenter2489]

That turned out much nicer than I initially expected.

[@williamellis8993]

Really neat, Ben. I think the heat from the resin combined with the pressure compressed the beads. I also think it looks like a coral reef just like others in the comments below. Bill

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Bill 😊👍

[@arlenebrooks5163]

That turned out really cool! Looks like coral from the ocean!

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Arlene, it does 👍😊

[@kathleenkillen7820]

It turned out beautiful! Looks like coral.

[@chasitytaylor8858]

I have such a delightful time watching. Thank you for content!😊♥️

[@wotan2383]

for the cutoff you could turn it into a dome shape as a magnifier or lens of some kind

[@markwhite6018]

I was surprised how much it shrunk. Still came out to be an amazing piece. 👍

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Mark

[@jeytex3161]

I was scratching my head on this one until the final. Looks fuzzy almost. The shape was a great choice adding a bunch of interest, good on Ben!

[@wildstorm3486]

Like another comment said it kinda of looks like/has a coral reef effect going on.

[@deetanner7153]

"Well, I didn't expect that!" I paused to write my guess at what you see...and as I know resin heats up, and styrene melts...me thinks it's a melted mass.....ready, set, here I come.....lol.....right 5 minutes in and was almost right...a disc was not what I expected either...I thought maybe a clump on the top but more in the centre....now to see what you do with it.... Wow, simple and so effective, great pick up and play piece...as to the leftovers, how about a magnifying glass, which could become a box lid of spyglass ornament 😊

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Dee 😊👍

[@roseosullivanIreland]

Hi Ben, that looks so beautiful. Pity the rest of the stuff disappeared. Its great,colours are fun. Have good day. Take care.

[@BensWorx]

Thanks Rose, you too!

[@lonewretch]

That turned out really nice. Did not expect that, even less than I did, it just vanishing from the pressure pot !!

[@justiceblackwolf369]

such a beautiful look, glad u made it round to make it pop more 😍

[@richardslade1337]

Styrofoam gets compressed and shrinks when it's under pressure. Styrofoam heads are commonly used to demonstrate how much pressure there is underwater as you get deeper and what the effects are. Still a great looking piece.

[@kb9847]

It looks like coral. Turned out beautiful.

[@Culky]

That went from "well this is going to be a disaster" to "oh wow, I was not expecting that". Great result.

[@caseykahler6827]

WOW!!!! That turned out magnificent.

[@KubedPixel]

Styrofoam is just pockets of air. Even though you put it in the vac chamber to saturate the balls, the pressure pot will have squeezed the resin it of the balls as the foam material compressed under pressure. As the material was compressed, it became less dense which causes it to float more as the resin was curing, leaving the bit sticking up above the resin

[@geoffwarnes9327]

Ended up looking like colorful coral. Looks fantastic 👍

[@Keshlynne]

That came out so pretty! It looks almost like coral under glass...