How to Make Color Swirl Pen Blanks (Perfect Color Separation)

[@mortdiver]

I am new to resin casting and I couldn't find anything in the way of instructional videos as to the process of making blanks with the perfect swirls in them...until I stumbled across your channel. You cover everything there is to know on casting. I'm pretty sure your the only one who goes into depth on how to cast. This is perfect! Thank you so much for your videos. Instant sub and will now go on a Casey Martin binge watch. Thanks again and can't wait to see more vids.

[@mauritsvw]

Very clear and concise instructions.

[@CaseyMartin707]

Glad it was helpful!

[@michaela8437]

Excellent video.....I've purchased a few of your blanks over the last couple months and they turn great and make stellar pens. Thanks for the video and I just made my first resin purchase using your discount code.....I hope it helps pay the bills.

[@CaseyMartin707]

Awesome Michael thanks so much buddy!!

[@huwdavies5264]

Hi Casey, Glad college is going well. I've been waiting for this video as I've always ended up without distinct separation. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Huw

[@viridianwarrior]

Those purple orange and green are amazing! How did you get those colors?

[@jerry-leehanson3380]

Hey Casey if you are ever interested in buying whole large ( 500 to 200 Lb) birch burls, come to Quesnel ( just south of Price George) and check out the many burls I harvest.

[@CarlosHernandez-fg4qn]

Hi, Jerry. How can I get a hold of you. Would like to check out your burls.

[@jbafternoonpiper404]

Great video. I learned I didn't hold off mixing long enough. Ordered a temp gun and looking forward to trying it. Thanks for the lesson

[@jbafternoonpiper404]

When using alumilite what would be the average cure time before turning a blank?

[@THEAPRILFOOL-1983]

Your blanks are incredible

[@tearemsturnings8750]

Thanks Casey,I'll defiantly be trying this method next time I cast

[@julesnov5791]

Loved the video! Thanks for taking the time to film and edit while grad school is so heavy! :)

[@mountainviewturning5319]

Great looking pen blanks

[@UriValdez]

Can you make a video about the orientation of the wood in the mold for hybrid blanks? It seems like Mine just look plain or not that interesting cause of the way im placing them in the mold

[@kelleytowle4381]

I enjoy your videos very much. Thanks for sharing this with us

[@josephlynch3507]

Great video. Very helpful info.

[@jeffreyrobert488]

Make more of those purple green and orange for Etsy man those are amazing

[@mikemd917]

Great job. They look great!

[@Lee-qp6gf]

good to see you on the tube again, Casey. I have done that but found one has to be real careful for 3" pours. My mill are 3x3x11 1/2 with one side being wood but full depth one the other. Two times I found I waited too long and had very tiny bubbles throughout. They look like tiny specks when your turning. It took a while too figure out why and then I recalled I waited for color separation on those mills. Cheers, Lee

[@ianpalm]

Wow, this video is something I needed for a long time and I am happy you made one. I really enjoy your videos. Thanks👊👌

[@tompuskar4426]

Casey, Since you haven't posted in a while I imagine school is keeping you busy. Hope all is well. Good information in this video. I've tried this but probably didn't wait long enought to mis. Got some nice purple blanks!

[@CaseyMartin707]

I’ve been quite busy with it Tom. The free time I’ve had has been in the shop but making a KZbin video and social media was put on hold for awhile. But school has been going well. It’s just much more demanding in this program because a 3.0 GPA is the minimum to graduate. But I’ll still make time for videos now that I’ve settled into it more!

[@dalethomson6930]

Go Mustangs study hard but I do like your videos esp since I am a Cal Poly alum as well.

[@ignM1995]

Great work! Is it possible with slow cure resins? 24 hour. Alumilite is not available where I live ..

[@smorris227]

Maybe a idea for your shop rond ring blanks

[@honzazenisek2816]

Nádherná práce 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@shawnwaldrop4462]

Love the tips

[@oussamaelmanaa6122]

this is so gorgeous but im wondering those pieces are for what ??

[@scottbryant7529]

Have you ever tried the flip cup method? wondering on the pros and cons of it.

[@CaseyMartin707]

I have not but I’ve seen it done many times and know the process of it, which I believe will unnecessarily mix the resins more than necessary. It can look cool but to me it usually looks like a blob of colors rather than swirls

[@rbfour5]

How would you achieve swirls in a two piece or even a one piece cut mold when you only have a single pour sprue?

[@Will-am-i]

Thanks for sharing, I need find where to get resin in the UK. 🇬🇧

[@palmettolaura]

Reach out to Nick Zammeti. He's in the UK though I dont know where.

[@sharonmcgarvey6738]

Amazon

[@RPMoore]

Casey, 2 questions. What do you for white to mix into your pour? I forget the second one.

[@CaseyMartin707]

Alumilite white dye!

[@vedc]

Amazing job, I found your channel today and I’m watching all your videos. Just a question, which type of colours are you using? Are alcool base or another type?

[@CaseyMartin707]

I use Alumilite dyes

[@josephdevine1152]

Great info. Many thanks for sharing.

[@ellinghoem828]

Casey, have you tried using Alumilite Deep Pour and achieving good swirls. At what temp/time is the best time to swirl?

[@CaseyMartin707]

I have not yet but I would imagine you would have to wait until it starts to get hot and to a jelly consistency. The problem with that is then you could incorporate air bubbles and you don’t have pressure to get them back out

[@Shaun49ers]

Very cool!

[@thedutchman4217]

Can this method be used for deep pours like table or bowls?

[@CaseyMartin707]

Yes but the timing is a lot different and the temperatures may be slightly different but yes you definitely can

[@wakelywanderer12]

If you go beyond recommended time to get up to heat will you end up with bubbles? I use Alumilite slow mix. Thanks.

[@CaseyMartin707]

Yes you will

[@linhawkins1510]

what do you use to cut your resin?

[@da5coles]

Casey just what I have been looking for. Using alumilite slow and pushing out my time. I will try using a temp gun. Quick question why did you add white to your resin with the colors other than black?

[@CaseyMartin707]

To make them opaque

[@jbafternoonpiper404]

What's an average cure time before turning a blank if using alumilite clear?

[@farmlender1]

Great video - thanks

[@tonyjohnson4572]

No thermometer in your "Tools"?

[@egmikola]

Thanks Casey. Does this mean we can disregard the “12 minute working time” from Alumilite to get these temps higher or do I just need to use greater volume? After 12 minutes I’m only at like 90. Thanks!

[@egmikola]

And THANK YOU for all of your time and commitment to these videos...it’s truly amazing!

[@CaseyMartin707]

I’m using alumilite clear normal set. So it normally has a 7 min working time. But yes depending on your ambient temperature where you’re casting it may be longer

[@bman2385]

Does anyone know if these can be heated and bent to keep a shape? Thank you

[@CaseyMartin707]

Yes they probably could to an extent but it’d be much better to just use a mold and cast them that shape from the beginning

[@tainteddaisie9396]

Hello, Just watched your pressure pot video (comments turned off on that so couldn't ask a question there).......do you leave your pressure pot attached to a compressor whilst the resin is curing?.....I wanted to leave mine over night ( new to this) but am unsure if I should leave a pot connected due to leakage..................

[@CaseyMartin707]

Hey Daisie, thanks for alerting me about the comments. I guess KZbin turned them off because the video isn’t “suitable for kids” which is lame. Will try to fix that. I don’t personally leave it attached because I don’t have any major leaks in mine that would cause it to drop more than a few degrees in 3-4 hours, which is the max I would ever leave my resin in. That’s because alumilite cures so fast. For epoxy that may take 24 hours or so to cure, you definitely should keep it connected if you have a leak that’ll make it drop over a long period of time like that.

[@barryfields2964]

7:49 there is a blank right in the middle that looks like the left side of someone’s face really cool.

[@micljbitty]

Will this technique work without a pressure pot?

[@CaseyMartin707]

Yes it should but if you’re using epoxy or something without a pressure pot needed it will take a lot longer for the resin to get hot

[@jchristolus]

🔥🔥🔥

[@ryanbrooks4072]

Would you be interested in making some 2in by 2in blocks that I could purchase and mill down to make some handles for my welding rig hopefully I can get my name out and start a small business

[@wagWAGart]

awesome thank you

[@Nosoynadie877]

Donde se compran los MOLDES de silicona?

[@CaseyMartin707]

Ptownsubbie.com

[@Nosoynadie877]

@@CaseyMartin707 gracias

[@nicholasb6781]

what is you don't have a pressure pot

[@CaseyMartin707]

I actually have 8 of them

[@tgpbegleri]

@@CaseyMartin707 Can you recommend me a 2.5 gallon pot?

[@carlbungabong6536]

Just saw this video.... am I the only one who sees faces on those pieces??

[@Jestunes]

Why are you stirring so fast? Everyone says the faster you go the more bubbles you get. Yes you can do heat to make the bubbles come to the top, but the less bubbles you have the easier it is to work with...

[@CaseyMartin707]

I use pressure, amount of bubbles doesn’t matter because they go away when I put the resin in the pressure pot. Pressure is required for alumilite clear

[@dalhousieDream]

7 minutes working time? I thought it was good for 25 minutes.

[@CaseyMartin707]

This is Alumilite clear regular. It’s a polyurethane. You may be looking at an epoxy version they have

[@cartech6512]

You have a big problem with your finish, like a lot of bubbles and you should polish your piece as well

[@CaseyMartin707]

There are no bubbles in the blanks, and I didn’t apply a finish. I sprayed the blanks to get them “wet” for the video and photos, but that’s it. These aren’t finished products. These are pieces of material that get turned on a lathe into finished products like pens, handles, etc.

[@cartech6512]

Any way good job , hope you continue to inspire us 😍

[@wandapiedra8973]

Thank you, very instructive! Next time clean your table before making your video. You can’t appreciate the steps. Constructive criticism 👍 Love the video and learned a lot .❤️👍

[@CaseyMartin707]

I appreciate the criticism but I make hundreds of blanks a week and thousands a month, not worth cleaning the table for a video, as it only gets just as messy right after. I’m moving my shop in a month and am going to transition to a silicone mat for that and that’ll be easier to clean than the HDPE.