Suspending objects in resin...invisibly

See the final working results at • Successfully suspendin...
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This video shows the outcome of an experiment that I did in my journey to find a way of suspending objects in resin without any obvious “props” or witness lines between pours.
I think that this shows off a method that will work pretty well. Try to ignore the quality of my video work and my uming and ahing throughout. If you’re looking to suspend objects then hopefully this will be worthwhile. I used Alumilite Clear Cast Plus which has a 24 to 48 hour demold time. No idea how this might work with other resins but the “straw of resin” method is a winner for me!
My Etsy site is www.etsy.com/shop/sourlandwoo... if you’re interested in what I make.
Feel free to ask questions...or provide improvements!

[@ericchild8845]

Hey Andrew, thanks for the great post on your experience with your resin projects. I have encountered many of these issues and had some reasonable success after numerous failures. One thing I will mention is that when you are trying to get all the resin out of your mixing container, which is nearly impossible to do with a scraper or stirring stick, spatula or whatever you are using as an implement. I have found that using my heat gun on its lowest setting and just pointing it up into the vessel I have used for the mixing process lets the resin clinging to the bottom and sides become much less viscous and it simply runs straight out like water leaving nearly nothing. Of course I do this while holding the mixing vessel tipped upside down so the resin runs out and into the mold I am pouring into. Or even straight out into a waste container to make cleanup less difficult. I have also found that silicone mixing cup up to around 250-300 ml work extremely well for smaller projects that don’t require a lot of resin. They are not suitable for anything much more than that just because they lose their structural ability to hold much more than the 250-300 ml and risk having a side collapse when trying to pick one up or while mixing making a big mess and wasting a bunch of expensive material. And keeps the wife off my case at the same time I might add… this after I had to replace the dining room table. That is a story for another time, my friend.

[@Hexator_]

Thank you so much!! This helped me a bunch with my first try of trying resin! You are very helpful and I love your work!

[@gordonhartman1711]

Hello, great work on your trials! What I have found that wors for me is casting fine sticks, about the size of a toothpick for diameter. The resin is so robust that fine sticks can hold alot of weight for future reference. In my works I use Zona paper to put a glass like polish on these tiny sticks to make them vanish in the suspension. For adhesive, I mix the resin in a 10ml batch and heat it up. I continue to mix it as it is heating until it starts to take on a taffy or thick honey consistency. Once that is achieved you have approximately 2 mins minutes at most to attach all of your parts together. As the resin cools it will rapid set. I also heat my resin for deep pours, yes it reduces working time, however, if you heat it after fully mixed it will take on a water like consistency and will eliminate the bubble issue with deep pours and remove the need for a pressure pot. Also my resin has a set time of 12-24hrs to de mold but, if I set my air fryer to 95-100°C (about 200°F) it will be fully set and ready to turn and polish after a 1hr bake and 30mins cool down. I hope you try some of these techniques if not all of them and let me know what works for you. Best of luck and happy crafting!

[@sourlandwoodturning]

Gordon, thanks for the ideas. I do keep my resin heated by storing it on a heated pad before I use it. Makes it so much easier to mix too! How do you cast the fine sticks? I agreed that the supports could be smaller but a straw was the smallest way of pouring I could come up with.

[@gordonhartman1711]

@@sourlandwoodturning I lay down 3 rows of 6 toothpicks, each row about .5cm apart then place a strip of packaging tape over the length pressing the tape down tight as though it was vacuum packed then use clay to build a wall around them and pour silicone over it. Silicone will not stick to clear packaging tape. After it cures you'll have a mold to fashion sticks when ever you need them and out of the same resin to maintain invisibility.

[@toolchuck]

Andrew, nice job! Hey, a couple of ideas I've seen and used. Being you are using Alumilite Clear Cast Plus you could try Alumilite Clear, it has a demold time of about three hours. I use it to mold pen blanks and after about three hours I can turn it on a lathe so I think it would work as an adhesive and it should have very similar refractive property to Alumilite Clear Cast Plus. Be aware, the setup time is very short, ten or fifteen minutes, including mixing, or close to it, it's been a while since I've used it. I've also seen others use crazy glue. It not only seems to blend well with most resins, but you only need a very, very small amount, and that fact alone is key in hiding the the glue points. I hope you find some of this useful, best of luck! Chuck.

[@sourlandwoodturning]

Thanks ! I wonder how it works for a 4” thick casting though. My assumption is that the slower setting resin will not get as hot and will be better for the thicker pours. I’ve summarized my findings into a shorter and cleaner video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGGrgYGVobOCZ7M.

[@Zenkai76]

Thanks for this, it definitely answered some questions

[@Jimmy-sb3fc]

Wow, those are AWESOME!!! Where do you get the small Star Wars models?

[@DougWeiner-io1sv]

What is a pressure pot? What one do you use?

[@annaruyer4681]

I like it the clue blob can be a explosion.

[@caledonianwoodworking]

Where did you get those little star wars miniatures? Looks great!

[@jamestaylor7025]

Hi Andrew, I really enjoyed the video and learned quite a lot. When I worked for an audio equipment manufacturer we occasionally need to encapsulate small parts in resin. To remove any bubbles, rather than putting them in a pressure chamber we put them in a vacuum chamber and sucked the air out. Using this method the bubbles were eliminated very quickly. Could you, or have you already made a video showing how you turn the castings into a sphere?

[@sourlandwoodturning]

Thanks! Personally, I’ve found that the vacuum chamber can cause frothing but I do use it for stabilization. That said, I’ve seen people “degassing” the resin under a vacuum and then putting it in the pressure chamber. Whatever works! Check out my other videos, I have some that walk through the rough turning to a template (with a pdf of the templates) as well as the sphere and then a recent on on finishing. If you don’t see them, LMK and I’ll post links.

[@mersadesthompson]

Hello! Can you please explain what the container is that you’re pouring into? I was going to get silicone molds but this seems like a good option for suspension.

[@sourlandwoodturning]

Sure. It’s 4” triple wall drain pipe from Home Depot. Comes in 10’ lengths so I just cut it down. I should probably look at someone more sophisticated but this works nicely as the resin doesn’t stick to it. I cut 4” pieces of 5/4 scrap pine which I place in the bottom and then seal that in using aluminum ducting tape (not duct tape). Here’s a link: vbs.cm/zB4rBn Hope that helps.

[@elysianfields84]

That layer line or ‘witness line’ as you call it, visible around 15:25- have we found a way to make those lines invisible after the resin has cured? I’m doing a big diorama and I have to make it with multiple layers, so I have to do it the way you did the ‘hot glue’ method. Thanks

[@sourlandwoodturning]

No…I did talk to Alumilite once and they gave me very specific timing instructions for when to pour the second layer but it was still visible. That’s really why I spent the time working out how to suspend things like this. LMK if you solve it though!

[@Renegadesrt]

Do you have to polish or treat the pillar in any way before mounting it?

[@sourlandwoodturning]

Typically, I do not need to so long as the resin comes out of the straw cleanly. I have tried polishing them but, TBH, that's hard to do. Better off trying to get really clean tubes out of the straw. Mold release might help - I use that. Good luck.

[@camaro88rds]

I just happened upon this video and I have a idea. Do you have access to plastic coffee stirring straws? If so you could use those to inject resin into and then you would have sticks with a smaller diameter. Then couldn't you just drill small holes into the base and the toy and use the smaller sticks to make it look like it was floating? That way you wouldn't have to worry about the glue being visible because the glue would be inside the holes? Just a thought. I'm not sure I explained that well enough.

[@sourlandwoodturning]

Interesting idea. Might be hard to peel the straw off but I’ll look out for some and try it out! I’ll report back if it works.

[@camaro88rds]

@@sourlandwoodturning ok cool. I hope it works out.

[@jonny7491]

Would have been a great video if you’d included all the detail like the lathe work and putting in the pressure pod.

[@sourlandwoodturning]

You’re welcome! I wanted to just focus on this one aspect but I have other videos on how I turn the spheres and some that show how I cast the pieces. My assumption is that people have a low tolerance for me saying “um”.

[@laradubuque1055]

What do you suggest as the best way/product to polish resin after taking off the mold or sanding?

[@sourlandwoodturning]

I wet sand it on the lathe using the vacuum chuck turning it frequently. I go all the way to 3,000 grit wet and dry paper and the. Let it dry and use my polishing jig to finish it and put a light coat of wax on it. I feel like I that that pretty well sorted now so I’ll do a quick video next week on how I do that and my fabulous patent pending Home Depot bucket setup that I love. If you subscribe, you’ll get a notification when I do it.

[@laradubuque1055]

@@sourlandwoodturning oh awesome! Thank you so much! I will definitely keep an eye out for your videos!

[@sourlandwoodturning]

Hopefully, this will help with the end to end process! Hope so anyway… Creating a resin sphere - step by step guide kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWPGqY2cZbOlrZY

[@laradubuque1055]

@@sourlandwoodturning thanks! 🙏🏻

[@laradubuque1055]

@@sourlandwoodturning God bless you and keep you 💕🙏🏻

[@hogstoothairsoft1967]

i saw someone else, he poured some resin on a silicone matt and put the model in it and let it cure. Then he put the cured resin piece(which now holds the model)in the ground of the diorama and then fills the diorama… no glue

[@hogstoothairsoft1967]

like in the video: DIY. Aquarium with RESIN. Fish Tank from jedrek29t here on youtube at min. 5:20