This is the beginning of my pen blank mold. I made a wooden plug from scrap plywood 8" X 9' base and 4 sidewalls 1.75 high & 8 3/4" X 3/4" X 3.5 poplar. All pieces are wrapped with saran wrap and the polar blocks are attached to the plywood base with screws. The sidewalls are clamped to the base and the plug is filled with 100% acid cure silicone sealant. After about 12 hrs the mold can be removed from the plug with care, the mold is still curing and can tear. The silicone will be fully cured in about 36 hrs. I'll post more pics once I've pulled the plug so to speak. Thanks for viewing.

We might need to get you to put this all in a blog when it is finished.

 

 

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

I'd be happy to do that John!

 

I do need to make a correction to the post. ALLOW 24 HRS BEFORE REMOVING THE PLUG FROM THE MOLD NOT 12 HRS AS STATED IN THE BEGINNING POST. Sorry for the error.

What an interesting thing to do.  Looking forward to seeing these pen blanks.  

 

SQ

 

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It it can't be fixed with glue and sawdust - it's not worth fixing.

That mold looks great Mike.  I am looking forward to seeing the blanks that come from it.  A couple of question if you will entertain me.

 

Why 6 blank halves instead of 3 full size ones?  The reason I ask is the desire to match the top of a pen to the barrel while assembling.  On most wooden and acrylic pens crafters take care to align the grain or pattern of the each half.  With blanks basically poured at different times like yours will be, it seems that it will be difficult to match the pattern. 

 

Do you prefer square blanks over round ones?  The custom blanks I buy are poured using 3/4" PVC pipe.  The size makes it simple to chuck the blank in my collet chuck for drilling.  With square blanks, I have to turn them to 5/8" or so to get them in the chuck, or use pen jaws in a scroll chuck.  Also, with square blanks in my opinion they are more susceptible to chipping unless I use a 60 grit gouge to round off the corners before putting a tool to them. 

 

As John suggested a blog on your casting experience will be much appreciated.  Thanks for taking the time to document it.

Greg, thanks for the questions.

This mold will be used to cast clear PR around pen tubes that will have SS braid glued to the tube as well as cigar bands, feathers, snake skins etc. etc. for 2 barrel kits like the Jr. Gents pen. Plus the size of the cavities are long enough to cast colored blanks for several of the single barrel kits that I turn a lot of, the Sierra, Wall Street II and other single barreled kits. There are actually 8 blank halves, not 6.

I went with the square blanks because for my first mold I wanted to keep it simple. I haven't had any trouble with chip out as long as I start with very sharp tools and PR is the softest synthetic material available and I use the WOOD CHUCK TOOL with CARBIDE tips which helps a great deal and I can chuck these blanks with no trouble using my home built chuck jaws for drilling and then switch to between center turning. Because of the shallow depth of the blank cavity I.E. 3/4" X 3/4" Vs approx 2.75" depth for the round molds, it's much easier for the air to escape from the shallow square mold. After this first mold is cured the mold will be cut into 4 separate molds each having 2 cavities which allows them to fit into my pressure pot.

I hope this answers your questions. Keep in mind this is my first venture into casting pen blanks and as such I'm learning as I go and having a lot of fun along the way.


Greg Coleman said:

That mold looks great Mike.  I am looking forward to seeing the blanks that come from it.  A couple of question if you will entertain me.

 

Why 6 blank halves instead of 3 full size ones?  The reason I ask is the desire to match the top of a pen to the barrel while assembling.  On most wooden and acrylic pens crafters take care to align the grain or pattern of the each half.  With blanks basically poured at different times like yours will be, it seems that it will be difficult to match the pattern. 

 

Do you prefer square blanks over round ones?  The custom blanks I buy are poured using 3/4" PVC pipe.  The size makes it simple to chuck the blank in my collet chuck for drilling.  With square blanks, I have to turn them to 5/8" or so to get them in the chuck, or use pen jaws in a scroll chuck.  Also, with square blanks in my opinion they are more susceptible to chipping unless I use a 60 grit gouge to round off the corners before putting a tool to them. 

 

As John suggested a blog on your casting experience will be much appreciated.  Thanks for taking the time to document it.

Thanks SQ. I go back to work tonight so I'll probably be casting next week plus I want this mold to fully cure before I test it out.


SQ said:

What an interesting thing to do.  Looking forward to seeing these pen blanks.  

 

SQ

 

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It it can't be fixed with glue and sawdust - it's not worth fixing.

Well duh!  If I had read you post on SS braid I would have understood from the photos what you were doing.  I also saw your jig for applying the braid.  Pretty ingenious. 

I too use the Woodchuck.  Ken Farrell, the maker, is a member of the wood turning club I attend.  I hope to see him next Saturday.  I need a new R4 insert.  I have been making duck calls, and the insert turns brass and copper bands almost as well as PR. 

 

I am looking forward to your casts.

Thanks Greg! Please let Ken know that I really like the Wood Chuck Pen Pro and his customer service is the best I've seen in a long time.

 I started to take off the side walls of the mold but the silicone is just a bit soft so I will let it cure for another day to allow for more cure time. I probably went a little thicker on the bottom than was necessary but I used the old adage if 3/4" base is good then 1.5" must be better, so I'll just have to be a little more patient and hope the added cure time ensures a good cure.