Resin

[Jerry Lear]

I would like to start working with resin and would like to know how best to get info on the process.My local chapter is not involved in resin as of now. Thanks, Jerry

 

[Steve Worcester]

There is epoxy and there is Poly resin. Generically, Epoxy doesn't need a pressure pot and Poly does.
Alot of that is based on the (open) set times, but Epoxy comes in many forms based on cure times and depth of pour.
My youtube channel has some videos on resin on it but I do use Alumilite (poly) resin

 

[Ed Davidson]

I use a lot of epoxy resin for small turning embellishments, like cast cabochons. All the how-to's you could possibly ever want can be found on YouTube.

 

[Dwayne Watt]

One thing that is seldom mentioned about polyurethane resins is that the wood / material needs to be nearly 100% dry to prevent foaming at the intersection of resin / wood whereas epoxy is tolerant of a bit of moisture. I found that urethane cuts slightly easier than epoxy. As mentioned above, there is lots of good information on YouTube. Jim Sprague has a good channel on the subject.

 

[Bob Brown]

One thing that is seldom mentioned about polyurethane resins is that the wood / material needs to be nearly 100% dry to prevent foaming at the intersection of resin / wood whereas epoxy is tolerant of a bit of moisture. I found that urethane cuts slightly easier than epoxy. As mentioned above, there is lots of good information on YouTube. Jim Sprague has a good channel on the subject.

You might check the work of Robert Chatelain. He used polyurethane. He also used pigments for color. He used Devlon 2 ton epoxy to finish. I've also used West System with balloons to thicken, and add texture. I also used Douglas and Sturgess dyes, lots of colors. You might also check Marilyn Campbell. She does great work.check pinterest. For some of Roberts work.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

Zach Hiigins on youtube has the most reliable info along with comparison tests and lots of video how-to.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpsoBm_nP5A

 

[Steven Borruso]

I found Keith Lackner's book on hybrid resin turning was a good place to start - Woodturning with Resin: Techniques & Projects for Turning Works of Art
I also use his signature series "The Axe" and scrapers from Simple Woodturning .... see links in this post -

Have used Alumilite up until now with no noticeable odor. Going to switch though ...

Next resin project will be with using - Liquid Glass SuperClear Deep Pour Epoxy Casting Resin 2:1

Going to try switching since Alumilite has only a 12 min work time and that can get a bit hectic.

Starting out, I wasn't happy using any of my existing gouges and/or scrapers until I the found these two tools (total game changers ... at least for me ) -

1 - Keith Lackner's Signature series "The Axe" from Carter Products (only thing I've ever bought there) ... pretty pricey but made a huge difference ... cuts resin like butter ... never had a catch.
2 - Simple Woodturning Acrylic Resin scrapers -Simple Scraper II and their AR Simple Scraper I ... amazing for smoothing out previous cut lines in the resin.

I use a California Air 5 gal pressure pot and their vacuum conversion kit for it as well (with a cheese-oh 4.5 CFM vacuum pump).


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