Vacuum casting mutt blanks

[Matt Martin]

Ok so here's the deal.  I've ordered a stabilizing chamber from Curtis that I'm expecting possibly August.  We all know how backed up he gets.

Anyway, I'm curious about doing some "mutt" casting.  Some of the best looking black locust wood I've seen come from the branches.  The problem is that getting dry black locust limbs without cracks is almost impossible. 

What are the chances that I will be able to cast some mutt blanks in a vacuum chamber?

[dogcatcher]

If you have major splits and cracks I would cast the blanks in resin.  From what I have read the stabilizing juice doesn't fill in big areas.

Marvin

[Matt Martin]

That's my question though is will I be able to cast the blanks using the vacuum chamber.  I realize that I'll have to cast them but what are the chances of getting a good cast using a vacuum chamber as opposed to a pressure pot? 

My thought is using the PVC pipe method of casting that I've seen mentioned in several places.  I'm curious about the chances of vacuum working under those conditions with the Silmar resin before I go out and buy some. 

[RVivian]

Mainly, casting is done with pressure and stabilizing with vaccum.  I also have a chamber ordered from Curtis.  Mine ordered since March.  He is backed up pretty far.  He did get a CNC Router to help him with production but he hasn't got into full production yet.  He will get it though.

I will be using mine to stabilize "punky" wood such as Hackberry, Sycamore and Chinaberry.  I bought a paint pressure pot to do my casting in.

RVivian

[dogcatcher]

Spend some time on the penturner sites, there are volumes of info written about casting wood with cracks.

Marvin

[TurnTex]

Yep, I am way behind due to some family health issues and other general life issues, unfortunately!  As rvivian said, I just finished a CNC router build and just last night got it all dialed in and ready for production.  I am starting my first production work later today if my material gets here as expected.  Really sorry for the delays everyone.

Casting Worthless Wood (that is the name of the technique) is best done with pressure as mentioned.  Vacuums can remove the air but it is not going to get all of it.  If you have overhangs in your wood, it will cause the volume of air in the overhangs to expand and spill out.  If you keep it under vacuum until the resin cures, the size of the pocket of air is typically larger than it was before vacuum.  If you pull vacuum and then release it before the resin cures, it will help a lot but not completely eliminate the air pockets.  Using pressure will completely eliminate the air pockets in most cases.