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Materials for casting

Hello All,

I did a demonstration of making the Chinese Ball at the Seattle Chapter of AAW recently. The demonstration went beautifully until the last cut, when one of the wooden plugs that I had put in more than a week earlier came loose and hit the tool. It was a spectacular finish to a good demonstration. One of the audience e-mailed me the next day suggesting plugs made of wax. I made up a mold and cast a bunch of plugs out of paraffin wax and some from candle wax. They work great and hold everything in place well while turning, but they are difficult to get out and often have to be dug out little by little. I used these wax plugs for the demonstration a week later at the South Puget Sound Chapter of AAW and everything went well. Does anyone know of any other material that can be easily cast, that would cut when your cutter hits it, but could be easily removed when the ball is completed? I know that epoxy might work, however, it also might be a bit brittle.

I have another demonstration coming up the end of this month and then one at the Utah Woodturning Symposium in June and would like to be able to easily remove the plugs at the end of the demonstration to show how the ball all fall apart. I have normally moistened the wooden plugs when turning a Chinese Ball in my shop with no problem, but a one hour demonstration is not enough time to do the entire Chinese Ball so for demonstrations I normally do 9 or 10 of the 12 holes ahead of time and only cut two or three during the demonstration. The plugs dry out in the holes done ahead of time. The wax plugs fit so perfectly that they do not require moisture to help hold the plugs in place.

I hope I've properly described the problem, can someone give some suggestions?

Fred Holder

Reply to
Fred Holder
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Fred Try a harder wax like carnauba or sealing wax. Don

Reply to
Don Murray

Fred:

I use 5 minute epoxy for everything. Staying away from the normal channels, I have found a great source at (Hooby Town?) a local hobby store that is about 1/3 the price of my normal woodworking channels. And by the way, it is literally 1/3 for anyone else reading this.

I would try that, or along that line, maybe something like beeswax. It is not as brittle as carnuba, but harder than parrafin and not as susceptible to temperature change. Seems like that would be easy enough to remove at demo time. Online there are tons of suppliers of the stuff.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Reply to
Don Murray

Hi Fred

Would you be able to use cork ??, or is the surrounding web to week for the pressure ??

Just a thought.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Reply to
l.vanderloo

Fred, I'm not at all sure of the problem, but I'll suggest the spray foam sealant used to seal gaps around door & window frames and plumbing. It does expand, but it drys hard enough to be carved and it bonds to most materials. I've used it to support a tail center inside very thin goblets. I don't know any safe solvent and when cured it must be scraped off.

I've never turned a Chinese Ball so If I totally missed the problem, enjoy a good laugh on me.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Reply to
Arch

Fred,

Wouldn't it be just as easy to drill a small hole on the outside surface of each plug? Then when you want to remove it, screw a small screw eye into the hole and use that to get a firm grip on the plug.

BTW, I've watched David Springett's video and congratulate you on having the patience to make one of those Chinese balls!

Harry

Reply to
Harry Pye

if the parafin your using works for everything but is hard to take out couldnt you melt it out by putting the ball in boiling water for a couple of seconds. or if that makes a mess of melted wax, try the opposite harden the wax in the freezer and then try to take it out like u would a normal wooden plug. ~Bezalel

Reply to
bizHB

Thanks Guys for the tips. I think I've got some Bees Wax somewhere. I'll give it a try and then maybe follow up with some of the other thoughts. As far as drilling a hole and inserting a screw eye to remove the plug, that is what I do with the wood plugs and it sometimes works on the wax plugs, but sometimes does not. Freezing didn't help, I already tried that. Since there are 12 plugs to remove, boiling would make a real mess. I may try the epoxy also.

In any case, I'll report back when I come up with something that works better than wood or the wax I've been trying.

Fred Holder

the ball is completed? I know that epoxy might work, however, it also might be a

Reply to
Fred Holder

You might check with Alpha Supply at

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they are a jewelry supply house and they have hard carving wax for casting. that might be what you need. It is quite hard but carves with regular tools.

Brian

Reply to
Brian

Hi Fred. I'm not sure how firm or how large the plug has to be, but how about one of the soft artificial fishing baits that feel like firm jelly? Cut it to the needed shape and jam it in. You could first put a piece of thread through one end with a needle to aide in removal, or a small screw would likely grab it firmly enough to pull it out.

Reply to
Tom Storey

Brian, IMO that's the best advice I've seen. Even more so since Alpha is such a short drive away

Reply to
Ralph E Lindberg

There is also a hard maching wax available. It is used by CNC operators to test a program. I think Freeman Supply has it.

Dan

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

I believe Grizzly carries it too, it was in their latest mini catalog.

Jr

Reply to
x

I'm not sure at all if this would work for you, but it'd be cheap and easy to test...

I've done a fair amount of tile work while renovating houses, and I've always liked the even consistancy of the dried grout that is left in the bucket. Just messing around with it, I've carved things out of it, and it cuts very cleanly. It also chips out very quickly with little residue- but there is the chance that the portland cement could damage or bleach the wood. It certainly does a number on your skin if not rinsed off quickly enough when wet.

It might be worth a shot. A little carton of grout is fairly cheap and will plug a lot of holes. The old "test on scrap" rule applies, of course.

Reply to
Prometheus

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