Post by erift on May 3, 2017 10:23:14 GMT -5
Hi There,
I have recently fallen in love with the look of the stabilized wood and Alumilite clear blanks that people are making for wood turning purposes.
I have a design for some 3.25" x 3.25" x 4.5" boxes that I would love to use this process for, but I definitely have some questions I'm hoping you can help with.
I haven't really seen anyone using these blanks to make boxes, but I have seen people cutting it in a table saw, and that's really what I need to accomplish.
Here is my current plan:
1.) Aquire some dry hardwood live edge / burl (un-stabilized) or other wood that has been stabilized with Cactus Juice or equivalent heat cure stabilizing resin (at the moment I don't have a vacuum chamber, but I do have access to a pressure pot).
2.) Make a mold from cutting board material and secure pieces of wood to the bottom of the mold with hot melt glue.
3.) Weigh up both parts of Alumilite Clear 1:1 by weight and mix thoroughly.
4.) Pour into mold and put it pressure pot at 45PSI for X hours.
After this is done, I should have a nice appropriately sized blank. Here's where my questions come in.
My current design calls for cutting 1/4" thick panels of the blank to use as box walls, lid, etc. Does anyone have experience with cutting Alumilite Clear thin like this? I would prefer to have it closer to 1/8", but I adjusted to 1/4" for the stability of the bond and hopefully resistance to cracking or fracturing. I am currently wanting to miter the corners and use 2 part epoxy + a band clamp / frame clamp to finalize the box assembly in order to facilitate a chemical bond. Please let me know if you have any alternate ideas / suggestions.
My other big question is about finishing. Alumilite Clear seems like it can be polished to a very clear finish, but these boxes will be handled a lot, put inside bags and carried to events so I would like to ensure that they have a long lasting clear finish. My current thought is that I will wet sand the parts up through the grits using the Alumilite polishing kit available here, and then thoroughly clean with mineral spirits and apply 5-6 costs of a clear laquer spray before assembly. In your opinion, is this the best way to avoid having the finish become scratched and scuffed by dust / friction / handling? If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.
The only other thing that I am concerned about is that these boxes will be used to store collectibles that are made from paper / card stock, but are most often inside of PVC sleeves. Does Alumilite Clear leave any kind of oil or residue that might leak out over time? I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.
Sorry for such a long winded post, but if anyone can provide any insight I'd be eternally grateful.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Chris
I have recently fallen in love with the look of the stabilized wood and Alumilite clear blanks that people are making for wood turning purposes.
I have a design for some 3.25" x 3.25" x 4.5" boxes that I would love to use this process for, but I definitely have some questions I'm hoping you can help with.
I haven't really seen anyone using these blanks to make boxes, but I have seen people cutting it in a table saw, and that's really what I need to accomplish.
Here is my current plan:
1.) Aquire some dry hardwood live edge / burl (un-stabilized) or other wood that has been stabilized with Cactus Juice or equivalent heat cure stabilizing resin (at the moment I don't have a vacuum chamber, but I do have access to a pressure pot).
2.) Make a mold from cutting board material and secure pieces of wood to the bottom of the mold with hot melt glue.
3.) Weigh up both parts of Alumilite Clear 1:1 by weight and mix thoroughly.
4.) Pour into mold and put it pressure pot at 45PSI for X hours.
After this is done, I should have a nice appropriately sized blank. Here's where my questions come in.
My current design calls for cutting 1/4" thick panels of the blank to use as box walls, lid, etc. Does anyone have experience with cutting Alumilite Clear thin like this? I would prefer to have it closer to 1/8", but I adjusted to 1/4" for the stability of the bond and hopefully resistance to cracking or fracturing. I am currently wanting to miter the corners and use 2 part epoxy + a band clamp / frame clamp to finalize the box assembly in order to facilitate a chemical bond. Please let me know if you have any alternate ideas / suggestions.
My other big question is about finishing. Alumilite Clear seems like it can be polished to a very clear finish, but these boxes will be handled a lot, put inside bags and carried to events so I would like to ensure that they have a long lasting clear finish. My current thought is that I will wet sand the parts up through the grits using the Alumilite polishing kit available here, and then thoroughly clean with mineral spirits and apply 5-6 costs of a clear laquer spray before assembly. In your opinion, is this the best way to avoid having the finish become scratched and scuffed by dust / friction / handling? If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.
The only other thing that I am concerned about is that these boxes will be used to store collectibles that are made from paper / card stock, but are most often inside of PVC sleeves. Does Alumilite Clear leave any kind of oil or residue that might leak out over time? I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.
Sorry for such a long winded post, but if anyone can provide any insight I'd be eternally grateful.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Chris
