Post by notoes on Feb 25, 2019 19:48:52 GMT -5
So since Brian, Carol, a few others and I have been discussing how to "reduce" bad castings into filler for new castings I thought I'd share a couple options. Now normally I cut my bad resin castings into smaller pieces using a pair of heavy duty line pliers/cutters and there are some that I just can't break down to small enough pieces or some that are just so solid that it hurts my hands to do them.
I like to break down castings that just don't come out nice (most were my early ones that I made MANY mistakes with) to use as filler for new ones to cut down on waste or because there's only the last little bit left in the bottles and I haven't gotten a new order in yet and I've got to have the new castings for a mold order I'm working on. Whatever the reason you need to break down a bad casting, it's good to know how to do it and I've got a couple ways of doing it that I'd like to share.
First way is by hand and as I said before - I use a pair of heavy duty cutters to cut them into pieces. This is a hard-on-the-hands way and definitely takes some time to do. Also there are some that are just too big or too solid to cut this way. Think of a solid action figure head, something like that is extremely hard to cut and 8 times out of 10, I don't attempt it since it is so solid I can't cut it. Luckily I don't have too many of those but I do have a few that will have to wait for a different method.
Second way is to use something electronic to break them down. Some of the suggestions were : coffee grinder, blender, and food chopper. Just remember - if you use one of these DO NOT EVER USE IT FOR FOOD AFTERWARDS!! So definitely do NOT go grabbing a small appliance you use and try it out. Now over the weekend, I happened to snag a mini food chopper for cheap. And I tried it out today.
Now as you can see above, it reduced some pieces to almost a near powder which is very good. Now there are some limits to doing it this way. #1 - There is a "noisy scary noise" when you first do it. For anyone who uses small appliances like this on a normal basis (and happens to love theirs), this is NOT a sound you really want to hear when you first try it. It does take a couple times to get used to the noise and to not jump every time you press the button. #2 - You have to start with small pieces or the chopper will have trouble. I tried some the size of a coffee bean and some the size of half a solid action figure head. The smaller ones had no problem but that half a solid action figure head stopped the blades. I would not recommend trying something that size but anything smaller seems to be fine.
So in conclusion, there are two good ways to "recycle" bad resin castings but there are limits. And if anyone has a suggestion of how to break down those larger pieces, I'm all ears.