The Great Resin Adventure

So the hubs is a geek. He wanted to buy a chess set.

So I am a geek. And I decided I was going to sculpt him some chess pieces with the really nice sculpting tool kit I got for Christmas.

So I am a geek and decided that I was going to sculpt him the pieces from Harry Potter. You know, the HUGE chess pieces?!

Well, after doing some research, cuz I'm a geek, I got discouraged. I'm not that good.

So long story longer, I decided to use moulds, and instead of sculpey, I decided it was a good idea to learn to to pour resin.

Apparently with a cork screw and a little will power, you too can play with toxic chemicals.

I think we got a little high from the fumes.

So we poured.





David brought home these pipettes that proved incredibly helpful!

That lower hand is me giving the mould the reach-around to inhibit bubbles.





So here they are resting.

And here they are underneath.





Here are the results!



So I tried again!! I got more colors, moulds, and creativity!




Here is another pictures of the chess pieces.

So what have we learned from this experiment?

1. You can't pour enough resin for the the chess pieces. It hardens too quickly.

2. The pawn pieces and the king piece get different resin concoctions. See, resin "dries" inside out, bc the catalyst creates a chemical reaction that emits heat. The heat hardens the resin. So the bigger the piece, the less catalyst you need bc the more resin makes more heat. The smaller the piece, the more catalyst you need bc the less resin so the less chance to get hot. Did I explain that right?!?

I am still having a tackiness issue. Anyone have any suggestions? Someone mentioned rinsing them in lacquer thinner, but so far, that is just making them stickier. We'll see I'd they dry.

Today I found a mould shaped like a bracelet. I'll add pictures tomorrow!


- Posted like a ninja somewhere across the frozen tundra.