i've seen lots of videos when doing a basic search right now
though some of the results appear to be what not to do
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Beetles
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though some of the results appear to be what not to do
Maybe if you did post a video, it might spike interest and the cat population could explode. ......... Nubs
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- #23
I must have searched the wrong thing
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- #24
Started the rhino cast this morning. Poured a 3/8" deep base into the mold at 7:15am.
Definitely informative! I was a bit dismayed he showcased only his failures, but nonetheless, his process appeared to give a lot of tips. Chuck
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- #28
Making good progress so far. Made three pours - the first was a base layer in which to seat the beetle so it stays put where I want it; once that was nearly set, just soft enough to insert the beetle and push it slightly into the base layer, I stuck in the beetle and then poured the second layer, about 3/8" deep. Let that set while I ran some errands (roughly 3 hours later), poured the third layer (another 3/8" or so) which brings me right up to the edge of the wing cases and partially covers the head area. So far I see no bubbles trapped anywhere. I can see the lines that differentiate the three pours but hopefully once those fully cure and I sand and polish the sides, those will be less noticeable. The critical pour will be the next one because it will cover the belly of the beetle and any air that escapes will have to flow through that layer.
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- #29
Thanks Trev. That's the guy I was thinking about - it's Univ of Idaho, not Indiana or Illinois. The problem with his examples is they're all small compared to what I'm casting. So the heat produced and the amount of air that could be trapped inside the body of the beetle is much higher in my pours. And if you look closely at his specimens, they have air bubbles and some silver sheen around the head area of the cockroach - that's what I'm trying to avoid. He essentially is quoting the directions the resin manufacturers provide. Which works fine for what he is doing - and his specimens will be fine for scientific research, letting kids handle them, etc. But I was searching for someone who had solutions to the air escaping problem and just wasn't finding much.
you definitely have your work cut out for you, just thought those steps could be possibly used to increase your chances of success
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- #31
For sure, but I'm getting more hopeful. The dorsal half looks real good. So maybe even if I do get some bubbles, they'll be on the ventral side and if I can drill and inject epoxy to fill them, maybe not so visible.
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- #32
Covered the body with a pour this morning. Almost 2 inches deep now. The only thing left uncovered is the tips of the forelegs and those'll be covered with the final pour.
And as expected, as the epoxy heats up I'm seeing air bubbles emerge from the body. They appear to be coming from under the legs, which is typically a soft spot where I would insert the hypo when I injected them with formaldehyde. So hopefully, these are the only two spots air escapes and that'll make it easier to drill and inject a repair later. Fingers crossed.
And as expected, as the epoxy heats up I'm seeing air bubbles emerge from the body. They appear to be coming from under the legs, which is typically a soft spot where I would insert the hypo when I injected them with formaldehyde. So hopefully, these are the only two spots air escapes and that'll make it easier to drill and inject a repair later. Fingers crossed.
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- #33
30 minutes later, the end of the "working time" for the epoxy. So far so good. The bubbles actually seem to have decreased a little. There is one bubble under one middle leg and a couple very tiny bubbles that started to rise from the leg on the other side. The mold is slightly warm to the touch.
