This was an experiment for me and I can't say for sure how or why the air that was trapped in the butt blew apart like that. To be completely honest, I'm not sure how to prevent it from happening.Ken,
Please do one of these on the first part of that - actually casting the insect in the plastic. I asked for advice on that in the "Casting" section a couple months ago. Notice how the air expands out of the bug's body as the resin heats up? That causes the silvery sheen and that bubble leaking out of one end. I have several nice beetles from our days living in Panama I want to cast but I want to try to avoid that air expansion problem.
Haven't tried that. When my Dad and I cast bugs years ago he determined it was the exothermic heat from the epoxy causing the air to expand. So we did try putting the mold in an ice bath to slow the reaction. That helped but didn't prevent it. From the few web entries I could find it seems like the recommended process is to dip or coat the bug several times and let that dry before casting, and then do the casting in two or more steps depending on size.Has anyone tried warming the insect to 100f then applying a sealer. The bug should be cooling and drawing air in rather than expanding as it heats from the resin. Not a professional so this information is worth what you paid for it.
Sad, 4 months into a new year before finding your show. So this metal rack, wow, heavy duty. Thin wall would work, but maybe harder to weld. Why did you leave the 3" corner stubs on top? They just seem to beckon getting caught on things for me. The open tubing, made me laugh. I have a few gallon buckets of various sized plastic plugs, square, rectangled and round. Rubber cane tips would work too. As for casters, they make inserts that would fit in the tubing you used. Assume you already had, didn't know or wanted the wheels further under.
Question, why not extend the bottom sheet music shelf to meet in the center of the spline? Is it a visual balance issue or did you see an actual structural risk?
Been nearly 30 years since I helped do Crown Molding. We actually used a safety pin to verify where studs and joist were so we nailed into them. Air nailers were only for the high pay guys, pre-drill and nail was common. I think we mitered complex Crown, but not symmetrical crown. For that we ran it straight into the corner, square end, then coped the marriage piece to fit. Way longer time wise. Does anyone still do that?
Coping.yesBeen nearly 30 years since I helped do Crown Molding. We actually used a safety pin to verify where studs and joist were so we nailed into them. Air nailers were only for the high pay guys, pre-drill and nail was common. I think we mitered complex Crown, but not symmetrical crown. For that we ran it straight into the corner, square end, then coped the marriage piece to fit. Way longer time wise. Does anyone still do that?