Epoxy casting with BBs! (to make bookends)

This video is about a casting process using BBs that have been covered in epoxy. The slimy BBs act like a sticky, heavy, honey-like fluid that can be poured as though it were liquid metal. The procedure used here can be adapted to cast all sorts of metal-ish objects, without the dangerous temperatures.

Safety note:
Epoxy becomes more odoriferous (smells worse) when heated. Be mindful of ventilation, and use a respirator with appropriate filters if necessary. Dust masks and particulate filters do not stop the inhalation of vapors: that means that those pink filters on your respirator are only for stopping DUST. Epoxy vapors can cause severe irritation to soft tissues and scarring of the respiratory tract, so check the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for the product you are using if you plan on repeating this project more than just once. Wire brushing uncured epoxy is also a bad idea without respiratory protection.

Wood finish:
one of my favorite finishes is labeled as 'Teak oil,' but this name is vague and a bit misleading. Many Teak oils are thin and closely resemble something like kerosene, because their purpose is to penetrate wood deeply for exterior, often nautical, applications in order to prevent rot. This is not the case with the product I show in this video. What I am using here is more closely related to a polyurethane that has been slightly thinned for rub-on applications. My best guess at this unique formulation would be something like, (1) part mineral spirits : (1) part boiled Linseed oil : (2) parts gloss polyurethane. This recipe is entirely speculative; I have not done enough testing to state this conclusively, but I hope to eventually replicate it. The product used here builds up additional coats like a poly, but spreads on with a rag or paper-towel. Depending on conditions, it can be applied up to 2 or 3 times in a day, so it's slightly faster than poly. One coat is sufficient for most little projects, and it can be dry to the touch within a few minutes in the warm sun. This stuff is no replacement for polyurethane on pieces that matter, but it has a good bit of flexibility and versatility.

*****

Spheres:
The crystallization that occurs when spheres pack by taking their optimal position is a sort of perfect organization, even though it leaves some air space. Cubes tessellate space, but unmodified spheres cannot. You can think of it this way: imagine two cube-shaped fish tanks. Fill one with dice, stacked neatly. Fill the second with marbles, also stacked as neatly as possible. Now fill both with water, and tank #1 will obviously hold less. A shape tessellates space when, in theory, no water will fit. Now you can see the picture in your head of all those little dice, and the wire-frame, cubic grid that defines their positioning. It's perfect, like a little map-of-the-cat you can remember seeing in a chemistry book, outlining the parameters of a salt crystal. I'm also reminded of an M.C. Escher lithograph that had an arrangement of vacant-looking fishes in an endless 3D structure, kinda like a skyscraper during construction. But seeing the corresponding framework for a group of marbles might prove a bit different. Lots of angles. If we were to look for that grid, at least in order to understand it, it might be easiest to start with the cubic arrangement first. I will discuss that further in my next video, which deals specifically with such crystallizations; but for now, I must state that my intention here was to deliberately avoid that sort of flawless order. That would be hard-edged, delineated, rigid and geometric organization (Stanford comma omitted on purpose)- but this project was organic and soft, as an intentionally contrasting juxtaposition. We are a dichotomy of art and science, aren't we! We both express and witness. The bubbly, indescript, and non-voxellated appearance of the BB hand was supposed to look like what Job did to the bad guys in 'The Lawnmower Man,' when they started to fly apart into a scattering mess of little matter-balls. Disordered and organic this time, but adherent to an overall theme. Fluid. Forgiving, like biology. Tune in next time for perfect structure, and the mathematical organization that underscores it. Seriously, thanks for reading.
-pocket

Music:
"Desert City" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Видео Epoxy casting with BBs! (to make bookends) канала pocket83