LOL It would be better but thats all i could fit in the 65x75 area this is what I edited it from http://www.frontiernet.net/~jrmichael/percious.bmp

Thanks I knew someone would say something

ok so i can't spell )

That link doesn't work. The word 'precious' is spelt wrong in it. (preciuos)

Even after correcting the spelling, it still didn't work.

Ah, link works now. As typed originally.

Ok try it now... sorry

Did Brian give you any tips? His buttons (at least the ones I've seen) are bubble-free.
we're both using the same materials, same plastic, everything, the only thing the tech from www.smoothon.com could suggest was that there was more moisture in my area, which kinda sucks. Anyway I'm now working with the possiblity of possibly the amount I've been mixing (up until now I've been using very small amounst, but I have a gut feeling that maybe by using more and letting the materials set for a while before mixing perhaps I can cut down the amount of bubbles)

Smoothon has a lot of different colors for pigment, I know they have, red, blue, yellow, green... I'm checking right now if they have white or grey

The only guaranteed way to avoid the bubbles is to "de-gas" your casting compound before you use it. We do this at work in a small vacuum chamber (essentially a thick goldfish bowl with a vacuum line attached) takes about 10 seconds and you'd be surprised how much gas comes out.

For home use you could get a hand operated vacuum pump from a school lab supplies company and simply connect it to a small vessel (like a champagne bottle that can stand a bit of pressure - you don't want to implode a glass container, it isn't nice). Put your mixture in the bottle leaving at least 80% air space (you can generate an awful lot of resinous froth and you don't want that in your vacuum pump) and evacuate it , then pour into your moulds and hey-presto, bubble free castings.

Cheers, Sim

Love the new avatar, JrFaust. I'm a bit concerned that the character is fondling his empeg in the nude, but... to each his own, I suppose

Ahhh, it's an empeg !

When I first saw the avatar I didn't realise it was an empeg, it looked like he was lifting his bed clothes with one hand, while the other had was out of shot. Now it makes more sense...

Well, just buttons.... but in this post... You'll find all the part numbers you need.

Cool, I'm willing to try anything, any ideas where I can find a small inexpensive vacuum pump for this? Google searches are turning up only aquarium stuff and really expensive industrial vacuum pumps (maybe I just suck at google searches)

..and the knob board (the only non "off the shelf" part) isn't really needed. A simple alternative for a single knob LED is shown earlier in this thread. And tfabris has another multi-LED method that's a bit trickier but workable.

Cheers

typing "hand operated vacuum pump" into google I got to http://www.sciencekit.com/Products/Display.cfm?categoryid=303712, it was in the first ten results.

I use a (heavy) vaccuum pump for veneering work in the shop, but lighter alternatives also exist. Here is a REALLY good product:

http://www.vacupress.com/products2.htm#compact100

Mind you, that's a whole veneering kit, but it's not too pricey. For your project, just make a thick plywood box to hold your gel container, put a lid on it, and put it inside the vaccuum bag. Pump it for a few seconds, then remove and pour.

Cheers

Wow.. okay, the hand pump wins. But some kind of airtight container is still needed. Plastic wrap (vapour barrier grade) is your Friend. That and duct tape.

Cheers

Oh yeah, the forces we're talking about here can really add up.. 14lbs/sq.inch or so. Not much on it's own, but square inches have a way of adding up!

So, whatever pump you get, the way to use it safely is probably to just make a small but sturdy plywood box to completely enclose your (open) jar of mixed up gel. A hole or two for airflow in the box is needed, then wrap the whole thing in plastic, duct tape it shut, with the pump hose passing through the plastic into the box at some location. pump.

Cheers

damn... I hate it when I get busted out for being lazy....

I also did my own LED board in this thread, with pic... I built mine with some of that pre-fab circuit board from radio shack.

Sorry, just trying to be helpful

You could also try one of those Foodsaver dealies, and get multiple uses out of it. Despite their infomercial sales tactics, it seems to really be a quality product, and you can buy them at the WalMart, etc. Make sure you get one that has a hose attachment, though. All but the bottom of the line one do.

On a side note, when and if I get all the kinks worked out, I'll be providing both types of volume knob with my kit (provided your knob board will accomodate the depth of the mk1 volume knob).

Yep, that vacuum pump was an excellent hit and far cheaper than anything I came up with.

I talked to our production engineer who recently did some vacuum de-gassing of silicon mould making rubber and he recommends going to a minimum of 20 and preferably 25 inches of mercury (which just happens to be the maximum vacuum that the linked pump draws - nice one!) and holding it there for about a minute

And again the warning... have at least 5 times the volume of air to liquid above the liquid you are evacuating - it will froth like shaken up lemonade / beer / whatever and you really don't want that in your newly purchased vacuum pump.

Oh, and Mark Lords point about enclosing the kit in case of disaster is well worth noting.

Cheers, Sim

They also have some vacuum plates and bell jars over at that science supply site:

Plate & Polycarbonate Jar
etc.

Ok I just ordered all the LED's and resisters and stuff from Digikey so all I need are new buttons.
I used the part number MMBT3906DICT-ND for the transistor hope that’s an acceptable one to use.
Thanks for the link to the parts list, I couldn't find it under the FAQ but I think I used the wrong wording on the search

[homer] mmmh..... bell jars

Now we're getting seriously industrial,.... but if you are expecting to get a quality finish, you gotta invest in the right kit (and if you're thinking of selling buttons, the investment will soon pay).

Nothing more disappointing than spending a whole lotta time casting or moulding something only to find that poor surface finish ruins the job. I hate it when that happens.. grrrr.

Cast On, Sim

A plywood box covered with plastic wrap and duct tape is much much cheaper than a bell jar.

This is very true and for most vacuum bag moulding, the commercial kit is pretty much the same (thicker plastic wrap & stickier tape) but more expensive - no big surprises there.

But a bell jar !!! - there is a thing of beauty

Does anyone find anything remotely sexual about this picture of a Bell Jar kit?

LOL!!! That would be *perfect* for Maxim Magazine's "Found Porn" section.

Now that's just sick - who would do that to an innocent bell jar?

Yes, know what you mean... I still remember one North Sea crossing, where all the forcasters were only sayning "breeze", but all of them were also predicting different wind directions. England, scotland, denmark, norway... all different directions..
We ended up with a hurricane and 9m high waves. It was rather exciting, especially since we were about to win the race over to scotland... but when our 37 foot yacht started to break up, we luckilly had a sensible captain who ordered turning arount to go with the wind back to norway.
as an afterthought, we discovered that we were winning by far, and if we had continued, we would either have sunk or won. two other boats similar to ours went down, but luckilly all the crew was saved by emergency personell from the oil rigs. We never regretted turning around.
It was tough when we were in the middle of it, and definitely an experience to value.

Marius (Escort Cab + 2CV)