# Cubism 2.0



## Bob in SF

Picasso did Cubism 1.0 from about 1907-1921, but I'm no Picasso.

Cubism 2.0 is my idea of fun pen casting with variegated micro cubes that come out of silicone mini ice cube trays.

I'm new to this forum, so bypass this tip if it has already been presented by others.

It came to me when I was making some fruit drinks for my children.

This pic is self-explanatory:






Steps:
Add pigment or other little things to cubes
Pour on the resin (Douglas and Sturges polymer resin in this example)
Smooth over the resin with a stick
Pressure cast the cubes
Pop the cubes out
Recast the cubes with more resin in pipes or block molds
Cut, drill, tube, mill, turn, finish as usual

Have fun.

- Bob

PS:  I use inexpensive silicone cube trays from Amazon - here:
http://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Mini...&sr=8-5-spell&keywords=silicone+minicube+tray


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## Dale Lynch

Neat!


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## wood-of-1kind

Nice technique Bob. I like it and thank you for posting.


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## magpens

Thanks, Bob !

What pressure does that resin require for casting ?

Also, what is the product name of the resin please ?  I can't seem to find it easily on their website.


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## Bob in SF

magpens said:


> Thanks, Bob !
> 
> What pressure does that resin require for casting ?
> 
> Also, what is the product name of the resin please ?  I can't seem to find it easily on their website.



I cast at 50psi - works well for me with polyester or Alumilite.

The Douglas and Sturges Clear Casting resin is well priced - $45.00 per gallon - here:
Douglas and Sturgess: Clear Casting Resin, 1 Gallon

- Bob


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## thewishman

Great idea - thanks for sharing that!


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## Jack Parker

Very interesting, thanks for the post.


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## Charlie_W

Very Cool!

So.....is this thinking outside the box...or inside the box????


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## Whitehat1994

Interesting! Thank you for sharing!


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## BSea

That's a really cool idea.  The resin looks like Silmar 41, which many here use.  You can find it from a couple of other places for a little less.

You might look at US Composits and Composite Envisions

Thanks for the tip.

EDIT:  I do have a question though.  You say you add the pigment to the cube then pour in the resin?  You don't mix the resin with the pigment before pouring?


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## Bob in SF

BSea said:


> That's a really cool idea.  The resin looks like Silmar 41, which many here use.  You can find it from a couple of other places for a little less.
> 
> You might look at US Composits and Composite Envisions
> 
> Thanks for the tip.
> 
> EDIT:  I do have a question though.  You say you add the pigment to the cube then pour in the resin?  You don't mix the resin with the pigment before pouring?



Hi Bob - sometimes I do premix and then fill the cubes, but I also like the extra surface "sparkle" and color intensity on the sides and edges of the cubes when I add (usually mixol) tinted resin which contains a bit of pearlescent pigment as a matrix when recasting.

I get my non-pearlescent raw pigments from Welcome to Sinopia Pigments - add a new dimension to your palette since I'm also painter and make my own acrylic, oil, watercolor, and pastel paints and chalks.  I learned to make art media from the fine artists at Sinopia many years ago - really fine people (no financial attachment to them).

The resin cubes are fun to use, and you can make bags full of them in no time.  You can also make some interesting bangles and other forms if you are into making silicone molds.

I caution that the cubes must be same type of resin as you use for recasting - the polyester resin doesn't work well in a matrix of Alumilite (or vice versa).

Best regards to all - Bob
(some of my other artwork and photography is here:
Bob in SF Gallery | Nikonians)


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## chartle

While I think they look neat and I can see the cubes in the unturned blanks I really don't see it in the turned pens.  

Maybe I need a better closeup?


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## Bob in SF

chartle said:


> While I think they look neat and I can see the cubes in the unturned blanks I really don't see it in the turned pens.
> 
> Maybe I need a better closeup?



Hi Cliff - Sorry about low pic quality - here's a close-up showing cube edge detail - there are a lot of ways to make and use the cubes.






Best regards, Bob


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## Bob in SF

Bob in SF said:


> chartle said:
> 
> 
> 
> While I think they look neat and I can see the cubes in the unturned blanks I really don't see it in the turned pens.
> 
> Maybe I need a better closeup?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Cliff - Sorry about low pic quality - here's a close-up showing cube edge detail - there are a lot of ways to make and use the cubes.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Best regards, Bob
Click to expand...


Cliff - Here's a close-up view of another "cubist" pen showing more "edge color pop" resulting from resin pouring into pigment and metal flakes preloaded cube tray.





Best regards, Bob


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## Bob Wemm

Very neat, sometimes I break up my left over hard resin and recast the pieces.
Similar result.
Yours is a great idea.
Thanks for sharing.

Bob


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## Bob in SF

Thanks, Bob.

I often recycle resin fragments as well, and the smaller fragments can also be recast into cubes, then final cast into blanks.


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## Bob in SF

Cubism catching on - especially with my female "audience" - so I turned this sextuplet set of pens, and hope to make companion Cubist bangles to go with them - might take some time (stay tuned).
http://www.penturners.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=145556&stc=1&d=1457199125

Have a great weekend, everyone!

- Bob


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## JoelAlbert

Bob,

I really like this look and went ahead and ordered some trays to try it out. 

Do you cut the trays down so you can get them in  a Pressure Pot? Or do you have a big pot?

Not quite sure I understand about adding the pigment powder to the ice cube bin. Won't you just get the color on the bottom?

Thanks

Joel


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## Bob in SF

Hi Joel - Glad you asked - I no longer pressure cast the mini-cube trays - I just pour slowly to avoid bubbles.  Sometimes I just want color on the edges, so I dust the cubes with pigment and mica powders, then pour in the resin - but more recently I've been premixing colors and pouring to get more vibrant cubes - like these:





I do pressure cast in a standard size pot (at 50psi) after I load my PVC pipe molds with cubes and pour resin over them.

Have fun! - Bob


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## eharri446

You could probably use a larger size. 

Here is a link to one that is 1 inch square with 15 to a tray and three trays:

https://www.amazon.com/DecoBros-Pac...095243&sr=1-5&keywords=silicone+ice+cube+tray

Here is a link for a set of 2 trays which make 3/4 X 3/4 X 3.5 inch sticks:

https://www.amazon.com/Prepworks-Pr..._SR149,160_&psc=1&refRID=N1JPY9K38SFJ2TN68KTS

It appears that there are many other sizes and style available. Both of the ones above are less than $9.00.


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## Bob in SF

Good ideas from Elwin.

I mostly use the silicone mini cube trays:
https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Min...&qid=1470097542&sr=8-4&keywords=mini+ice+cube

- Bob


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## JoelAlbert

Bob,

Mini cube trays just came--they look great. Can't wait to have some time to play.

Couple of additional questions....

Why aren't you using pressure on the mini-cubes? Any disadvantages?

Please describe your process for recasting the cubes into a blank. How do you make sure they don't sink to the bottom or float away? Any tricks?

Thanks in advance.

Joel


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## Bob in SF

Hi Joel - I stopped pressure casting cubes because they were bubble-free so long as I did a slow pour of the Douglas and Sturgess clear casting PR resin -but you can do as you wish.

I then cast the cubes under 50 psi after I load them into white or clear PVC tubes or silicone block molds.

Since I use the same PR resin, the blocks don't go anywhere.






It's great fun, and opens up all sorts of creative possibilities.

Enjoy, and best regards, Bob


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