Suggestions for Casting Pressure Vessels?

[Vaporware]

I've recently started to set up my toy casting operation and I'm in the process of selecting tools. I managed to find a scientific surplus vacuum pump for degassing and it will pull 29+ in. Hg at 1.25 cfm. I rebuilt it and flushed it once. I'll get around to flushing it again when my day job calms down. So I'm set in that department, but I still need a pressure vessel, a compressor and of course some silicone and urethane.

I wanted to get a 2.5 gallon pressure pot, because that would be good for degassing and then turn around and hook it up to a compressor to cast under pressure. I'm not under a deadline so I've just been browsing for resources. I wanted to know if I'm going in the right direction because I've been pricing out this stuff and it's coming in around $500 for materials before I even get started.

Do any designers out there have any recommendations as to what they use?

I'm not completely clueless about this stuff, either. I've done some simple casting before, but I had serious problems with bubbles and poor mold life. I'm also heading over to The Engineer Guy to browse and check out the classes. That will be fun.

Also, I'd be interested in meeting anyone in the atlanta area that is already doing this sort of thing.

[KingUnicorn]

Hey, Vaporware.

Your pricing appears accurate based on my own materials list. The 2.5 gallon pot I was looking at is from Environ Molds HERE. And that's only a few dollars more than the model you've shown. Space is an issue in my studio right now, so until I toss out some "storage items," I won't be picking that up for another month or so.

The Engineer Guy is my primary supplier of clays, resins, and silicone. And their classes run the gamut from basic introductions to more advanced sessions. I was just there yesterday getting some advice from Nelson on avoiding platinum-to-tin/tin-to-platinum moldings and casting. He'll have the answers to any questions you put out there (as well as the stock to cover your projects).

Plus, it's nice to just wander the shop looking at all of the products. It's really like a mad scientists candy store.

Good luck!

~KU

[EricSki]

I got mine from harbor Frieght that works great. I got mine from the store cheaper, but it happened to be on sale the day I went in. Need to pull the Paint tube out of it and cap it off but that takes about a minute with a wrench and about $1 for the cap. I use a piece of wood to keep the molds level because it has a rounded bottom inside.

[URL="http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93119"[/URL]

[Vaporware]

Wow, that's way cheaper.