Crayon Wrapper Bottle Stopper

I took 33 empty crayon wrappers, cast them in polyester resin, then turned them on the wood lathe. I also had a few bumps and hiccups along the way…

I made an video about my vase from melted crayons a few weeks back. During that process I learned a trick for getting the wrappers off crayons by freezing them first.

I saved a few of the wrappers as they just had an interesting look to them!

I used 33 wrappers, as they fit well in the bottom of the mold. To hold them in a cylindrical shape I simply added a rubber band around them.

My plan was to cast them in epoxy resin. (Let me tell you about the the best-laid plans of mice and men…)

I used about 4 oz of resin, which would net me a 2″ square casting. This casting will be done in an 8oz mixing cup.

It provided the correct shape for a stopper and also eliminated the need to make a special shaped mold.

So… This was interesting.

4oz is not a large casting, but the resin cures via an exothermic reaction. While it’s not a ton of resin it got very hot because the heat was contained in 34 containers (the mixing cup + 33 empty wrappers) and there wasn’t enough air to cool the casting. Basically, it got hot. Really hot.It ruined two casting. Thrid time was a charm, when I switched to Polyester resin instead of epoxy.

After the casting was sufficiently cured, I cut it up at the band saw.

The diameter of the casting was a hair too big for my chuck jaws, so I had to cut the cylinder into a cube, so I could mount the cube on the lathe and turn it back into a cylinder. It’s all very technical…. 🙂

For bottle stoppers, I use a kit with a threaded mandrel and stub drill bit.

You drill a hole in the bottom of the piece, then remove your chuck, and replace it with a bottle stopper mandrel. It has a self tapping threads that you twist the blank on to, thus achieving a strong hold for turning!

After you’ve made a few hundred of these, it becomes second nature. Don’t ask me how I know that!

Turing a wine stopper is easy work, but polyester resin is nasty stuff. A lot more brittle than epoxy resin. I decided to switch from my traditional steel wood turning tools to a carbide cutting chisel.

Even with the carbide, it breaks off like little glass shards and is very hard on the hands. Before you ask, gloves at the wood lathe is a good way to lose a digit.

After turning, I had a pretty cool looking item, but I still needed to sand and polish it.

I wet sanded to 400 grit and then I used my micro mesh pads to take it up to 12000 grit.

The difference was amazing. It turned completely translucent and had an effect almost like glass! I’m more than happy with this little trinket and might have to change my feeling on turning polyester resin in the future!

Want To Make this Project?

Clear Polyester Resin: http://amzn.to/1TJ264y
Mixing cups & stir sticks: http://amzn.to/24lvstM
Rubber Gloves: http://amzn.to/1T0wIyZ
Round Carbide Turning Tool: http://amzn.to/20qNaZD
Micro Mesh Pads: http://amzn.to/1SGXOpq
Pre-drill Cork Stoppers: http://amzn.to/1qfoh6s
Bottle Stopper Starter Kit: http://amzn.to/1qAGwDE