Apparently, I made a mistake with the resin. After a bit of math, I had estimated fairly closely the amount of resin mix required to fill the mold – right at 1 cup total. Mix the material, add coloring, stir for several minutes, slowly pour into the mold. After several minutes of slow pouring, I reached the end of the resin, and honestly expected it to have reached the top, and start pooling at the feed hole. Unfortunately it was then I noticed the large growing pool of resin at the bottom of the tray – the resin was actively leaking out of the mold.
The best I can figure, I didn’t apply enough pressure or in the critical locations, and the mold separated at the bottom enough to start leaking out. My choice of clamps is probably at fault – my expectation was that the foamcore would spread the pressure better. I need to rethink my approach to clamping and securing the mold, to withstand the pressure of the resin itself. However, I have to wait 24 hours for the resin to fully cure, before I can start cleanup and see if the mold itself is damaged. The only good news is I still have the second half of the resin for a follow up attempt.
