I'm in the early stages of planning a small climbing board for rock-climbing training. What I need to first do however is make some climbing holds. From some googling I found that resin and molds are the way to go but I have no idea about where to buy it or if I can make it myself.
Has anyone ever attempted what I am trying to do or have any experience working with resin?
Comments
The other one is polystyrene. it comes in metal cans (similar to paint and Milo cans) as a clear liquid. there are different ones for different purposes. i would get the one labeled "casting resin". you initiate it with a methyl ethyl ketone peroxide catalyst. this kind of resin is also used in conjunction with fibreglass, and the hardware store should have all those materials next to the resin. its still fairly pricey, but much cheaper than epoxy. i have found polystyrene to be harder, but more brittle, but for something thick like a climbing hold, it should be alright. fiberglass reinforcement adds toughness, but ive never used it so i cant say if would be more expensive. brittleness is a problem when youre drilling it to get bolts through.
for both, they would probably stick to the mold. you can get around it by using a polyvinyl alcohol film on the mould itself to help release it. resin cans should have all the instructions there. another way is to make multiple molds and just sacrifice each one by grinding the surface.
Sounds like a nice project tho
EDIT: Prices here aren´t too steep, especially if you buy a lot.