Resin Jack O Lantern

This year for Halloween, I decided I wanted to make a full size resin cast jack o lantern. This is going to be an awesome decoration for the house, and it was a really fun project to work on. I especially liked the part where I carved it!

I decided to use a jack o lantern bucket for the resin casting mold since it was the perfect size and had eyes, nose, and a mouth on it that I could use as an easy guide to carve the pumpkin with. I used Alumilite Clear Slow Set resin which allowed me to pour the whole almost gallon of resin in one shot. I also inserted a plastic jar into the center of the blank to occupy space and use less resin.

To impart the color in the resin, I used some mica powder and a little bit of orange dye. Overall, I couldn't be happier with how the colors turned out.

Once the blank was demolded, I added a glue block to the bottom of the blank so I could mount it on the lathe. Unfortunately, I didn't get the plastic jar centered very well, so the hollowing took a little more time than I had planned. It all went well though, and with a little patience I got the inside hollowed out how I wanted it. After sanding the tool marks smooth, I applied a top coat finish to gloss up the inside.

Now it was time to carve the pumpkin out, the part I'd been looking forward to!! I used a drill to hog out corners and waste out some of the resin, then I switched to the rotary tool to do some carving. The whole process of carving was really fun and actually relaxing. The carving tool was very smooth and easy to control, so I just took my time and chipped away at the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Once the parts were all hollowed out, I parted the pumpkin off the lathe and cleaned up the base with my random orbit sander. All that was left to do was add a candle to it. I have to say, this project was an absolute blast to make!! The candle flickering looked amazing in it, and the resin glowed from the candle light. This will be cherished by the family and I look forward to putting it up every Halloween!!

Happy Halloween to everyone! Hope you get lots of good candies or give out a dose of tricks!