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I don't use epoxy in very large amounts. My epoxy of choice, that I've used for many years, is West System. Sometimes I need just a small amount, say 1/2 ounce, for things around the shop. It's a never fail epoxy with a very long shelf life. Any of you who have used it are familiar with the mixing pumps West System supplies, and I usually mix it by just using the pumps supplied, but often that makes a lot more than I need. It can be mixed by either weight or volume, and I've tried various ways to do that. By volume is somewhat easier than by weight. The best case scenario for me would be a clear disposable vessel that allowed mixing easily by volume. The plastic disposable containers I've tried melt easily as the epoxy starts to kick off. I don't want to use glass, because I don't want to get epoxy all over the place when I clean up. Just curious how others have solved the mixing small amounts from large containers. Thanks, Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

Pour some into plastic squeeze bottles for easy dispensing. If you're getting thermal runaway, pour it into a wide flat container (easy to make out of aluminum foil, or you can save plastic lids from food) after mixing in the plastic measuring cup.

I mix by weight, and use small disposable plastic desert plates. It's always worked for me.

Dave

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Precision-Digi ... SwztddOz9X
I use this I can mix very small amounts. I use a pipette to pull from the cans. Like you Bob I use the 5 to 1 west sysems. This works great.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

What I do, and this is for any mixing of small amounts of anything, including epoxy:

1. Commit to measuring by weight, using the manufacturer’s recommended weight ratios.
2. Zero my scale by turning it on with the empty mixing container already on the scale.
3. Put the right amount of part one in the container.
4. Add in the right amount of part two without removing the container from the scale. I can do this by either adding enough of part two to get to the right sum of both parts, or turning off the scale and turning it on again, which zeroes it out, so I can add in the right amount of part two.
5. Mix it up and get to work.

There are paper cups for mixing epoxy, if plastic is not working for you. The epoxy companies label and sell them as ancillary products.

For small batches of epoxy I use three different methods of measurement when I don't feel like using the triple beam balance.
I keep resin and hardener in small plastic squeeze bottles with tops that can be also be used as "droppers", so I will count the drops, using the correct ratio according to what hardener I am using. The second way is to use insulin syringes that have the ends cut off to allow the viscous epoxy to be drawn up into it. The syringes are marked in 1/100ths of a cc so fairly precise measurements are possible. I use separate syringes for hardener and resin and "reuse until I lose". The third way I make up small batches is to use the 1 oz. graduated plastic medicine cups. I have a limited number so I clean them out and use them several times before tossing them (most people use them one time - they are relatively cheap) They work fairly well.
I generally use plastic yogurt or fruit cups for mixing, that can be used and tossed. In a pinch I can sometimes pop the hardened epoxy out of the container and reuse them but my wife usually generates more than enough to keep me supplied.

I've used syringes of various sizes, especially good if needing over several days...just leave in the syringes until done.
Most times I'll mix in a small graduated medicine style cup, works good for small mixes. All plastic, I get them at the
local Dollar store. Never noticed any melting though. Wondering, what you're using to thin. The alcohol I use comes
in plastic bottles.

I have the same issue. For my purposes I've got the mixing container issue sussed - I use small paper dixie cups - but measuring is a challenge. I'm not sure if my digital scale is precise enough for such small quantities as I use, so i guess I'll stick with syringes. Seems wasteful tho because I don't get many uses out of one before it a mess.

For less than $20 you can get an accurate digital scale that has an accuracy of 0.01 grams or 0.001 ounces. With that you can mix very small batches of glue. The scale will pay for itself quickly by saving wasted glue.

Here is the scale I recently bought.

Scale

Used to build boats in the 70's when West first came out, and have used several drums of it. I even had most of a gallon catch on fire because we weren't as ready to use it as we thought and had to hurry up some forgotten prep.

West makes a type of epoxy that is very handy to use - it is called G-Flex and is a 50/50 mix. And they say there is a pretty wide latitude in the mix for it to behave properly.

Small batches are pretty easy to mix by eye on a piece of newspaper. Working on 2 tall ships, I have never had a batch not kick properly just mixing by eye, usually a batch bigger than a single pump from the conventional West system (105).

As usual, Jamestown Distributors has about the best price you will find

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/u ... xIQAvD_BwE

Ed

Thanks for all the replies folks. I do have a good gram scale, so measuring by weight is not a problem. Still, it would be nice and easier to have a clear plastic little disposable container that I could graduate for mixing the 5:1 ratio by eye. The plastic squeeze bottles are a good idea. Will get those today. Thanks. Have a great weekend!-Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

I never take the mixing pumps out of the resin or hardener.

I use them for mixing by volume (complete pump strokes) or by weight (partial pump strokes into a disposable condiment cup on a scale).

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I’ve used West System for years. I’ve always had the gear to weigh out small amounts, but it’s much easier to use glass syringes to mix by volume. Joe White put me on to them. Easy to clean up with your favourite DNA and you can mix very small amounts. Got mine off eBay, but I’m sure there’s many sources.


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Yes, no reason to remove the pumps. That would be a real mess. I always have quite a few different projects going at the same time, which is why I don't want any mixing system that I have to clean. More than once I've had some little smudge of epoxy linger where I did not want it. I looked around some more and I found 400 one ounce graduated clear plastic epoxy mixing cups for $14.90. It's one more thing that is not recyclable, but I ordered them. I should be able to mix by volume, by eye. I'll check it on the scale the first time. Thanks for all the replies. Enjoy your building!--Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

The only down side I found with the cups is the "by eye" part. My eyes aren't what they used to be and subtracting the meniscus to find the true level on small amounts of epoxy can be difficult. It probably isn't necessary, and what I have mixed that way has turned out fine, but still, for really small amounts I prefer the "dropper" method.
But I am also getting ready to order some 1 oz. cups for those in between amounts.

There are a lot of different cups for mixing epoxy on Amazon in various sizes, marked with graduations. Just search for “epoxy mixing cups.”

I have the mini pumps for my West. They couldn’t mix more than an ounce together if my guess is right. Whatever the amount, it's definitely not a lot.


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An ounce is a lot when all you need is two drops of the hardener and ten of the resin. There are a lot of tasks where you only need a tiny amount of epoxy. I used to use the 5 minute stuff for small jobs, but the regular epoxy seems to work a lot better.

It's easy to do on scrap paper using squeeze bottles. For a 50/50 just squeeze out 2 lines side by side the the same length, or tare out the paper and weight it out on the paper and mix well. The bottom of soda cans work well too, nice dish shape.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

For a ratio like 5 to 1 or 3.5 to 1 (West Systems), like others I mix by weight using a cheap digital scale from eBay. It's accurate and convenient. I store the scale, which is slightly larger than a pack of cards, in the drawer with the epoxy, so it's no trouble to get it out. It will automatically tare (zero out the container you put on first) so it's quick. I can't imagine wanting to use a measurement device I'd have to clean out each time, but whatever works.

I also like soda cans to mix small amounts. A lot of things work. However you measure, be careful about using plastic containers. Occasionally you'll find one that has a component in the plastic that affects the epoxy. I once used a cheap plastic glass that had something hardener-like in it that kicked off the epoxy. It hardened in 20 minutes rather than 8 hours, releasing a lot of heat. Scary.

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

I find these 2 items very useful
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pipettes-Small ... SwHGZd4ESR

https://www.ebay.com/itm/100pcs-Self-St ... SwH71XPDXu

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it