Resin Casting of Giant Brown Bull Ant Nest - Brooloo 20180901 - First Attempt
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ค. 2022
- First attempt at a resin casting of a Giant Brown Bull Ant Nest (Myrmecia brevinoda) by Australian Ant Art™
australianantart
We attempt a resin casting of a brevinoda nest with a bonus nigrocincta nest cast in aluminium. This was a large project with a steep learning curve. We played around a bit with the resin before hand but experience is the best teacher.
Even though we did not get a perfect casting we still got some spectacular results which are not really possible with any other casting technique. We hope you are not too creeped out but bugs because we got lots here, frozen in place.
Myrmecia brevinoda is one of the largest ants in Australia, with workers more than 30 mm in length and the queen over 40 mm. They are aggressive with excellent eyesight and a painful sting.
Filming:
Kelvin Chua Tze Hao
and Australian Ant Art
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absolutely one of the best attempts at casting !! but please try to match your audio output levels !! the music is so LOUD, and then we cant hear you talk when the music stops.
I didn’t have an issue with the sound levels… but only because I understand how difficult it is to match all the sounds when everyone is being recorded on just one microphone and with other sounds in the background… it’s an editing nightmare… that’s why in movies they yell “quiet on set”… just imagine how hard it would be to match the volume of everyone in a video that was recorded with one microphone… but everyone is standing in different spots… it’s a nightmare 😂
So because I understand that I don’t have an issue.
The music sucks, if it didn't suck, I wouldn't mind it so much. But because it does suck, I have to volume it way down, so then when they start talking again, I have to turn it back up. If they'd just use some Slayer, or Pantera, or Testament, but the damn record company scum and their copyright strikes, it ruins a lot of videos. Then we get stuck with this royalty-free crap.
@@CrazyBear65 I would not care for this metal music you like.
The saying.." It's not a failure if you learn something" is an excellent motto...keep up the videos..
Thats what failures say...
This was really cool. I've seen people cast ant nests with aluminum and it was cool, but I always wished that I could see what was in the nests. So when I saw you use resin I got excited. It's really interesting seeing the inside of an nest.
AntsCanada
Bit late but the resin seeping into the dirt is something you can't avoid but you can make use of it. The best way to deal with the resin and getting clear viewing is what that one break showed you. Cut the resin chambers in half either from side to side like how the ones that did not fill all the way did or from the top to bottom like the break to leave and aquarium like view. You can make a stand and form for the sections to both be cut/polished and be shown. You can add more resin to the outer after initial cleaning to strengthen it. Using something like a hacksaw with some sort of carbide teeth can work or using a mill with carbide for cutting the stone and wood bits. With the background form you can break the main up at the path ways and do the cutting and polishing and place back into position and glue it back together with UV resin.
There is something so soothing about ant nest casting videos.
Is it the tiny screams? Have you ever heard an animal die? Bugs feel things too.
Omg. I think my eardrums are blown out. I had to raise the volume to hear what the 2 of you were saying only to have the music come in at high volume... so.i lowered it again only for it to happen 2 more times!!! Nice work though
Seems to be a trend. I came to watch a video not listen to some crap music yet every one makes the music the center of attention by making it louder than the content you're trying to watch. I hate that. I thumbs down and don't even finish watching it and I ban the channel from showing in my suggestions. I wish TH-cam had a better rating system. Instead of a thumbs down how about rating it on quality of video, video that looks like it was taken with a damn rock yet it's labeled 4K. Quality of audio you either can't hear it or the posters think you're as deaf as a rock and blast it. TH-cam needs to have an audio meter so when videos are posted audio volume can be adjusted and NORMALIZED so it's even across the board for all videos. Also I get so damn tired of seeing videos for some stupid ass portugese a-hole playing some damn sasquatch game that's screaming his damn head off the second the video plays. I don't speak PORTUGESE god damn it! I don't want it in my search results especially after I have repeatedly thumbed down every video of his that comes up in my suggestions. Take the god damn hint TH-cam! If someone thumbs down enough of a content uploaders content then TH-cam should stop showing that content maker to me. I should be able to ban channels from my search results!
Very interesting! Always wondered what an ant colony would look like. I saw someone else cast in aluminum an ant nest and it came out pretty well. If you are looking to kill the ants first without harming the nest I suggest using some denatured alcohol. The alcohol will remove the air in the nest and smother them. Just don't get any flames near the site or you might not have a site! I suppose if you had a way to get a large amount of boiling water there you could put that down the hole and kill them that way. The water would drain out after a while and you could cast to your hearts content. I used to use MEK on wasp nest in the ground and then place a metal sheet over the hole. They were dead by the following morning. As for cleaning... what about using a sonic bath to dislodge the soil from the casting? Finding one your size needed and price point are not in my realm... I'm just the idea guy! Keep up the good work and don't get bit!
watch Antcanada you'll learn allot about ants this is not good to watch. guess this is how the ppl of Pompeii felt after laying in bed being covered by lava. just go in the woods an kill ants just for art
or liquid nitro ...supper cold non explosive and evaporates prity fast
I also thought of a sonic bath. Not sure they make them large enough, but on the other hand it would be possible to convert a metal bathtub into one. For tool cleaner sizes the vibrate the container. But for a really large device, vibrate the water in the tub. Either way should work.
Wouldn't boiling water erode/alter the tunnels of the colony (nest?)?
@@freedomofreligion3248 I think the ant trails are coated with some substance that the ants secret keeping the tunnels from collapsing on them. This then allows liquid aluminum or whatever casting substance to work it's way into the tunnels. Just my thoughts... don't really know. Paper wasp hives are interesting to dissect. Lots of little channels and tunnels there also. Interesting... that ants and wasps build their homes via tunnels. Hmmmm!! Curiouser and curiouser!
I actually quite liked how the final product turned out. Talk about unique! 👍😁
Scientist work. Thank you. Completely historic and excellent.
That's not a failure...those pieces are awesome!! I'd display them on my coffee table and have some nice chats with guests over them!!
💪😎👍
Phenomenal job… the resin is a great way to learn more about the insects & how they live in a world we cannot see. They are not endangered, & we must learn about them to protect them.
Very cool project the resin idea for casting ant nests is brilliant and I love the video. Having said that I think I can offer some advice on how to make the resin clear after you have polished it with the die grinder. You simply spray paint it with a good quality varnish or you apply more resin with a brush, make it a quicker drying resin. To test and see if it works just use some clear nail polish on a spot and test it out. The nail polish dries quickly and as you apply it the high spots stay high and the low spots fill in and thus it becomes smooth and you can see into the resin. I have been using resin for art and different projects for years and this method was discovered by accident but it works well. It saves tons of time polishing and for what you are doing it could be a perfect solution. I would suggest using the same type of resin but mix it a bit hotter so it dries more quickly if need be or do it in a warmer environment a bit at a time so that it cures more quickly. To see what effect this method would have on the piece simply make the surface wet with water to see what the result should be when you are finished. Cheers and have a great day.
Enjoyed this! Y’all kept up your spirits when many would have been frustrated and cussing. Love your videos!
Suggestion: there are nylon wire wheels that come in different grits. These may help you with getting a good amount off in stages.
Next, if resin is sanded over and the more is applied(like with a brush), it becomes clear again.
Also a quick pass with a torch can clear it up but there’s kinda a fine line between burn/melt/ bubble/discolor to clear.
Cool idea, never seen this way before.
The casting is very beautiful. Thank you for showing us all of your work that goes into these pieces. Good luck on the next time trying resin.
That was so cool, I liked seeing everything in the resin
You guys are amazing at making art.
You definitely did not fail!!
AND you came away with some Very unique art work!!
Great video!!
It's not artwork. Every single bit of that was made by the ant colony, not by his hands. All he did was pour into a preprepared mold he had no right to invade. This crap is barbaric and stupid. I don't care if it looks cool, there are better ways to deal with ants.
I would suggest to wetten the earth before resin casting, so the resin will be absorbed less by surounding earth.
So poor in the nest enough water to flood the nest entirely and let the side walls absorb the water. Maybe repeat once or twice. Then wait one or a couple of hours to give the ants time to clean up a little bit.
Then poor the resin. The damp walls will absorb less resin, if not repell it entirely and you will get a much cleaner and precise poor.
Have fun :)
*pour
Well worth the wait! What a sight to see from the top down an ant colony as if stopped in time obviously
I specifically searched for a "resin casting ant nest," because I figured you'd have to use a rig to pull a vacuum to make it work. What I envisioned was a large half-barrel or some other rigid container, with a large enough mouth to fit over all openings, but strong enough to be pushed down into the dirt to create a halfway decent seal, so that air in the nest could be pulled out and resin could flown into the cavities. I still think it would work, and give a better result.
That is very cool and a great idea! I look forward to more attempts!
I've seen a lot of ant hill casting videos, love them. It was nice seeing the inside and I'm hoping you will be able to do another resin casting that is more complete.
The problem you may have now realised is that as opposed to aluminium is that the resin will be largely absorbed by the soil so you need a lot more material.
Imagine aliens doing a alloy casting of a human metropolitan subway system… then upload it to their youtube for millions to watch loll
I'd watch that, sounds awesome!
Idk if my headset is just causing this, but it felt like the music was way too loud compared to your voices in this vid. I kept having to turn it up on voices and down when music was playing. Just a heads up.
This is beautiful! Please do more resin cast
Really enjoyed the video, it would be interesting to see the finished ant sculpture in the gallery. Great job. 👍
Kind of cool how much you can learn about ants by casting them in resin.
Have you had any thoughts about taking some of the smaller pieces and trying to ultrasonically clean them? It'd take a while, but it's not nearly as destructive as any of the previously tried methods. Now granted that won't scale up to large pieces, but it'd be an interesting small scale test.
Resin casting an anthill. Interesting. And expensive. I've only ever seen people use aluminum for this. The binding of the dirt on the surface of the cured structure is an interesting problem. Obviously, given the clear bits you were able to obtain, it's worth doing, but laborious. I wonder if, once all the "loose" particles are removed, spending time with a hand sander with a heavy grit, or maybe a grinder with a soft-ish wire wheel, would allow you to go all around most of the parts to remove the embedded material. Again, laborious, but it might allow you to get at more of it. Once polished, the result would be impressive indeed. Thanks for an interesting take on this somewhat unique art project.
Jolly good time, thanks for taking the dirt for us.
Very interesting. A bold attempt. I hope you try it again!
Excellent content and information i love it, been loving your videos. I wonder if there is a chemical you could soak the resin in to dissolve the organic dirt? Just a thought
I've always wanted to see this happen, awesome
I like that two-person system for the aluminium crucible, very clever.
1: Do your casting with a slow casting resin then resin doesn't heat up as much! which is most likely why you got such a thick lining around the nest! Just Resin has one! Or a faster setting Resin Like Diamond Cote from Just resin its a 1:1 ( that one sets pretty fast! 24hrs done but underground maybe 48? ) 2: Do small amounts at one time! say 5ltrs wait 1hr, 5ltrs wait etc. This allows the resin to settle and time to fill the holes a bit better by letting the air out more. I know it is time consuming but Its worth a shot! Just some food for thought!
Do this with the Alcohol Idea and perfection!
Dear Sue, The resin we used had an even faster curing time. Your ideas are what we will try next except we are looking for a resin that doesn't go yellow over time.
@@australianantart1376 Stonecoat Art Coat is the brand you need it is UV protection in it! I get mine from Barnes Products! They are online as well!
@@resinheavenstudiossueashwo387 Many thanks. We will contact them and discuss our application.
Kudos on the safety gear. Professionals
Hi guys, I found your vid fun and interesting to watch. Good luck with your next resin pouring.
Have you thought of injecting a few thin layers of an acrylic mist (if it’s possible or available) to create inner shells of the nest.
Then, do a standard resin pour.
Perhaps the inner pour will release from its misted shells with reduced soil inclusions…
(I must read more related posts👍 / Great success to your future endeavors )
What is the purpose of doing this? Are the ants a danger, like how a hornets nest is dangerous because people/pets can be stung to death? Or is this more of a curiosity or "just for fun" thing? No judgment...I'm just wondering.
All bull ants deserve to die - they bite and those bites can hurt really badly for days afterwards
@@becs4544 Mmm so you are okay with passing judgement on a species because it is capable of causing pain? I'll remember that for later :)
@@keamu8580 👍
As son as I saw the trees I knew this wasn’t gonna be clean. Glad to see you uploading again
Also you could take an aluminum casting and make a mold of it. Then use the mold to make an resin version. Won't have the critters in it or debris but would look pretty cool.
I also wonder if using an injected gas would work. Imagine a plastic heated vapor inside the nest, cooling on the walls, creating a hard liner. After it dries then you pour down the resin which fills the hollow mold that the plastic gas barrier left behind. After resin dries you dig it all out you peel off the plastic and have left a clear resin model of the nest, minus dirt and most foreign objects. Multiple steps like prepping the nest first, gassing the nest, casting the nest, digging it all out, then cleaning and plastic lining removal. Simple individual steps, more work stages. Some few small experiments first to work the process and material use out first. If you can perfect it then you might be in an unprecedented business of a near perfect model of the nest along with critters, eggs, etc. That could be very valuable to world wide educational schools, zoos, classrooms and artist displays.
Interesting content especially the resin casting, I've not seen it used for ant nests before. I imagine, with practice, you would get better results. Just like aluminum casting practice and experience pays off. 👍👍
Your music is obnoxiously loud. I have to turn volume up to near maximum to hear you guys talk then when the music starts I have to drop volume to nearly zero for a comfortable level.
WOW always wanted to see what was in these so cool
Alot of work guys congrats
Good job guys ,its really very good persistence job you guys doo, i mean it does solidify dirt.. regadles its remarkable
Very neato, have you ever thought of using expanding foam?
I really enjoy your videos when they show up in my feed. I like the glimpse you provide into a very hidden world. The passion you put into trying ways to bring this hidden world to light is amazing.
One idea I got from watching this resin casting project. Could you possibly use a resin casting that could be scanned with a CAT scanner, MRI, or some other kind of medical imaging scanner? You wouldn’t get a physical copy of the nest but you could get a digital 3D image of the nest. It could take your research to the next level.
And you can also get material data from some scans. If you have this kind of data, it’s easy to get a computer to remove all the stuff you don’t want. Eventually you can make 3D models from this data and use it to do CGI rendering. You can do videos where you fly through a virtual ant colony.
Thrilled to see you two! Welcome back
I didn't think this could be done. The resin would need to be so thin and it's sticky. So the soil and ant bodies could block the pour really quickly.
Bull ant nests and behaviour are fascinating. So it's worth the attempt.
You know how some people pull the wings off flies and/or legs off of insects…
This takes it to a whole new level 😂
The following might be a crazy idea, but it's my best thoughts on what to try........
First flood the nest with some sort of clear (vegetable?) oil, or perhaps even silicon spray type lubricant (this might work best as dirt tends not to adhere to it) , or other similar viscous liquid, or even some sort of proprietary mold release agent. Allow this to soak into the soil and to dry for a few hours/days {weeks?), and only then inject the resin.
Whilst the roughness of the surfaces and the intricacy of the interior will still cause much of it to attach as it will simply be enveloped to an extent, hopefully this will result in the soil being easier to remove afterwards.
Rather than using actual nests for these tests, simply use a drill to make a few holes in different soil types, thus saving materials/ costs, as well as not having to sacrifice as many ant nests.
Try an assortment of different non stick liquids, as well as different resins until you find what works best.
When cleaning, as well as using washing, you might also try using various soft brushes such as used by people when cleaning fossils.
The non stick agent combined with washing and brushing just may get you closer to the results you are after.
As someone else has already suggested, rough surfaces tend to be less clear, but once cleaned, applying a further coat of resin can make them clearer.
Thanks for your videos made so far. It's very interesting!
Looking forward to seeing you do more and wishing you success.
How about trying to make slices? Get with a lapidary specialist using diamond band saws to cut it lengthwise into slices. Then they can be displayed one at a time or in groups as in rows or offset. Then back light them. Check with your local universities to see if they will hire you to do the work with them paying fo the development costs. Make sure to retain rights to the development processes.
Interesting. I wonder how well ultrasonics would do in first removing the cemented sand before it started to effect the resin.
Perhaps an acid bath that dissolves the organic material (soil) but not the resin.
Also instead of polishing you can paint on another layer of resin which will make it transparent.
Can you thicken the resin so as to avoid the resin from seeping?
Great video. Harder resin would probably make even harder to remove dirt and rock. Now if you could herd the ants thru non toxic bioluminescent or something like that before pouring that would be really neet. Maybe a hard acrilic that could be sliced off in thin layers rock dirt and all?
Beautiful
Using gem type buffing tools should work. I also agree that wet soil might not adhere as much.
A very interesting vid and attempt to see, thank you.
Thanks for the video! I look forward to your next attempt at a resin casting. In spite of all the whiners complaining about killing ants, volume levels, and the embedded music.
I really want to the resin casting work it’s a complex problem on how to clean it though. I will look forward to the next try!
Good on you two for using good leathers, gloves, face shield and head covering exct.. so many people I see alu casting in shorts and t-shirt.. they have no idea what will happen if they drop that crucible and that splashes on them
What if you find a way to blow *release agent* into the nest first, coating all tunnels and chambers, then pour the resin. May or may not work, but worth seeing if it helps.
If you can find an affordable one, maybe look into a sonic bath system for the resin castings. It might be better at removing the dirt and small stones, while maintaining the integrity of the resin.
How acid resistance is the resin? Get some 'spa pool pH decreaser' (= extreme acid) and try bathing a section in that solution. If it will dissolve the clay/stones, you may be left with a far cleaner casting, maybe.
The dirt I noticed appeared very dry when you started. If you could moisten the dirt around the nest and tunnels before pouring the resin, it'd result in less resin seeping into the dirt around the tunnels and leave you with less dirt to carve off.
Very interesting video!👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I would say the resin was a total success. Cut the tops of large chambers and polish the surface to a clarity... sort of a Pompeii, capturing a single moment in the colony.
I'm lovin these videos & being based in Brisbane I can relate to the areas you are working in. I was wondering why you weren't using resin as the molten aluminium must distort the chambers a bit, I suppose cost would be the main thing, as for cleaning have you thought of dry ice or even doing like a geode cut of the main chambers ?, keep up the great work.
Would using a heat gun give the surface a more glass like finish on the grinded surfaces of the resin
Maybe letting the resin thicken some before the pour would keep it localized to just the main chambers and tunnels. Saying this IF the resin flowing around so many places under ground was an issue in the end.
Love it 😊
any chance we could get a video on how the furnaces are built and what you use to fire them up please
Did you try using acid's to dissolve soil? used by many mineral miners to clean crystals.
You need a sandblaster set up, filled with baking soda as an abrasive and that should work nicely to clean & polish the acrylic
Have you tried water bath sonic vibration to loosen the dirt.🤔🤔.
Would it work at all if you did a first small layer of latex (I know it would pool on bottom a little) but, then you could try to cast the rest in resin and pressure wash the latex off and get a somewhat clear casting of the inside. Idk anything about this so it's a shit in the dark but it seems plausible
I hate the music. But otherwise this is a really cool idea. I hope it works out for you if you decide to try again. Maybe there's a thicker resin that wouldn't seep through the cracks as much and cement less dirt? anyway GL
Great video! A suggestion for removing the dirt on the cheap is to throw it into a stream and leave it for a while. Let mother nature do her thing.
I liked the video! Two questions, why are there so many buckets and is there an advantage to it?
Because they want to show all the bucket they have haha
Interesting and revealing
Have you tried marine clean or phosphoric acid it only takes rust or dirt , just a thought to try 👍
Suggestion... Have you considered ultrasonic cleaning?
What if you could poor something into the nest that would be fully absorbed into the soil then poor the resin so the resin wouldn’t incorporate the soil?
An oil of some sort? Diesel?
I recently dug out a large maple tree using a power washer to expose the root system - instead of moving a ton of dirt - if you have access to power, try using a wet/dry vacuum cleaner to remove the water and dirt.
thank you for this i have wounded for so long if it would work ...and one of the few places hot and dry anof to do so :))
Big ants in Australia : 3 also ending statement about Australia being either on fire or drowning recently is sad, take care ^^
Guys, I know you're used to casting entire nests but have you thought about treating this resin casting like a thunderegg?
Instead of mucking around for weeks cleaning off the impregnated soil and rocks, why not leave it on and cut the whole thing in half down the centre? Then polish the flat, cut surface to create a transparent finish.
Another Aussie TH-cam channel, Ben's Worx, based in Brisbane, deals a lot with resin castings. I reckon Ben would be happy to give you some advice on dealing with resin cutting and polishing techniques. Maybe even a collaboration?
Cheers!
Ben is awesome and would probably love to give you pointers on resin casting. You've got a great start but every resin is different. He knows what resin you would do best with. Also, once sanded you can top coat with a ticket resin to bring back the shine but there is a trick to that also! Good luck, I'm glad I stumbled across your video today!
I like the cutting approach.
Does it harm the trees seeing as you have to cut through the roots to free the castings?
I don't understand why the resin is transferred to the smaller cups when it could be poured directly from the pail. For that matter, why mix in a second pail when it could be done in the first one?
By volume, is it more expensive to cast in epoxy resin or aluminum?
The aluminum casting is cool
Brilliant vid. How about LEDs inserted into the side of the resin to light it up?
How about glass, then soaking it in hydrochloric acid to remove the organic matter?
I’m creeped out at how big those ants are!
I wonder if there'd be a way to spray an aerosol sealer into the nest prior to pouring the resin. That way, maybe the resin wouldn't bond to the soil around the nest and, if the sealer is something that doesn't bond to the resin, it would make it much easier to clean. Some sort of aerosol wax maybe? You'd probably have to fumigate the tunnels multiple times to build up a few layers. Just an idea.
Why did you not use a walnut shell blaster to clean up ?
Have you guys considered dry ice blasting it may take.more material away with damaging the resin or ally.
Pretty sure that will have the same result since the resin is so much softer that the dirt.
Resin casting them is so damn cool