new trick for glassing learned!

I was talking to a guy today who works in art dept. on movies and he told me that when he is building sets often times he uses 'glass. Anyway, he suggested mixing the fiberglass with hardener then mixing it with sawdust. Because the sawdust is pourous when you mix it together it creates a "fiberglass mud" which I used to strenghten the corners and edges of my box. I put latex gloves on and packed the "mud" into the corners with my hand, making sure all the air was out and it hardened perfectly. Maybe this isn't a new trick but I just learned it and wanted to share.

Also talc and fumed silica work in the same way. Fumed silica is more expensive but a lot lighter. There are several fillers available. Here's the page at US Composites. Thanks for the tip. I hadn't tried sawdust (though) I'm sure some small amount always sneak into the mix).

Talc is Cheap! Q-Cells are wonderful, too. Talc also helps if you get resin on your skin. Makes your arms, hands, and what ever else you may touch with the resin smooth as a baby's bottom! Mmmmm....Talc, DXAV

How well does the talc and or micro-spheres and silica work and how thick does it make the resin. I used so much sawdust it was thicker than freshly mixed Bondo. Thanks for the other ideas though. I want to try all and see what I like best. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be the sawdust though cuz I'm a cheap ass and it is basically free! Thanks for all the input.

Any filler you add will make the resin as thick as you want. Just keep adding more powder. I prefer the fumed silica just because it's lighter but talc is nice because it's cheap and easy to get in a pinch.

Yeah, Q-cells are very expensive (comparably). Talc is nice, light and has multiple uses. Sawdust sounds like a great idea, and it is about as cheap as you get. The filler just has to be some material the resin will soak into, though... DXAV (I don't think anyone got the 'Talc (TALK) is cheap' pun I used a minute ago....Oh! Well)