The copolymerization of cardanyl acrylate (CA) and styrene (S) with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) and cobalt salt as the initiator was studied by means of rheometry and isothermal DSC. The gel point of the CA-S reaction system was determined by rheological measurements at 50 and 70degreesC. In addition, rheological measurements provide very useful information on the evolution of the physical properties of the system during curing, such as viscosity and shear modulus. We demonstrate that isothermal DSC experiments, using the Avrami model, can be used to obtain a more detailed description of the curing process. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2385-2390, 2003.