Thread: Commercial casting project

Bugger ! you sure know how to turn hair grey overnight I sure hope when you get this project right,that you can get some returns from it . Sounds like some hotmelt glue would have held things in place during the pour ? I have not had much success with casting molds so far ,I think my first one has finally set to a soft rubbery composition only took 2 years lol. Cheap chinese silicone stuff ,apparently you have to get 2 bottles of catalyst per container as it is measured by weight, not mills Havn't tried pink stuff yet hehe. Ah well what do they say "it's moments like these you need ------ " cheers ~ John

Demolded my master and yep, the mold is shagged. The rest of the mold worked great and my theory is good. Bit of a odd shape that required some void filling with suspended timber. I'll physically hold the master down tomorrow and patch the mold with silicone. Oh well, whats another $ 66. You are spot on John, I hope I can get returns as well

Worse come to worse, you can always shred it, then use the sheds in the next silicon cast. The new silicon will bond with the sheds and form a new mold.

I tried to hurry up the process of setting by placing mix in oven, found out the hard way liquid silicon doesn't like heat, it basically boils and leaves you with a silicon aero block . The silicon can only handle heat once set. Shreaded it and recast, no probs.

Hmmm, interesting dai sensei. So its just used as a bulking out material once shred. Is ther a limit to the % of shred to liquid ? How the hell do you shred it, the mold is pretty chunky

Ok, with suitable restraint in place, the mould is done. I'll crack it open in a little while and have a gander. PR cast tomorrow with a bit of luck. Still trying to work out how to shred the old mould. Dont think the wife would be too pleased if I put it in the food processor

Originally Posted by Ringtail

...Still trying to work out how to shred the old mould. Dont think the wife would be too pleased if I put it in the food processor

I used a stanley knife to cut it into strips, then just used some good scissors to finish them off.

Ok update time. The moldworked great and the cast went quite quite well. One embedded item on each side made its way to the edge si I have a quick question. Can I just pour another thin layer of PR over the sides ( 1 side at a time). I was thinking of just masking it up and pouring a layer about 2 mm thick. In my excitement I have already whacked it in the oven for a hour @ 60 C so will the new PR stick to the old ?

As far as I know you will be fine,but I would let it cure naturally ,sometimes impatience is a killer Multilayering is quite common though, look at ribbon casting in pen blanks,two seperate casts at least and forms a perfect bond Cheers ~ John

Excellent. Ive given it a wet and dry to get rid of the dags. See what tomorow brings. I really appreciate all the info guys. I know I said I'll put photos up but this protoype has turned a bit commercially sensitive. Cheers for the understanding.

I guess if you think you are on unsafe grounds (patent infringement or such) we best not continue to be involved in this discussion ,in case we all go down

Nah nothing like that at all. The product or concept is not new and there are quite a few different versions already on the market. Its the rip off factor that concerns me as I have been badly burnt before.

The thing that gets me is you are worried about either people copying your item or is it that you have coppied another ? If you look through all these threads you will find that people copy/make other peoples items all the time. If it wasn't for the likes of John, Neil, Tony ,amos and many others I would not have learnt half the things I have. I think most people would and should be flattered that others want to make similar products to theirs.
Eg feather blanks have been made by a select few and could and do make them some well deserved money but yet the have no hesitation in showing how to make them.

But in the end it is still your choice

Cheers ian

Seems to me there's not much point in "one-way sharing".

I agree Fred I forgot to add you onto my names before I really appreciate all the tutorials and all the help that members have given me over the years and always try to offer what I can to help even if its not much after all isn't that the idea of the forum ?

Cheers Ian
Ps Looks like I am gunna need some more army cammo blanks How many do you have on hand that I might be able to get ?