nickelback227
Jr Member
herogear, you have some VERY nice points! why dont you read Adams post and PM him
worlds most greatest mold making site!!!!
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About testing it? Heck, I'm practicaly their spokesperson on the web, & I'm just a happy customer.
I do want to add a note about latex. The very best place to order from price-wise is here-
Testworth Laboratories Inc.
401 S. Main St., PO Box 91
Columbia City, IN , 46725-2143
Phone: 260-244-5137
FAX: 260-244-5138
$95 shipping included for a 5 gallon pail. Gallon jugs are around $25 shipped.
They have many different formulas, from mold making, mask casting, to sprayable...
They don't have a real website ( old-school company, they've been in the latex biz since 1941), so call & ask for their current pricelist and catalog.
Wolf
I do want to add a note about latex. The very best place to order from price-wise is here-
Testworth Laboratories Inc.
401 S. Main St., PO Box 91
Columbia City, IN , 46725-2143
Phone: 260-244-5137
FAX: 260-244-5138
$95 shipping included for a 5 gallon pail. Gallon jugs are around $25 shipped.
They have many different formulas, from mold making, mask casting, to sprayable...
They don't have a real website ( old-school company, they've been in the latex biz since 1941), so call & ask for their current pricelist and catalog.
Wolf
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Check out my gallery for abunch of pics molds & resin castings I've made with Greer's products...
http://405th.com/forums/index.php?automodu...m&album=211
All the molds are his silicone with purple catylist, & the resin pieces are the casting resin. The 2 big pails at the end are a 10 gallon kit of resin...
You can also do low-temp metal castings with this silicone... I have several pieces that I do in both resin & metal using the same mold.
If you add cabosil or silica filler to the resin, you can thicken it up for making mother-molds ( like on the gun mold), or for slushing the inside of armor, like the H2 helmet.
I use the drywall tape for reinforcing armor. It's self-stick, so you just apply it to the inside of your armor, like a layer of ductape, anchor down the ends & any trouble spots with superglue, then slush or brush in your thickened resin. It's alot easier than trying to lay in fiberglass cloth or mat, especialy on paper parts.
I've done several pepakura projects lately where I've coated the outside with 2-part epoxy, then taped & slushed the inside... It made for a VERY solid piece, & less than 1/2" thick.
Wolf
http://405th.com/forums/index.php?automodu...m&album=211
All the molds are his silicone with purple catylist, & the resin pieces are the casting resin. The 2 big pails at the end are a 10 gallon kit of resin...
You can also do low-temp metal castings with this silicone... I have several pieces that I do in both resin & metal using the same mold.
If you add cabosil or silica filler to the resin, you can thicken it up for making mother-molds ( like on the gun mold), or for slushing the inside of armor, like the H2 helmet.
I use the drywall tape for reinforcing armor. It's self-stick, so you just apply it to the inside of your armor, like a layer of ductape, anchor down the ends & any trouble spots with superglue, then slush or brush in your thickened resin. It's alot easier than trying to lay in fiberglass cloth or mat, especialy on paper parts.
I've done several pepakura projects lately where I've coated the outside with 2-part epoxy, then taped & slushed the inside... It made for a VERY solid piece, & less than 1/2" thick.
Wolf
nickelback227
Jr Member
herogear, you have been a great help! I ask you to keep posting and keep awnsering with questions! Now what is a good site to by low melt alloys?
Heh.... Home Depot.
I kid you not... Lead-free, solid 'plumbers' solder (no flux)... Low temp, great strength (better than pewter, & most other low-temps), & buffs to a beautiful sterling silver finish that doesn't tarnish... The ring in my gallery is made from it. It runs about $10 - $12 for a 1 pound spool.
I kid you not... Lead-free, solid 'plumbers' solder (no flux)... Low temp, great strength (better than pewter, & most other low-temps), & buffs to a beautiful sterling silver finish that doesn't tarnish... The ring in my gallery is made from it. It runs about $10 - $12 for a 1 pound spool.
nickelback227
Jr Member
ya, thanks herogear! the ring is real nice. I am thinking of making an AR or a magnum from the low melt alloys!
An AR? I hope your built like the masterchief, Cause it'll weigh about 30 pounds, & cost about the same as a real rifle... A pistol will weigh around 5 to 10 pounds. Low-temp alloys are heavy, about the same as lead. The biggest piece I've done in cast metal was one of my king arthur crosses, it it was about 8 pounds, so roughly $100 in alloy. Big pieces can also scorce your silicon mold, or even destroy it.
Large pieces hold to much heat for longer than the silicone can handle it. & you absolutely can not do metals in latex, it'll turn into a burning puddle of goop mixed with molten metal. Personal tip: Don't use rubber bands to hold your molds closed while casting metal, especialy when wearing sandals... You will instantly learn french & several other languages. Nuff said...
The best option available to the home caster, is aluminum-filled resin. You combine powdered aluminum with either clear or amber-cast resin, or with epoxy. This is the same proccess used for the collectibles you see called 'cold-cast bronze, pewter, or metal'.
I did cast lightsabers for a while like this, & they where pretty cool. You can get different metals for different looks, keep in mind that the finer the 'mesh', the smaller & shinier the powder will be, & ultimately your part. I usualy dust my molds with a superfine '000' aluminum powder, which bonds to the surface of your casting, making a cleaner metal finish, then I mix a larger mesh metal into the resin for heft.
I've worked with the aluminum, bronze, brass, & iron powders, & it's pretty cool, & no harder than doing regular resin castings. Give the piece a blackwash to weather it & bring out the details ( black acrylic thinned with a little water), & you'll have a very convincing piece. Doing a cast Spartan suit this way would be incredible, as you could paint it, then weather it so it exposes actual metal under scratches & scuffs... Use enough powder, & it even feels like real metal...
If you really want to have a 'real' metal piece, I highly recommend locating a local foundry that can do cast aluminum. You can do wax in silicone molds, which they can use to make slip or sand mold doing the lost wax method. Some can do hollow pieces, or you could make your master in several pieces so it can be assembled around electronics, airsofts, etc...
Wolf
Large pieces hold to much heat for longer than the silicone can handle it. & you absolutely can not do metals in latex, it'll turn into a burning puddle of goop mixed with molten metal. Personal tip: Don't use rubber bands to hold your molds closed while casting metal, especialy when wearing sandals... You will instantly learn french & several other languages. Nuff said...
The best option available to the home caster, is aluminum-filled resin. You combine powdered aluminum with either clear or amber-cast resin, or with epoxy. This is the same proccess used for the collectibles you see called 'cold-cast bronze, pewter, or metal'.
I did cast lightsabers for a while like this, & they where pretty cool. You can get different metals for different looks, keep in mind that the finer the 'mesh', the smaller & shinier the powder will be, & ultimately your part. I usualy dust my molds with a superfine '000' aluminum powder, which bonds to the surface of your casting, making a cleaner metal finish, then I mix a larger mesh metal into the resin for heft.
I've worked with the aluminum, bronze, brass, & iron powders, & it's pretty cool, & no harder than doing regular resin castings. Give the piece a blackwash to weather it & bring out the details ( black acrylic thinned with a little water), & you'll have a very convincing piece. Doing a cast Spartan suit this way would be incredible, as you could paint it, then weather it so it exposes actual metal under scratches & scuffs... Use enough powder, & it even feels like real metal...
If you really want to have a 'real' metal piece, I highly recommend locating a local foundry that can do cast aluminum. You can do wax in silicone molds, which they can use to make slip or sand mold doing the lost wax method. Some can do hollow pieces, or you could make your master in several pieces so it can be assembled around electronics, airsofts, etc...
Wolf
Vrogy
Well-Known Member
herogear said:
Casting aluminum parts from junk is cheap and easy, if dangerous.
http://flickr.com/photos/vrogy/tags/casting
I used the lost foam method. Here's my best casting:
http://flickr.com/photos/vrogy/1333792224/
The porosity there can be reduced with a pretty cheap additive, unless you like it. Lots of people do.
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nickelback227
Jr Member
cool ideas evryone
I know this is a bit of an older topic, but me and my roommate, while double checking these awesome prices out of disbelief like everyone else here, found something.
The Greer Casting Resin "2 Gallon Kit" is $72.00
The Smooth-Cast 300 "Gallon Unit" is $72.77
So at first glace, Greer seems to be at about 1/2 the price of Smooth-Cast. But if you read deeper into the Smooth-Cast "Gallon Unit," it states that it comes with two 1-gallon pails, which, at a 1:1 mix ratio, would make 2 gallons.
So, really, excluding shipping, the prices are pretty much the same.
Same goes for the silicone.
Smooth-on's 1:1 mix Rebound 25: $160 for a "gallon unit" (that we now know makes 2 gallons) /2 = $80 for 1 gallon.
Greer's 1:1 mix Silicone Mold Making RTV: $88 for a kit that makes 1 gallon.
Don't want to rock any boats, just a heads up. If I'm wrong (and I may be) someone tell me. I haven't purchased from either, so I'm not 100%.
The Greer Casting Resin "2 Gallon Kit" is $72.00
The Smooth-Cast 300 "Gallon Unit" is $72.77
So at first glace, Greer seems to be at about 1/2 the price of Smooth-Cast. But if you read deeper into the Smooth-Cast "Gallon Unit," it states that it comes with two 1-gallon pails, which, at a 1:1 mix ratio, would make 2 gallons.
So, really, excluding shipping, the prices are pretty much the same.
Same goes for the silicone.
Smooth-on's 1:1 mix Rebound 25: $160 for a "gallon unit" (that we now know makes 2 gallons) /2 = $80 for 1 gallon.
Greer's 1:1 mix Silicone Mold Making RTV: $88 for a kit that makes 1 gallon.
Don't want to rock any boats, just a heads up. If I'm wrong (and I may be) someone tell me. I haven't purchased from either, so I'm not 100%.
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