Hi Dave
I hope you don't mind if I stick my nose in here. The clear compound
isn't very useful for a lot of jewelry work, unless it's different from
the old Fereis mold liquid. The molds halves tend to slip over each
other too easily.
Mold making can be a real pain, even if you are able to cut the mold,
you then have to be able to pull a decent wax out, *without* distorting
or damaging it. I agree with Gavin that you should have the capability,
but I would like to add that a book or video could be helpful.
There is a silicon mold compound that pulls apart, no cutting, called
Moldex. I can send you enough for a small mold if you want, it costs me
about $7/lb. It is a putty that you press into the frame (you'll need a
mold frame). You liberally dust the mold with parting powder, then after
vulcanizing you simply pull the two halves apart, it works pretty well,
but has about 5% or more shrinkage. It injects very well and leaves a
smooth finish on the pattern. You can skip the need for a vulcanizer by
clamping a frame between two heavy pieces of aluminum (1/4") and holding
them together with c clamps, and heat it in the oven.
Good luck, any questions, ask away...
Jeffrey
Dave Stephens wrote:
Gavin: I have two pieces I cast that I need to make molds of before I build
them into new pieces, what would you charge to make the molds? And can both
pieces be fit into one mold? Both pieces are about inch and a half square.
And what would you charge to knock out a couple waxes from the molds? Can
you do it without soldering on some sprues? My alternative is to buy that
Castaldo clear kit from Rio for 100 bucks, but it will let me mold without
a vulcanizer and mold from the origina waxes also. Let me know...Dave
Jeffrey Everett
Handmade 18K, 22K, and platinum gemstone fine jewelry.
Diamond setting, rubber/metal molds, casting, lapidary
Die and mold engraving, plastic patterns for casting.
Cad jewelry design, cad/cam milling scroll filigree...
P O Box 2057 Fairfield IA 52556 515-469-6250
