Is anybody out there on Orchid using the Reduc-It mold compound
listed in Rio Grande?
I have a couple things I would like reduced, but not interested in
buying the entire kit. All my molds are vulcanized rubber type, and
the instructions for Reduc-it say to use RTV molds - something else I
don’t want to experiment with. So, if anybody is interested in a
couple small jobs, or know where I can send these items, contact me
off-list.
Hi Aufin; I ordered some Reduc-it for work and played around with it.
I haven’t bought any for my own use. Here’s my take on it: It’s kind of
like a gelatinous putty. You can press (globber it, actually) into a
mold, but it won’t pour. Therefore, it’s more suited to flat work or
low profile shapes. Theoretically, you could load up to halves of a
mold and press them together to get a form in the round, but this
stuff isn’t real tough when it sets, until it dries, so it might not
survive being removed from a mold with a lot of openwork or undercuts.
It probably wouldn’t dry properly in the mold either. It would set
up, but not reach full hardness. The finished product is a light,
slightly porous form. Flashing and pits would have to be finessed. I
don’t think you’d want to try to burn it out directly in an
investment. You’d have to make a mold and shoot a wax. It would
probably not behave well in a vulcanized mold, hence the RTV system
being required. It does what it claims as far as shrinkage is
concerned. It’s exciting to see an article reduced so dramatically
and still retain it’s proportions and detail. Perhaps Daniel Grandi
at Racecar Jewelry might be able to either help or refer you to
someone.
David L. Huffman
Hi, You can buy alginate from a dentist supply and mix extra water.
Depending on the make of the alginate and the shrinkage required,the
amount of water has to be experimented with.
After you get the thin paste or slurry, pour in the mold, wait for a
some time to dry, take the article out and let it dry and shrink
completely. This may take a day or two.
You can use the normal castaldo rubber. Vulcanize at a lower
temperature, say 110 C for three hours, or use RTV or Putty.
Cheers
Shishir
I used Reduc-It once to evaluate it’s usefulness for the company I
work for. I must admit, it is an interesting product, however I feel
that it comes up short in a few areas when used for jewelry. First,
you can never be totally sure of what the final shrinkage rate will
be. Second, I found that there was a problem with warping. Third, if
the product isn’t mixed well, some of the powder that didn’t absorb
enough water doesn’t shrink, leaving bumpy areas in the impression.
If you have more time than cash available to you, then Reduce-it may
be something to play around with. If you don’t have much time and a
little cash to invest in your project, then perhaps having a service
bureau scan your item with a digital probe and then mill it in wax is
the best way to go. These days, it doesn’t cost that much to do, and
the results are usually very good. I recently had an earring model
that I made scanned to create a mirror image. The earring measured ~
1/2" x 3/4" and cost under $160 to have it scanned and milled. A lot
of the detail was retained, so there was little work required to
finish it up. I felt that it saved us some money and allowed me to
get caught up on other projects.
-Tom Murray