It's an overhand knot. I work at a business that is close to the pieces you do. I'd say our waste material percentages run about 30%. We would love to get to ten percent, but thus far wasting some material is the cheapest course.
Thank you! Ha- Now I know the knot! I suppose if I calculated my total waste stream my percentage would change. But I don’t bother because most of my projects are toy sized. Materials like wood and glue, etc, are not a big factor. And I scrounge so much materials anyway. The overwhelming majority of my project costs are labor.
@@RobertTolone Computing the balance between labor and material costs is indeed tricky. With experience the balance changes. Increasing experience means (1) higher $/hour costs due to increased part quality and reduced production time and (2) in reduced material costs due to less waste during prototyping and defective parts.
They are called Fladder wheels. They are manufactured by the Fladder company which is in Denmark. I used to buy the wheels along time ago from an American company, but they stop selling them and I could not find them. I recently located them on the web and have contacted the American dealer. As soon as I have more info I will let everybody know.
@@chriselliott726 there are a few options but they are dangerous to the wrong people. I'm talking about those people that are the reason why most packaging tells them not to hurt themselves with their product. You can pulse the pieces in a food processor suspended in water then let the pieces dry off before using that material to bulk up new castings. You can also build a desktop plastic shredder, they are dangerous though so no one is going to sell you one because liability and the lawyers but the designs are available online from precious plastic and any metal shop could put it together for you.
Another great video Robert! When you "de-flash" the parts with the drill press and flap disc, are the parts still relatively fresh/soft or will it work well on parts that have been well cured?
I always try to clean the castings as soon as possible after they are removed from the mold. They are not pliable at this stage, they are firm, but they are much easier to work than they will be after 24 hours when the resin achieves its full cure.
I have some huge moulds to fill (bases) and thats what I do with my funnels or similars. I just ad then into the resin, like you do with old moulds. You cut chunks of silicone and ad it to the liquid silicone. Same with the resin parts. Big open moulds.
I have two things, first, whats that stain? And is it penetrating the material? And second, for the sprues, I kept all my sprues, some day hoping to find an easy way to cut them down to smaller bits and reuse them in casting. I mostly work with clear epoxy so you can use small bits for nice effects. I lately made a video on a resin dice tower, its a large model of 250g of material, but I can use about 20-30g of sprues at the bottom section to safe on material and to give it nice effects. The recycling was the main reason to make this model at all, as I have kilos of sprues laying around ^^
anda sama dengan saya dulu saya melebih kan 2 untuk 1gros .karena saya takut kalau saya kurang dalam menghitung ..tapi berujung masalah . saya dicurigai mengurangi 10 pcs dalam 1 gros .karena dia langsung pajang digrosir .dan tidak dihitung .toko grosirnya menjual hitungan 1 lusin..dia lihat ada sisa 2 ..hahahahahha..hidup memang tak adil
Fabulous just fabulous!!! Thanks for sharing how you make your beautiful art pieces. All your tips are probably simple or common sense to you but that’s years & years of experience. Definitely helps us to shortcut learning every single thing the hard way. You are so appreciated. Happy New Years. 🥂
@@RobertTolone Old school craftsmen and people who love their work, and you strike me as both, rarely take more than a couple of days off. They just can't do it, haha
Do you have a formula for, I forget the term that was used in the printing industry, how many you cast to make sure you have 100 at the end? In printing if you expected 1,000 at the end they would start with say 1,100. They made POS displays and a certain number would be used for set ups and thrown away along the multi step process. The thing was even though they ordered 1,000 per contract and maybe printing pricing standards they would be charged for the 1,000 and whatever they had left of the 100. But I know what you mean by shipping extra. I used to make vehicle graphics and if I had extra I would throw them in. I didn't have any use for them. If it was some thing odd I would keep a few if they asked for more later.
The smaller the edition, the larger the percentage of overage. For instance if it is an edition of five and I make one extra that is a 20% overage. So on small runs I am less likely to make extras. On an edition of 100 I would expect to make 5 extra. Unless I am catching a lot of flaws in the castings and I have to discard a larger percentage of them. Fortunately, that rarely happens. In this edition I kept one for my archive, gave two to the client and two to Crazy Al, the sculptor.
I really enjoyed this series. I recently started a job as the manager of an educational fab lab and mold making and casting is part of the job. Unfortunately it is something with which I have very limited experience. I think I am going to try molding and casting some 3d printed Lewis chessman and the tiki statues are pretty close in size and shape. Thanks for the videos and Happy New Year!
Oh yes. The molds are in excellent shape now at the end of 105 castings. The original model was made in sculptor’s wax and even though it had a lot of detail was quite smooth. Often I cast sculptures by Crazy Al that are carved in wood and the wood grain detail definitely shortens the life of the mold. I expect I could easily get another run of 100 out of this set of molds. To be safe, on client jobs I budget 10 castings per cavity.
Those look fun! I learned that knot trick when I was in high school by accident. I made polymer clay necklaces that I sold to other kids to earn money to buy more craft supplies. LOL
It is Behr EuroColor water-based wood stain #690 Norwegian teak. It dries to a hard plastic film, similar to acrylic paint. Crazy AL, the designer of the tiki, has been using it on a variety of plastic products for years. I don’t know why it works so well on plastic but it does.
@@RobertTolone I did some searches and can't find that product. You might want to hoard what supply you have. Thanks for the answer, I am now thinking that any stain + polyurethane will work.
@@MarkATrombley Behr makes a lot of water-based fast drying stains. when we run out of this 5 gallon bucket will have to experiment a little to find a similar product. It doesn’t appear they are making that EuroColor line anymore.
Love it when you get bored!!! Great informative video once again. The stained figures do look great. Interesting to see you use Magic Sculp for the jig. I have sucessfully tested dental kneadable 2 part silicone rubber for a similar purpose. That stuff works great and it comes in a varaity for shore hardness going up to 90. Very handy to have it around, I guess pad printers use it as well. It is rather cheap when on offer about 50 € for 3 Kg where I live. It is also sold as Lab Putty which comes with a tube of paste catalyst wheras the other product is a dead easy 2 component putty with a 50:50 mix ratio - great stuff. Check dental supply companies these are truly gold mines for peaope doing resin casting etc. and almost found in any major City around the world. Happy new year looking forward to your company in 2021!!!
@@RobertToloneThank you for your reply I forgot to add: It sure hase some characteristics other materials do not have. It hardens in a couple of minutes it does bonds to other rubbers (if you want) as it was regular rubber. Imagine you can build a sturdy 2 part mother mold in less than 15 minutes or add a strong core/support inside the mold you are casting. And yet it keeps all the good and wanted silicone rubber properties. If time is money than that stuff is made for you.
The stain I used was Behr EuroColor water-based wood stain #690 Norwegian teak. Al, the designer of the tiki, has been using this stain on a variety of plastic products for years. It’s water-based and I’m not sure why it works so well on plastics. It’s almost like acrylic paint. It dries to a tough plastic film.
@@RobertTolone Thanks for the reply! I looked online and only found threads where people were saying the EuroColor was discontinued about 20 years ago! Lol. I contacted Behr, and the person who responded said they had never heard of EuroColor. So I will continue to look around and experiment to find something that doesn't bead up on unprimed polyurethane resin castings.
@@MechanicalWhispers It would not surprise me if that 5 gallon bucket of stain is 20 years old. There’s only an inch or two left. I have no idea if a different Behr water-based stain would work just as well. I guess we’ll find out when the bucket is empty! 😀
Just started watching your RUclipss Bob and really enjoying them. Very informative, wants me wanting to go out and buy some resin and rubber. Can you explain the resins and rubber you use, if you haven't done so already and go over the equipment you use, pressure tank, vacuum tank? Is there any easy way that these can be replicated? Also how do you keep your hat so clean with sticky fingers? LoL.
Head over to my channel page and scroll down through the videos. I have done videos on the pressure pot and the vacuum chamber. In the description of the videos you will find a link to a free PDF you can download listing my materials and suppliers. Full disclosure, some of those suppliers are now providing me with materials for the channel. So I have gone from being their customer to being something of a showcase for their products. My hat stays clean because my fingers are never sticky. I don’t allow myself to get resin, rubber, glue or paint on my hands or clothing anymore.
Great video as always. Could you tell me what grit the flap wheel is. I'm interested in getting one myself but don't want to get 100 grit or something too abrasive and melt my parts 😅 Thanks in advance
Most of my wheels were between 80 - 120 grit. But I save the worn out ones to use on plastic. So you would definitely want a finer grit if you were using a new flap wheel on resin. 220 or so. You just have to experiment until you find out which grit works the best for your application.
I get my materials from www.silpak.com. Mostly I use Econosil- 25 silicone rubber and Silcast urethane resin. But you should use the materials that fit the needs of your project. They can help you choose the correct material for what you are doing.
Robert! i would love to speak to you I really need help with a mould I would like to make, please can you let me know if you’re happy to show me how to do it :) your friend Amy
Hey Robert! I have to ask about MagicSculpt, since you recommend it so much, for a project of mine. I want to spot heal then polish a surface to an ultra fine (10000 grit) finish for a mold. Is magic sculpt suitable for this? Or perhaps bondo or anything else you could recommend? Thank you so much.
Well, I can honestly say I’ve never sanded it up to 10,000 grit. But it polishes well and is very hard so I expect it would work. You could always test it out.
I got 20 bucks each for these castings. It was worth my time. That’s pretty much how I judge every job: will it pay me a living wage for the time I spend on it.
@@RobertTolone thankyou Robert! Im a big fan and always look forward to your next video! I learn more important tips every time. Honestly means the world to me. Ive been mold/casting for just over a year. Every mold is better than the next thanks to you my friend! I get compliments on the figures I have been casting. You have helped improve my work greatly and I owe you a huge thanks!! Ive attempted weeping molds, but could always learn more helpful tips on making them.
@@BrianFowlie I’m so glad you find my videos helpful. It really motivates me to make more videos. We’ve got some amazing viewer projects coming up that I am really excited about!
HI Robert I saw in your videos you use wax to sculpt various things can you add please some sculpting techniques and some tips from your experience Thank you Stay safe an have a good 2021
`Really enjoy these vids- I couldn't help wonder- "what the economics were on a project of 100 pieces ?". . e.g. :1- Whats the retail cost - how much did they sell for> , 2-The bid/ contract value agreed on
thx for the response - 20$ is remarkable (( my initial text was cut off as i was also curious where those tchotchkes went - a South American Tourist Store for Inca trinkets ? )) PS : The other day I used a Water-Pic ( normally used for teeth & gums) to demold a stubborn pour - worked surprisingly well
I don’t sell directly to the public. My clients dictate how much they are willing to pay; I only accept the jobs where the pay is sufficient. I make my money primarily as a sculptor. Molding and casting is only part of the service I offer to my clients.
Hi Robert, I follow you some months ago and I wonder if you could explain, teh "metod" or tehe diference between degasing the mold an d cure the cast under presurre. Is it no the same, right? Is because Im trying to make my self a vacuum chamber but right now I think thats not the same. Thanks a lot and regards from Spain
A vacuum pump is used to remove the air from the silicone rubber before it is poured to make the mold. A pressure pot uses compressed air to crush small bubbles and suppress the formation of bubbles in resin as it cures.
Ya, I don't have a tank so what type of resin should I get - I don't need large quantities but I do want to make large mirror frames and I've been struggling with suppliers.
I get my resins from www.silpak.com Most of my castings are done in urethane resins like their Silcast or QuickCast. I mostly use their most economical grade of silicone rubber, Econosil-25.
Have you ever done anything with "cold casting", Robert? Using metal dust in the resin? I'd love to see what techniques you might use for that which might be different from what you've shown us so far (especially finishing techniques to get that real cast metal look).
I occasionally do projects with filled resins and if a project comes to the channel that requires it I’d be happy to give it a go. The major difference is that most filled resins are thicker and therefore more likely to catch bubbles. Also you have to really stir the B component because many fillers settle quickly.
Robert, you have a great attitude. Your enthusiasm is just fantastic. I’ve tried a lot of what you showed on your videos and I’m having a blast. Thank you. Best regards, Richard...
Oh Mr Tolone, you always have an answer to my questions before I even ask them. That jig you made for cutting the castings is brilliant and all I needed to fix a current issue I have. Thank you sir.
Hi. I've just come across your channel and love how you explain the little things that matter. I want to get into molds and casting and have a couple of questions if that's ok? Did you use some kind of plastic resin for these rather than an epoxy? And is it better to use a pressure chamber (how much pressure?) rather than a vacume? Many thanks for all the insights
Welcome back! Glad to see you didn't party too hard, unless this was a pre-recorded video with instructions to release it on this day regardless. I have sort of a funky part I'm needing to either cast or get cast, since I've not worked with silicone before it might be a bit beyond my capability. It's a diffuser lens for a turn signal, has some weird shapes to it, tabs and some concentric lenticular rings. Wondering if this is something I could pick your brain on and if so how I'd get some info over to you. Cheers, and welcome to 2021!
Hi April! The truth is I don’t have much fancy gear. Cameras are an old Canon 70d, an iPhone 10, a DJI Action and a Canon M50. Sound is Rode Wireless Go mics hooked to a Zoom H1n recorder. Lights are cheap Amazon video soft box kits - I think by FancierStudio. Also a collection of small clip-on lights for tool setups, etc. All bulbs are daylight 5500 k. Camera stands and rigging is home built. Editing is with Lumafusion running on a 2020 iPad pro. That’s the newest, best piece of gear I own. My trusty old ipad was struggling to edit 4k video!
hai pap...apakah dalam pekerjaan seharian tidak memakai masker .? setahu saya uap resin berbahaya untuk kesehatan .saya juga main resin selama 7 tahun ini. saya membuat magnet kulkas . sendirian tanpa kariawan .saya sudah produksi 300 ribu pcs ..dalam berkerja sehari-hari saya memakai masker gas 3m ..bagaimana cara anda menjaga kesehatan ?... salam dari sumatera barat indonesia
I used google to translate your question. You cast a much larger volume of resin than I do. I am actually a sculptor so most of my time is spent sculpting small prototype objects. And I do very few production runs anymore. I rarely make more than 500 castings per year. My shop is very well ventilated. We have a very large doors, fans and blowers that suck the air out of the building. We have dust collectors on machines. And finally, I don’t wear a mask on camera because it makes me hard to understand and hear. I have dust and fume masks, gloves, etc.
@@RobertTolone pekerjaan anda sangat rapi sekali . saya tidak ada apa -apa nya dibanding anda . saya takut anda salah mengerti kalau hasil google translate saya copi kesini .saya sengaja tidak pakai bahasa slank. hasil translate gogle belum terlalu baik . saya tidak pakai tank seperti anda .saya mau meniru tank anda tapi masih belum mengerti. kalau ada lubang .saya memakai papping bag ,untuk dempul ,saya juga memakai PANASONIC Exhaust Fan 12 Inch FV-30RUN . tapi tetap pakai masker gas. 500 pcs per tahun tidak masalah asal bisa beli ferari . 300 ribu pcs 7 tahun rumah saja masih sewa .:) ..saya banyak sekali belajar pada anda . anda hebat .terima kasih atas ilmunya
I could but I find it slows me down. I have to move quickly to pour 10 per cycle. This project had an unusual amount of waste because I did not design the original funnel systems.
The point to the funnel is to pour a lot of rubber rapidly while controlling how it falls into the mold. When making the first version of the mold I didn’t know how much rubber it would take to make it so I filled it in four smaller batches. I had no need for a funnel.
Yes, it is a Behr water-based stain. We have had this bucket for years and years and it has been discontinued by Behr. It’s almost empty and we will have to figure out a new product to use.
@@RobertTolone thank you, will do some experimenting then. But I assume any wood stain could work. Thank you for your great video's I enjoy all of them a lot!
@@wouterki26 I really don’t know. Al, the sculptor who made the original tiki, developed this process of staining and just gave me the stain to use. He said that it took him some experimenting to find a stain that worked well. Behr still makes water-based stains; they just don’t make that particular color.
Happy new year Robert. Thanks for mentioning the waste its something i havent thought about as a cost as i have only cast things for myself however that will change in 2021.
if it does nothing else it makes you aware of how much money you’re throwing away. And you start to design sprues, funnels, etc to minimize the waste. I remember making big funnels to make it easier to pour the resin until I realized how much rubber and resin I was wasting.
@@RobertTolone thats certainly something I have taken from your videos. Ive started to design up molds for future builds thanks to your gold nuggets of info.
Fantastic video, I love the details you point out and the great advice for effective production. I learned A LOT from you and I am very motivated to work on my own projects. As soon as the freezing temperatures here are over I will start with my first cut-molds! Because of my small apartment I have to work on the balcony.Thank you so much Robert and have a healthy and happy start into 2021!
It's an overhand knot.
I work at a business that is close to the pieces you do. I'd say our waste material percentages run about 30%. We would love to get to ten percent, but thus far wasting some material is the cheapest course.
Thank you! Ha- Now I know the knot! I suppose if I calculated my total waste stream my percentage would change. But I don’t bother because most of my projects are toy sized. Materials like wood and glue, etc, are not a big factor. And I scrounge so much materials anyway. The overwhelming majority of my project costs are labor.
@@RobertTolone Computing the balance between labor and material costs is indeed tricky. With experience the balance changes. Increasing experience means (1) higher $/hour costs due to increased part quality and reduced production time and (2) in reduced material costs due to less waste during prototyping and defective parts.
You sir are a master and a wealth of really useful information. Have a great New Year and some time off.
Thanks Gary!
im trying to find the flap sander disc you have. where do you get em?
Same here ☺️
They are called Fladder wheels. They are manufactured by the Fladder company which is in Denmark. I used to buy the wheels along time ago from an American company, but they stop selling them and I could not find them. I recently located them on the web and have contacted the American dealer. As soon as I have more info I will let everybody know.
Me too!
Grind the waste up and use it as filler in any future projects
How do you grind it?
@@chriselliott726 there are a few options but they are dangerous to the wrong people. I'm talking about those people that are the reason why most packaging tells them not to hurt themselves with their product.
You can pulse the pieces in a food processor suspended in water then let the pieces dry off before using that material to bulk up new castings. You can also build a desktop plastic shredder, they are dangerous though so no one is going to sell you one because liability and the lawyers but the designs are available online from precious plastic and any metal shop could put it together for you.
Another great video Robert! When you "de-flash" the parts with the drill press and flap disc, are the parts still relatively fresh/soft or will it work well on parts that have been well cured?
I always try to clean the castings as soon as possible after they are removed from the mold. They are not pliable at this stage, they are firm, but they are much easier to work than they will be after 24 hours when the resin achieves its full cure.
I have some huge moulds to fill (bases) and thats what I do with my funnels or similars. I just ad then into the resin, like you do with old moulds. You cut chunks of silicone and ad it to the liquid silicone. Same with the resin parts. Big open moulds.
I have two things, first, whats that stain? And is it penetrating the material? And second, for the sprues, I kept all my sprues, some day hoping to find an easy way to cut them down to smaller bits and reuse them in casting. I mostly work with clear epoxy so you can use small bits for nice effects. I lately made a video on a resin dice tower, its a large model of 250g of material, but I can use about 20-30g of sprues at the bottom section to safe on material and to give it nice effects. The recycling was the main reason to make this model at all, as I have kilos of sprues laying around ^^
I was hoping to know why type of stain as well.
anda sama dengan saya dulu saya melebih kan 2 untuk 1gros .karena saya takut kalau saya kurang dalam menghitung ..tapi berujung masalah . saya dicurigai mengurangi 10 pcs dalam 1 gros .karena dia langsung pajang digrosir .dan tidak dihitung .toko grosirnya menjual hitungan 1 lusin..dia lihat ada sisa 2 ..hahahahahha..hidup memang tak adil
This guy is a boss thank u
Fabulous just fabulous!!! Thanks for sharing how you make your beautiful art pieces. All your tips are probably simple or common sense to you but that’s years & years of experience. Definitely helps us to shortcut learning every single thing the hard way. You are so appreciated.
Happy New Years. 🥂
You can recycle waste plastic. Look into it....
Welcome back from “vacation”. Hope you have a wonderful new year!
Yeah, I didn’t “vacation” very well...🤪
@@RobertTolone Old school craftsmen and people who love their work, and you strike me as both, rarely take more than a couple of days off. They just can't do it, haha
@@leechefski I could do it if I was hiking somewhere interesting for a couple weeks. But sitting around at home is no good!
limbahnya memang jadi masalah saya membuang 1 karung dalam satu bulan
Nice production set up... Happy 2021..
Can't tell you how useful this has been
Do you have a formula for, I forget the term that was used in the printing industry, how many you cast to make sure you have 100 at the end? In printing if you expected 1,000 at the end they would start with say 1,100. They made POS displays and a certain number would be used for set ups and thrown away along the multi step process. The thing was even though they ordered 1,000 per contract and maybe printing pricing standards they would be charged for the 1,000 and whatever they had left of the 100.
But I know what you mean by shipping extra. I used to make vehicle graphics and if I had extra I would throw them in. I didn't have any use for them. If it was some thing odd I would keep a few if they asked for more later.
The smaller the edition, the larger the percentage of overage. For instance if it is an edition of five and I make one extra that is a 20% overage. So on small runs I am less likely to make extras. On an edition of 100 I would expect to make 5 extra. Unless I am catching a lot of flaws in the castings and I have to discard a larger percentage of them. Fortunately, that rarely happens. In this edition I kept one for my archive, gave two to the client and two to Crazy Al, the sculptor.
water knot if you pull it together tight
You can put som filler on to your resin to make your prpduction cheaper, regards from Poland
Amazing job. They turned out, fantastic. I would love to get that little flashing and cleanup on my castings.
That is why I am such a big fan and advocate of one-piece silicone cut molds. Done properly they yield fantastic results!
It was a joy to see new Tikis getting unmolded and finished. =) Thanks, Robert.
I really enjoyed this series. I recently started a job as the manager of an educational fab lab and mold making and casting is part of the job. Unfortunately it is something with which I have very limited experience. I think I am going to try molding and casting some 3d printed Lewis chessman and the tiki statues are pretty close in size and shape. Thanks for the videos and Happy New Year!
Glad you enjoyed the videos. Thanks for watching!
Good job bro🤩✌
Salam kenal=indonesia
24:10 - If you had a practical & cheap way of turning those chunks into smaller granules, they could probably be reused as filler.
Happy New Year! Were you able to get all 100 pieces from those 2 molds? Good stuff!
Oh yes. The molds are in excellent shape now at the end of 105 castings. The original model was made in sculptor’s wax and even though it had a lot of detail was quite smooth. Often I cast sculptures by Crazy Al that are carved in wood and the wood grain detail definitely shortens the life of the mold. I expect I could easily get another run of 100 out of this set of molds. To be safe, on client jobs I budget 10 castings per cavity.
The sound of the jig saw on gradient speeds sounds like "do, ra, mi, fa, so..." 😂❤
This was fantastic. Would love to see more production workflow videos! Can't thank you enough for all the knowledge you share with all these videos.
Lovely work Robert! Happy New Year to you.
These tikis are getting better.
I’ll tel Al you said so. 😊
Those look fun! I learned that knot trick when I was in high school by accident. I made polymer clay necklaces that I sold to other kids to earn money to buy more craft supplies. LOL
What kind of stain do you use? I wouldn't think the plastic would be porus enough to absorb stain.
It is Behr EuroColor water-based wood stain #690 Norwegian teak. It dries to a hard plastic film, similar to acrylic paint. Crazy AL, the designer of the tiki, has been using it on a variety of plastic products for years. I don’t know why it works so well on plastic but it does.
@@RobertTolone I did some searches and can't find that product. You might want to hoard what supply you have. Thanks for the answer, I am now thinking that any stain + polyurethane will work.
@@MarkATrombley Behr makes a lot of water-based fast drying stains. when we run out of this 5 gallon bucket will have to experiment a little to find a similar product. It doesn’t appear they are making that EuroColor line anymore.
Fantastic walkthrough, thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Thanks for watching, Ike!
Love it when you get bored!!! Great informative video once again. The stained figures do look great. Interesting to see you use Magic Sculp for the jig. I have sucessfully tested dental kneadable 2 part silicone rubber for a similar purpose. That stuff works great and it comes in a varaity for shore hardness going up to 90. Very handy to have it around, I guess pad printers use it as well. It is rather cheap when on offer about 50 € for 3 Kg where I live. It is also sold as Lab Putty which comes with a tube of paste catalyst wheras the other product is a dead easy 2 component putty with a 50:50 mix ratio - great stuff. Check dental supply companies these are truly gold mines for peaope doing resin casting etc. and almost found in any major City around the world. Happy new year looking forward to your company in 2021!!!
I have never use that stuff Wolli. I’ve got to give some a try - sounds very interesting!
@@RobertToloneThank you for your reply I forgot to add: It sure hase some characteristics other materials do not have. It hardens in a couple of minutes it does bonds to other rubbers (if you want) as it was regular rubber. Imagine you can build a sturdy 2 part mother mold in less than 15 minutes or add a strong core/support inside the mold you are casting. And yet it keeps all the good and wanted silicone rubber properties. If time is money than that stuff is made for you.
Relly cool project!
Thanks Mike!
Did you mention what kind of water-based stains you use or prefer? And why one would work better on resin than another?
The stain I used was Behr EuroColor water-based wood stain #690 Norwegian teak. Al, the designer of the tiki, has been using this stain on a variety of plastic products for years. It’s water-based and I’m not sure why it works so well on plastics. It’s almost like acrylic paint. It dries to a tough plastic film.
@@RobertTolone Thanks for the reply! I looked online and only found threads where people were saying the EuroColor was discontinued about 20 years ago! Lol. I contacted Behr, and the person who responded said they had never heard of EuroColor. So I will continue to look around and experiment to find something that doesn't bead up on unprimed polyurethane resin castings.
@@MechanicalWhispers It would not surprise me if that 5 gallon bucket of stain is 20 years old. There’s only an inch or two left. I have no idea if a different Behr water-based stain would work just as well. I guess we’ll find out when the bucket is empty! 😀
Great video, thanks and Happy New Year!
Just started watching your RUclipss Bob and really enjoying them. Very informative, wants me wanting to go out and buy some resin and rubber. Can you explain the resins and rubber you use, if you haven't done so already and go over the equipment you use, pressure tank, vacuum tank? Is there any easy way that these can be replicated? Also how do you keep your hat so clean with sticky fingers? LoL.
Head over to my channel page and scroll down through the videos. I have done videos on the pressure pot and the vacuum chamber. In the description of the videos you will find a link to a free PDF you can download listing my materials and suppliers. Full disclosure, some of those suppliers are now providing me with materials for the channel. So I have gone from being their customer to being something of a showcase for their products.
My hat stays clean because my fingers are never sticky. I don’t allow myself to get resin, rubber, glue or paint on my hands or clothing anymore.
Great video as always. Could you tell me what grit the flap wheel is. I'm interested in getting one myself but don't want to get 100 grit or something too abrasive and melt my parts 😅
Thanks in advance
Most of my wheels were between 80 - 120 grit. But I save the worn out ones to use on plastic. So you would definitely want a finer grit if you were using a new flap wheel on resin. 220 or so. You just have to experiment until you find out which grit works the best for your application.
Love your videos, Rob! Great stuff!
Great work, Robert!
What type of resin do you use and where do you get it? Also, the molds - what material do you use and where do you get that? Thank you.
I get my materials from www.silpak.com. Mostly I use Econosil- 25 silicone rubber and Silcast urethane resin. But you should use the materials that fit the needs of your project. They can help you choose the correct material for what you are doing.
Robert! i would love to speak to you I really need help with a mould I would like to make, please can you let me know if you’re happy to show me how to do it :) your friend Amy
Amy, send pics to me at roberttolone@yahoo.com.
Hey Robert! I have to ask about MagicSculpt, since you recommend it so much, for a project of mine. I want to spot heal then polish a surface to an ultra fine (10000 grit) finish for a mold. Is magic sculpt suitable for this? Or perhaps bondo or anything else you could recommend? Thank you so much.
Well, I can honestly say I’ve never sanded it up to 10,000 grit. But it polishes well and is very hard so I expect it would work. You could always test it out.
@@RobertTolone Thank you, then that is what I will do. I will let you know!
Robert, could you tell us the pricing for the parts you make?
I got 20 bucks each for these castings. It was worth my time. That’s pretty much how I judge every job: will it pay me a living wage for the time I spend on it.
Love seeing shortcuts with the saw/drill/string-jigs. Time does equal money. Simple effective time saving shortcuts are the best. Thankyou brother!
Thanks Brian!
@@RobertTolone thankyou Robert! Im a big fan and always look forward to your next video! I learn more important tips every time.
Honestly means the world to me. Ive been mold/casting for just over a year. Every mold is better than the next thanks to you my friend! I get compliments on the figures I have been casting. You have helped improve my work greatly and I owe you a huge thanks!! Ive attempted weeping molds, but could always learn more helpful tips on making them.
@@BrianFowlie I’m so glad you find my videos helpful. It really motivates me to make more videos. We’ve got some amazing viewer projects coming up that I am really excited about!
@@RobertTolone my alerts are set! Looking forward!
How come you decided to cut the bases with the jigsaw vs the router? Both look like they did the job well.
Because I was in a temporary shop and discovered that the jig saw did a really clean job.
Is the stain the same you would use for wood?
Yes it is a water-based wood stain by Behr. They don’t make that particular color anymore but they still make water-based stains.
@@RobertTolone Thank you for the reply. Love your channel, you are a great teacher!
@@fordeetv Thanks for the nice comment! I appreciate it.
String jig is genius
HI Robert
I saw in your videos you use wax to sculpt various things can you add please some sculpting techniques and some tips from your experience
Thank you
Stay safe an have a good 2021
Happy New Year...
We call it a Staffordshire knot or a slip knot
Thanks Martyn!
Can you teach us how to made the sand dics, what kind of sand paper did you used
I did not make it, they are made by the Fladder Company. I believe they are from Denmark.
What a cool chap 👌🤝
`Really enjoy these vids- I couldn't help wonder- "what the economics were on a project of 100 pieces ?". . e.g. :1- Whats the retail cost - how much did they sell for> , 2-The bid/ contract value agreed on
I don’t know what they sold for. I was paid $20 each.
thx for the response - 20$ is remarkable (( my initial text was cut off as i was also curious where those tchotchkes went - a South American Tourist Store for Inca trinkets ? )) PS : The other day I used a Water-Pic ( normally used for teeth & gums) to demold a stubborn pour - worked surprisingly well
How many did you saw? How many did you make?
105 pieces.
what grit is that flap sander? thank you for the tip
I don’t remember. Probably started around 120 but it’s so worn out that it’s pretty soft. Perfect for resin castings!
How do you price things to sell?
I don’t sell directly to the public. My clients dictate how much they are willing to pay; I only accept the jobs where the pay is sufficient. I make my money primarily as a sculptor. Molding and casting is only part of the service I offer to my clients.
Hi Robert, I follow you some months ago and I wonder if you could explain, teh "metod" or tehe diference between degasing the mold an d cure the cast under presurre. Is it no the same, right?
Is because Im trying to make my self a vacuum chamber but right now I think thats not the same.
Thanks a lot and regards from Spain
A vacuum pump is used to remove the air from the silicone rubber before it is poured to make the mold. A pressure pot uses compressed air to crush small bubbles and suppress the formation of bubbles in resin as it cures.
@@RobertTolone thanks a lot
Ya, I don't have a tank so what type of resin should I get - I don't need large quantities but I do want to make large mirror frames and I've been struggling with suppliers.
I get my resins from www.silpak.com Most of my castings are done in urethane resins like their Silcast or QuickCast. I mostly use their most economical grade of silicone rubber, Econosil-25.
@@RobertTolone Thanks for the heads up.
18:36 is a great snippet of advice
I hate drilling out the stain clog in the holes!
Here in the UK that knot arrangement is called a fisherman's knot. Essentially 2 mirrored half hitches.
Very nice to see hwo things work, but can you occasionally tell the curing times? It's the one thing i miss a little bit
Have you ever done anything with "cold casting", Robert? Using metal dust in the resin? I'd love to see what techniques you might use for that which might be different from what you've shown us so far (especially finishing techniques to get that real cast metal look).
I occasionally do projects with filled resins and if a project comes to the channel that requires it I’d be happy to give it a go. The major difference is that most filled resins are thicker and therefore more likely to catch bubbles. Also you have to really stir the B component because many fillers settle quickly.
Happy New Year Mr.Tolone and stay safe!
Robert, you have a great attitude. Your enthusiasm is just fantastic. I’ve tried a lot of what you showed on your videos and I’m having a blast. Thank you.
Best regards, Richard...
So glad you find my videos useful Richard!
Nice job Robert
Thanks Matt!
A happy New Year to you Robert. Thanks for another informative video . All the best from Australia.
Thanks Glen!
Happy New Year! Thanks for all the great, informative videos!
Same to you. Thanks for watching!
Oh Mr Tolone, you always have an answer to my questions before I even ask them. That jig you made for cutting the castings is brilliant and all I needed to fix a current issue I have.
Thank you sir.
Glad you find my videos helpful Henry.
Hi. I've just come across your channel and love how you explain the little things that matter. I want to get into molds and casting and have a couple of questions if that's ok?
Did you use some kind of plastic resin for these rather than an epoxy? And is it better to use a pressure chamber (how much pressure?) rather than a vacume?
Many thanks for all the insights
They made of Urethane resin. I use pressure when casting the resin to suppress bubbles and vacuum to de-air rubber prior to pouring a mold.
Another great video!! These videos always puts a smile on my face and I also learn something. Have a Great New Year!!!
Happy new year Albert!
Welcome back! Glad to see you didn't party too hard, unless this was a pre-recorded video with instructions to release it on this day regardless.
I have sort of a funky part I'm needing to either cast or get cast, since I've not worked with silicone before it might be a bit beyond my capability. It's a diffuser lens for a turn signal, has some weird shapes to it, tabs and some concentric lenticular rings. Wondering if this is something I could pick your brain on and if so how I'd get some info over to you.
Cheers, and welcome to 2021!
Sorry Jonny, somehow I missed this question earlier. Reach me at roberttolone@yahoo.com.
Happy 2021 Uncle Bob!
Happy new year Robert! I was wondering what kind of lighting, camera, and audio equipment you use? Maybe you can do a video on that.
Hi April! The truth is I don’t have much fancy gear.
Cameras are an old Canon 70d, an iPhone 10, a DJI Action and a Canon M50.
Sound is Rode Wireless Go mics hooked to a Zoom H1n recorder.
Lights are cheap Amazon video soft box kits - I think by FancierStudio. Also a collection of small clip-on lights for tool setups, etc.
All bulbs are daylight 5500 k.
Camera stands and rigging is home built.
Editing is with Lumafusion running on a 2020 iPad pro. That’s the newest, best piece of gear I own. My trusty old ipad was struggling to edit 4k video!
Happy New Year to you and yours Robert from the UK, could you give us a little more detail on the flap wheel you were using.
It is made by the Fladder company in Denmark.
hai pap...apakah dalam pekerjaan seharian tidak memakai masker .? setahu saya uap resin berbahaya untuk kesehatan .saya juga main resin selama 7 tahun ini. saya membuat magnet kulkas . sendirian tanpa kariawan .saya sudah produksi 300 ribu pcs ..dalam berkerja sehari-hari saya memakai masker gas 3m ..bagaimana cara anda menjaga kesehatan ?... salam dari sumatera barat indonesia
I used google to translate your question. You cast a much larger volume of resin than I do. I am actually a sculptor so most of my time is spent sculpting small prototype objects. And I do very few production runs anymore. I rarely make more than 500 castings per year. My shop is very well ventilated. We have a very large doors, fans and blowers that suck the air out of the building. We have dust collectors on machines. And finally, I don’t wear a mask on camera because it makes me hard to understand and hear. I have dust and fume masks, gloves, etc.
@@RobertTolone pekerjaan anda sangat rapi sekali . saya tidak ada apa -apa nya dibanding anda . saya takut anda salah mengerti kalau hasil google translate saya copi kesini .saya sengaja tidak pakai bahasa slank. hasil translate gogle belum terlalu baik . saya tidak pakai tank seperti anda .saya mau meniru tank anda tapi masih belum mengerti. kalau ada lubang .saya memakai papping bag ,untuk dempul ,saya juga memakai PANASONIC Exhaust Fan 12 Inch FV-30RUN . tapi tetap pakai masker gas. 500 pcs per tahun tidak masalah asal bisa beli ferari . 300 ribu pcs 7 tahun rumah saja masih sewa .:) ..saya banyak sekali belajar pada anda . anda hebat .terima kasih atas ilmunya
@@sangatrahasia861 Thank you for watching my videos. I wish you good luck in your business!
It is always a pleasure to watch your videos and hear your explanations.
Happy new year, Mr Robert !!
Happy new year Fernando!
Seems like you could pour a bit less resin and have less waste. Even just a few grams less per pour could add up.
I could but I find it slows me down. I have to move quickly to pour 10 per cycle. This project had an unusual amount of waste because I did not design the original funnel systems.
Hope you had a good Christmas and a great new year. The flashing on these were darn near non existant. Great job!
That’s why I am such a fan and advocate of silicone molds. They work great!
Is it the 8th already? Happy new year, Robert! :)
Happy new year John! Let’s hope for a better year ahead.
Thank you for all those lessons. I was amazed by the tying of the string too. Simple yet adjustable. Great project! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
I wish I had invented them Nathaniel but those slip knots were more likely invented by prehistoric humans!
@@RobertTolone glad they were able to pass it on us! Thanks always for your vids!
Robert! glad to see you back! I'm just curious now... why didn't you use the funnel you made on the previous video?
The point to the funnel is to pour a lot of rubber rapidly while controlling how it falls into the mold. When making the first version of the mold I didn’t know how much rubber it would take to make it so I filled it in four smaller batches. I had no need for a funnel.
@@RobertTolone hoooo that make sense now. Thanks!!
Happy New Year Robert.
Happy New Year Security! We’ll have some fun with the viewer projects that we have lined up.
Looking forward to that, a wealth of superb techniques and challenges, roll on the coming months!
Happy new year, sir.
Thank you.
A half hitch
Doesn’t surprise me that you know that.
@@RobertTolone I’ll show you a bowline bend one day!
are you using woodstain for this?
Yes, it is a Behr water-based stain. We have had this bucket for years and years and it has been discontinued by Behr. It’s almost empty and we will have to figure out a new product to use.
@@RobertTolone thank you, will do some experimenting then. But I assume any wood stain could work. Thank you for your great video's I enjoy all of them a lot!
@@wouterki26 I really don’t know. Al, the sculptor who made the original tiki, developed this process of staining and just gave me the stain to use. He said that it took him some experimenting to find a stain that worked well. Behr still makes water-based stains; they just don’t make that particular color.
@@RobertTolone ah I see, well I have to do some experimenting myself then. Will see if I can get my hands on some of there stuff. Thank you so much
What type of stain do you use on the raw resin?
It is a Behr water-based stain.
Happy new year Robert. Thanks for mentioning the waste its something i havent thought about as a cost as i have only cast things for myself however that will change in 2021.
if it does nothing else it makes you aware of how much money you’re throwing away. And you start to design sprues, funnels, etc to minimize the waste. I remember making big funnels to make it easier to pour the resin until I realized how much rubber and resin I was wasting.
@@RobertTolone thats certainly something I have taken from your videos. Ive started to design up molds for future builds thanks to your gold nuggets of info.
@@ScottBourke So glad you find my videos useful Scott! Thanks for watching.
Robert, did you ever mention what that mold making software was that you showed on some previous videos? That looked really useful.
If you mean my CAD software it is Rhino 3D by McNeil and Associates.
Happy new year !!!
Same to you!
Fantastic video, I love the details you point out and the great advice for effective production. I learned A LOT from you and I am very motivated to work on my own projects. As soon as the freezing temperatures here are over I will start with my first cut-molds! Because of my small apartment I have to work on the balcony.Thank you so much Robert and have a healthy and happy start into 2021!
it’s really tough to work in very hot or very cold conditions. Thanks for watching my videos and good luck on your projects!