Here is a link to a downloadable PDF file with a list of the rubber, resins and waxes I use in my videos: www.dropbox.com/s/kz6mhmf7v5vpy7l/Material%20and%20Suppliers.pdf?dl=0
"Fix it once in the model". YESSIR! Excellent advice! Frustrating to have 20 casts to fix, when it could have been done once. I had someone recently ask about getting their resin casts glossy, and I let them know the trick of making your main model glossy (whether by high-gloss finish and/or by polishing with MicroMesh, etc.) and THEN making the mold. Silicone will capture that high specularity and it'll end up in the resin casts. :)
Great advice. Also be sure to polish any models you want to cast clear to a high shine. Otherwise the castings will have a cloudy surface. As you pointed out, what you put in the mold comes out of the mold.
Just put on some beard and you would look like santa claus but the presents you give us is knowledge from your experience. I just can't fast forward your vids like i do to others cause every word you say counts! I'm learning a lot and it would help me a lot in the future to lessen the mistakes. I love santa claus! Thank you!
@@RobertTolone would be great to see that on your christmas special! Your really cool and all your tutorials are great! You must be a really cool grandpa! Thanks foe your reply! Keep it up!!
That little green piece is part of a toddler's toy set… it’s from Lakeshore Learning and is called "My First Pop Beads." I only know this because I bought a set of them for my own child when she was a wee one?.. :) that set has many different shapes and sizes and colors…
Omg I needed to make silicone sprues all along for my doll parts!!! Thank you SO MUCH!!!! I love your humor and talent!! Fantastic channel. Will mention you in my video for my doll parts molding video.
17:55 - An important detail is to *not spin it too fast,* because, as the resin gels, it flows more slowly, and if you spin it too fast it actually just stays where it is (it starts to flow down, but then you spin it and "down" is now up, so it just jiggles in place). You're just trying to make it flow with gravity, not push it outwards with centrifugal force.
This is ridiculous. I would never have thought watching videos on mould making and resin casting would prove so addictive. Surely such a series couldn't amount to so many episodes? But I'm pleased to be wrong, it does, and I'm finding it very hard not to binge-watch. It must be the mixture of practical advice and enthusiasm. Well done, please don't stop.
If you want to learn about mold making, this man is the very best Ive seen by far from all the videos on youtube, and Ive seen a lot......Thank you Sr, I love your videos
Thanks for another great video AND for cutting those pieces open for further inspection. I remember cutting clay pieces in half in a class right on the wheel for checking wall thickness and remember other people in the class being shocked. I told them this is how you get better, make both small and large pieces over and over and inspect them. Don't just rely on luck and keep everything.
Looks like the original is a modular block of sorts. Multiple models of the original can be linked together, popping the ball of one into the hex socket of the next. Ideally, the ooriginal came in a set with some of the balls and sockets in swapped positions for optimal adaptability.
I'm certainly enjoying going through all these. I'm interesting in concrete / plaster / jesmonite casting so I hope some of the skills transfer. Not that I caret too much, they are interesting in and of themselves.
Lovely video. =) I already knew that I should cut zik zak lines that let the mold interlock later. But this time I learned I should come to a straight line, when the cut finally comes to touch the model. I would have liked to see the solid part cut open, too. Just to see if it worked and the nobs at the end really are solid. But maybe I should not doubt your experience. ;-D
I have a high level of confidence that they are solid because I poured them. They didn’t catch any bubbles so that tells me that they filled it properly. But you’re right, I should have cut them open in the video.
Another great video packed with helpful information. Cutting the demo castings open was a great way to look at what happened inside of the molds. I’d be interested to know if you used any particular methods to prevent bubbles in the resin. Particularly since using a pressure pot/chamber isn’t an option for hollow cast objects. Thanks a bunch for sharing!
Thanks Jimmy. I am actually a cartoon sculptor by profession. I do character based sculpting for the entertainment industry. Mostly for toys but even big stuff like theme park and display sculptures.
Hi Robert! I have a "How do I cast this" question. I am wanting to do the same type of thing, but I am trying to do it with a liquid type metal *(Like JB weld mixed with acetone)* that I can pour into a mold like this. I thought about mixing JB weld with acetone to give the JB weld the consistency of honey that was heated up in a microwave, so it pours fills gaps better. I am already familiar with lost wax mold castings / smelting but I want to try and see if I can use the rubber mold because it comes out a lot more detailed. It doesn't have to be JB weld, any metal that I can use as a liquid that pours easy would suffice. Obviously I can not use a hot metal into a rubber form lol. Thanks Robert!
Probably. I would like to do more sculpting videos but the moldmaking and casting videos get many more views. That seems to be the topic that most people are interested in.
@@RobertTolone it turned out pretty well and the lesson from you helped a lot. Thanks so much. It’s like 15 years since it did this last time and back then I was using rigid molds and had to take in consideration a lot of geometry and math and had to think a lot in advance. This is so much more reliable than what I had back then.
I'm thinking the solid ends and hollow body could be done simply as a roto cast. Being at the extremitiy and having a choke at the entry, the balls will fill quickly and drain reluctantly under roto conditions. Not sure the hex socket of the original could have been done as a simple roto.
Have so enjoyed your video series--you're a master and inspire such creativity! Thank you for sharing your abundant knowledge! I was wondering how to cast a small hollow resin house with cutout windows and doors. How could I approach this? I can't figure out how to end up with the cutouts starting with the mold itself and then the best way to cast it so it would be hollow. Thought I would pick your brain. Thank you!
To create the hollow cavity of the house there must be an open side. This would require separating the house from the base. If that was done it would be relatively easy to cast. As an alternative you could block the door and window openings and hollow cast the house using a rotational molding machine. That would make it hollow and afterwards you would cut out the door and window openings.
Your videos are great! I'm learning so much every time. I sculpt miniature figurines (35mm) out of apoxie sculpt, greenstuff & sculpey, and was wondering how you'd go about molding & casting those. The figurines can have a fair number of undercuts, and I have lots of trapped bubble problems in some off my molds. How would you eliminate these? Would you still use a block mold? I've settled on using two part molds for now, as the figurines are so small, prone to breaking, and I can cut extra vent holes. Thanks!
Hello Robert, I'm a first-time visitor. EXCELLENT video as I will be TRYING to cast a hollow fish! Curious to know if the fins will turn out solid thin, as the ends of your toy. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, J
There’s a possibility the fins might not fill entirely, especially if they are really thin like real fins. You could pre-paint the resin into the fins before hollow casting the body.
enjoyed video. I looked but didn't see an answer to your question as to what this is. You prolly know already but it is a toy called,ick N Link for tots.
You asked what it was, it's 1 part of a snake or building oval kit for kids. The balls click into the holes and little kids see what they can make with them. It's a late 80s early 90s type of toy.
Robert, I love the channel keep up the good work! I have a hard question: I have a mold that I use for lawn ornaments which I use with cement. My question is, how would I go about making my castings hollow with material with cement?
I know this is an older video Robert, but I’m finally using your roto I picked up from your studio (well- trying to use it lol)- you mentioned a “acid brush” for prepainting, what does that mean? I’d love to try the prepaint method but I dont wanna ruin my brushes lol
Yes, especially if you know the ratio of the weight of the model material to the weight of the casting resin. I always use the same sculptor’s wax to make my models and I know how much it weighs compared to the resin I use. So all I have to do is weigh the model. If there is a big difference between the weight of the model material and the resin weight the method doesn’t work until you establish the ratio between the two materials.
Hey Robert, question for you. After fixing the model and polishing it would you recommend throwing some primer on it to get a uniform color making it easier to spot imperfections and additional things you need to cleanup? Is there a particular primer that would work best for this? Something that wouldn't affect the rubber.
Yes, priming the model can help smooth the finish. There are lots of brands of rubber and primer so it’s impossible to say which will work together. I have used both Krylon and Rustoleum primer successfully with the Econo-sil 25 silicone rubber I buy from from silpak.com. But definitely test your materials.
Hi Robert! Your videos are awesome. I am looking for a tutorial on how to cast a hollow body part (in my case, a torso). How would you go about this? Thanks:) Keep it up
Nice video. I saw TheCrafsMan take his scrap silicone (or unused molds and cut them up) and put it into other molds saving material. i thought that was brilliant. Thoughts?
Excellent video! I had a question regarding making the object hollow. I know the point was to make the item one single piece. Just curious if it would be possible to make a 2 piece mold and then brush the inside of the molds with the resin and then immediately join the two surfaces (if that makes any sense)? I know this would most likely leave a seam to deal with, and maybe fitment issues. Does this seem like an alternate approach to this? I love your articulating fixture by the way!
Your method would work, particularly if you use a resin that is designed to be brushed on as opposed to one that is designed to be poured. The biggest difficulty you will encounter is making a good bond of resin around the seam. Plus you will have a lot of flash and a lot of parting line to smooth out. Also you would have to be careful to create an even wall thickness when brushing on the resin. This method sounds slow and tedious to me. I would opt for the rotation method or I would cast the individual halves in separate molds and glue the castings together. I think that either of the last two methods would be easier, faster and cleaner.
Oh Great and Powerful Overheated Tiki-Tolone! I am pleased with your hollow casting, and would ask of you to perhaps address the issue of making a hollow casting of a specific thickness? Is possible?
Depends on how precise your requirements are. It is very difficult to precisely control the wall thickness of Roto cast pieces. The only way to ensure precision is to cast both the inner and outer walls of a piece.
@@RobertTolone That's what I was afraid of, yet I feel better also now, knowing my variable thicknesses are to be expected with this, and to just try not to get them too thick. I'm making some sculptures to be cast in bronze, you see, and it has to be 3/16 minimum, but it's so darned expensive that I'm trying to figure out how (other than to cast inner and outer walls) to keep the thickness as even as possible, though the smaller parts will of course be solid. Thanks for your insights, as always very helpful. :-)
Can you tell me about the construction of your pressure pot set-ups? How were they made and the front hole can't be round to get that oversized round door inserted.
They are made from the air cylinders from the brake system of very large trucks. The door is oval in shape so that it can go in one way, turn 90° and seal the door shut. The door is bigger than the opening. If it were round you would not be able to get it inside the tank.
@@RobertTolone I did find the post where you describe how the pressure pots were made. It is obvious the hole isn't round, I was curious what the width of the oval was and the diameter of the door and diameter of the chamber. If you were starting from scratch, and money wasn't necessarily an issue, would you still make them round and the current size, or larger? What would your perfect pressure vessel look like? I was thinking about making one out of square/rectangular, thick aluminum tube with a square/rectangular door. It would give me some practice on the TIG welder, and I have the thick aluminum sheet for the ends and a door. I have a stainless steel autoclave that is round, and good for the pressure, but it has 6 latches which take time to secure, and the thing isn't quite long enough for the largest pieces I need to cast. I am thoroughly enjoying your videos. I have some parts to recreate for classic sports cars. I have a vacuum chamber for the rubber, but without the pressure pot, I am getting too many trapped bubbles in the resin that are affecting the integrity of the pieces. I have lots of thin pieces, essentially vent/grate covers and louvers. How does one attach a photo? Thanks.
Thanks! Awesome info! What was the name of that was pen thing again? Looks like a soldering tool. I was thinking that if you kink the paper cup on the lip and pinch it slightly as you pour, it might give you slightly more control.
You mention you can pour in 3 separate shots, as opposed to one shot, is there a time factor that needs to be considered? Do all your pours have to come one after another in a short time frame? What if say, you got called away and couldn't do another pour until the next day, would the resin adhere to the earlier pour?
It probably would but I always do the pours as close together as possible. As soon as one layer gels I pour the next one. I have no experience with what happens if you wait a long time between pours so I don’t really know. Do a small test and see. Let us know what you find out.
@@RobertTolone If I do a test, I will let you know. Hopefully, I'll be able to do the pours close together. Just was wondering about the limit of the product. Thank you, Robert.
Enjoy your videos. Was wondering if you may know or be able to tell me how figure out how hollow body frog fishing baits are made?...want to make my own and cant find any information on what kind of molds the companies like Spro use. Thanks
Industrial molds are likely to be different than the molds custom shops use. I’ve never actually held a Spro frog in my hand but just watching RUclips videos and looking at pictures online I’m going to guess they are injection molded. You could mimic that technique by creating a frog body that is divided in two parts. Each part would be half of the hollow body, so they would be thin-walled hollow shapes. After casting you would insert the hooks and harness, legs pieces, etc, then glue the halves together. This would be a great project to do on my channel. Do you have a frog body that you have designed?
@@RobertTolone was looking to make frogs similar to "scumfrog" brand, only a bit larger. Would be really cool to see what you could come up with if you gave it a try. Made one once with a form of plaster of paris that I dipped, then broke out the form. Then put the hooks in. Worked, but not great and labor intensive.
It depends on how strong you want to make the part. But you can begin with three resin pours of 8% of the filled weight each. So the final casting would weigh about 25% of the filled weight. But really you need to figure out the wall thickness for each project. Lightness versus strength, etc.
I have a product i need to figure out how to cast. I need it to be in fda grade silicone or similar soft material. it’s a very small product 4 cm by 1 cm. Any chance you have insight for me??
I have never experimented rotating epoxy resins. It should be possible if you can find a resin that sets quickly. Obviously you wouldn’t want to use a resin that cures in hours because you would have to keep spinning the rotator all that time.
Yep… it’s called "my first pop beads!" I had them as a kid and I bought some for my own kid when she was a toddler… I got a little chuckle when he asked if anyone knew what it was… I was really surprised he didn’t know what it was! Of course it is only one piece of the set…
Out of habit. I keep my head covered to avoid both sunshine and cold. I’ve lost more hands than I can count by setting them down somewhere indoors. So I got into the habit of always just keeping them on.
Here is a link to a downloadable PDF file with a list of the rubber, resins and waxes I use in my videos:
www.dropbox.com/s/kz6mhmf7v5vpy7l/Material%20and%20Suppliers.pdf?dl=0
"Fix it once in the model". YESSIR! Excellent advice! Frustrating to have 20 casts to fix, when it could have been done once.
I had someone recently ask about getting their resin casts glossy, and I let them know the trick of making your main model glossy (whether by high-gloss finish and/or by polishing with MicroMesh, etc.) and THEN making the mold. Silicone will capture that high specularity and it'll end up in the resin casts. :)
Great advice. Also be sure to polish any models you want to cast clear to a high shine. Otherwise the castings will have a cloudy surface. As you pointed out, what you put in the mold comes out of the mold.
Just put on some beard and you would look like santa claus but the presents you give us is knowledge from your experience. I just can't fast forward your vids like i do to others cause every word you say counts! I'm learning a lot and it would help me a lot in the future to lessen the mistakes. I love santa claus! Thank you!
@@nathanielrobles3284 Yes, I could do it because my beard is snow white!
@@RobertTolone would be great to see that on your christmas special! Your really cool and all your tutorials are great! You must be a really cool grandpa! Thanks foe your reply! Keep it up!!
@@nathanielrobles3284 I’ll try my best to be a cool grandpa if I ever get some grandkids! Thanks for all your very nice comments.
Seeing how the insides of the parts turned out was really informative!! Thanks again Robert!
Anthony Valdes Didn’t see this comment until now. 😳 Thanks for watching!
Robert Tolone Haha no problem good sir! You’re an inspiration and I hope to start my RUclips channel as well.
That little green piece is part of a toddler's toy set… it’s from Lakeshore Learning and is called "My First Pop Beads." I only know this because I bought a set of them for my own child when she was a wee one?.. :) that set has many different shapes and sizes and colors…
Omg I needed to make silicone sprues all along for my doll parts!!!
Thank you SO MUCH!!!! I love your humor and talent!! Fantastic channel. Will mention you in my video for my doll parts molding video.
17:55 - An important detail is to *not spin it too fast,* because, as the resin gels, it flows more slowly, and if you spin it too fast it actually just stays where it is (it starts to flow down, but then you spin it and "down" is now up, so it just jiggles in place). You're just trying to make it flow with gravity, not push it outwards with centrifugal force.
This is ridiculous. I would never have thought watching videos on mould making and resin casting would prove so addictive. Surely such a series couldn't amount to so many episodes? But I'm pleased to be wrong, it does, and I'm finding it very hard not to binge-watch. It must be the mixture of practical advice and enthusiasm. Well done, please don't stop.
Thanks Cheesed! I'll keep making videos and having fun. Glad you like them.
Am loving these, not least for the whole, 'ah, just as I planned' parts!🤣🤣🤣
Very enjoyable and thank you so much!
If you want to learn about mold making, this man is the very best Ive seen by far from all the videos on youtube, and Ive seen a lot......Thank you Sr, I love your videos
Love the trial & error approach . This is how we learn, keep on making the videos . THANK YOU.
Thanks the only way I know how to do things! Thanks for watching and let me know if there are any topics you’d like to see me cover in future videos.
Great job! Who knew Rudy Giuliani was such a pro at casting.
ANOTHER TRIUMPH!
Thanks Wayne!
man...this was the best video on this ive seen. love your approach, and I was thinking what it would look like cut open and you did that too. 100+
Thanks Brice!
Thanks for another great video AND for cutting those pieces open for further inspection. I remember cutting clay pieces in half in a class right on the wheel for checking wall thickness and remember other people in the class being shocked. I told them this is how you get better, make both small and large pieces over and over and inspect them. Don't just rely on luck and keep everything.
Exactly Rich! That’s how you learn.
Once again brilliant proof of your talent. Liked every moment of it and will try out the cardboard easle soon. Great show. Allways hopeing for more.
I think this is going to be a really helpful series Robert, hope to see more. Thanks!
Thanks Richard! Let me know if you have any specific issues you’d like to see me cover.
I really loved the final part when when you cut them apart to get some feedback from them!. AMAZING.
I always hate to cut castings apart but it is a great way to learn!
Thank you from Russia, Robert. You are a wonderful person!
Thank you so much for your nice comment.
Looks like the original is a modular block of sorts. Multiple models of the original can be linked together, popping the ball of one into the hex socket of the next. Ideally, the ooriginal came in a set with some of the balls and sockets in swapped positions for optimal adaptability.
Yeah I agree. They used to make them for kids
Love your videos, i'll start doing castings of my sculptures thanks to your vids, love from México
Thanks Daniel. Love to see your work!
Daamn your wooden constructions for the molds are CRAZY!) They look like lil Da Vinci machenes ahahah :)
Thank you i want to make mold for silicone face not sure how i will do but this gave an idea of where to start
I'm certainly enjoying going through all these. I'm interesting in concrete / plaster / jesmonite casting so I hope some of the skills transfer. Not that I caret too much, they are interesting in and of themselves.
The principles are the same. You have to design the mold so you can get the material in and the air out.
Lovely video. =) I already knew that I should cut zik zak lines that let the mold interlock later. But this time I learned I should come to a straight line, when the cut finally comes to touch the model. I would have liked to see the solid part cut open, too. Just to see if it worked and the nobs at the end really are solid. But maybe I should not doubt your experience. ;-D
I have a high level of confidence that they are solid because I poured them. They didn’t catch any bubbles so that tells me that they filled it properly. But you’re right, I should have cut them open in the video.
It is really a pleasure to watch your videos my friend
Thanks for watching Dan! I appreciate it.
Another great video packed with helpful information. Cutting the demo castings open was a great way to look at what happened inside of the molds.
I’d be interested to know if you used any particular methods to prevent bubbles in the resin. Particularly since using a pressure pot/chamber isn’t an option for hollow cast objects.
Thanks a bunch for sharing!
17:15 I'm Dying!! too funny, well done!
You are amazing! Remind me of my grandpa. Who was a cartoonist. Your videos really help me progress.
Thanks Jimmy. I am actually a cartoon sculptor by profession. I do character based sculpting for the entertainment industry. Mostly for toys but even big stuff like theme park and display sculptures.
@@RobertTolone I like seeing your videos because of your long experience.
Hi Robert!
I have a "How do I cast this" question. I am wanting to do the same type of thing, but I am trying to do it with a liquid type metal *(Like JB weld mixed with acetone)* that I can pour into a mold like this. I thought about mixing JB weld with acetone to give the JB weld the consistency of honey that was heated up in a microwave, so it pours fills gaps better.
I am already familiar with lost wax mold castings / smelting but I want to try and see if I can use the rubber mold because it comes out a lot more detailed.
It doesn't have to be JB weld, any metal that I can use as a liquid that pours easy would suffice. Obviously I can not use a hot metal into a rubber form lol.
Thanks Robert!
You’re such a cool guy! Fun to watch love your attitude
This is so Bob Ross-esque very soothing I’m a bit too relaxed that it makes it hard to focus on educational aspect lol
If nothing else you can use my videos to help you fall asleep at night!
@@RobertTolone Haa
Thanks for all you do! God bless
Thank you! I love your videos!
Once again an interesting watch. Love your beach trash creations. Maybe there will be more videos of that work?
Probably. I would like to do more sculpting videos but the moldmaking and casting videos get many more views. That seems to be the topic that most people are interested in.
Your a great teacher mate I'm going to give it a go your videos are very informative. Thankyou
Thanks Simon!
good stuff
Thanks Jerry, let me know if there are specific topics you would like me to explore.
thanks so much. I prepare a skull model that's pretty big and I want it hollow. This will help me a lot.
Let us know how it turns out.
@@RobertTolone it turned out pretty well and the lesson from you helped a lot. Thanks so much. It’s like 15 years since it did this last time and back then I was using rigid molds and had to take in consideration a lot of geometry and math and had to think a lot in advance. This is so much more reliable than what I had back then.
@@hueroth Ugh, rigid molds. They are great for certain things but miserable when you have to cast something complex.
@@RobertTolone back then the silicone molds were a luxury and we had a lot of time on our hands. Also, the experience was a very useful one.
I'm thinking the solid ends and hollow body could be done simply as a roto cast. Being at the extremitiy and having a choke at the entry, the balls will fill quickly and drain reluctantly under roto conditions. Not sure the hex socket of the original could have been done as a simple roto.
Great stuff Robert!
I appreciate it John. Let me know if you have any topics or questions you’d like to see covered. That really helps me plan the content of my channel.
Have so enjoyed your video series--you're a master and inspire such creativity! Thank you for sharing your abundant knowledge! I was wondering how to cast a small hollow resin house with cutout windows and doors. How could I approach this? I can't figure out how to end up with the cutouts starting with the mold itself and then the best way to cast it so it would be hollow. Thought I would pick your brain. Thank you!
To create the hollow cavity of the house there must be an open side. This would require separating the house from the base. If that was done it would be relatively easy to cast. As an alternative you could block the door and window openings and hollow cast the house using a rotational molding machine. That would make it hollow and afterwards you would cut out the door and window openings.
Ur work are awesome Sir
You are so inspiring :) super good video
Thank you so much Carolin!
Your videos are great! I'm learning so much every time. I sculpt miniature figurines (35mm) out of apoxie sculpt, greenstuff & sculpey, and was wondering how you'd go about molding & casting those. The figurines can have a fair number of undercuts, and I have lots of trapped bubble problems in some off my molds. How would you eliminate these? Would you still use a block mold? I've settled on using two part molds for now, as the figurines are so small, prone to breaking, and I can cut extra vent holes. Thanks!
If you want, send me some pictures of your sculptures. It’s hard to know what’s happening without looking at the actual pieces. Thanks for watching!
@@RobertTolone Hi Robert, I sent you some background information and pictures to your yahoo email address. Thank you!
Hello Robert, I'm a first-time visitor. EXCELLENT video as I will be TRYING to cast a hollow fish! Curious to know if the fins will turn out solid thin, as the ends of your toy. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, J
There’s a possibility the fins might not fill entirely, especially if they are really thin like real fins. You could pre-paint the resin into the fins before hollow casting the body.
enjoyed video. I looked but didn't see an answer to your question as to what this is. You prolly know already but it is a toy called,ick N Link for tots.
Thank Sandra!
Thank you for the video.
You asked what it was, it's 1 part of a snake or building oval kit for kids. The balls click into the holes and little kids see what they can make with them. It's a late 80s early 90s type of toy.
Robert, I love the channel keep up the good work!
I have a hard question: I have a mold that I use for lawn ornaments which I use with cement. My question is, how would I go about making my castings hollow with material with cement?
I have never cast anything hollow with cement so I really can’t offer any good advice for you. Good luck with your projects!
THANK YOU!!!!!
I know this is an older video Robert, but I’m finally using your roto I picked up from your studio (well- trying to use it lol)- you mentioned a “acid brush” for prepainting, what does that mean? I’d love to try the prepaint method but I dont wanna ruin my brushes lol
They are cheap disposal brushes. Google it, lots of places sell them, usually in packs or boxes. I get mine in boxes of 100.
thank you!!@@RobertTolone
First time i found your channel.... I love it ! .... Could you weigh the original object to figure out how much resin you need ? 🤔
Yes, especially if you know the ratio of the weight of the model material to the weight of the casting resin. I always use the same sculptor’s wax to make my models and I know how much it weighs compared to the resin I use. So all I have to do is weigh the model. If there is a big difference between the weight of the model material and the resin weight the method doesn’t work until you establish the ratio between the two materials.
Its a plastic pop together toy bead that floats kinda
Hey Robert, question for you. After fixing the model and polishing it would you recommend throwing some primer on it to get a uniform color making it easier to spot imperfections and additional things you need to cleanup? Is there a particular primer that would work best for this? Something that wouldn't affect the rubber.
Yes, priming the model can help smooth the finish. There are lots of brands of rubber and primer so it’s impossible to say which will work together. I have used both Krylon and Rustoleum primer successfully with the Econo-sil 25 silicone rubber I buy from from silpak.com. But definitely test your materials.
Hi Robert! Your videos are awesome. I am looking for a tutorial on how to cast a hollow body part (in my case, a torso). How would you go about this? Thanks:) Keep it up
Check out my rotational casting playlist
Nice video.
I saw TheCrafsMan take his scrap silicone (or unused molds and cut them up) and put it into other molds saving material.
i thought that was brilliant.
Thoughts?
I do that a lot in my videos. I call the rubber pieces chunkies.
Excellent video!
I had a question regarding making the object hollow.
I know the point was to make the item one single piece. Just curious if it would be possible to make a 2 piece mold and then brush the inside of the molds with the resin and then immediately join the two surfaces (if that makes any sense)?
I know this would most likely leave a seam to deal with, and maybe fitment issues. Does this seem like an alternate approach to this?
I love your articulating fixture by the way!
Your method would work, particularly if you use a resin that is designed to be brushed on as opposed to one that is designed to be poured. The biggest difficulty you will encounter is making a good bond of resin around the seam. Plus you will have a lot of flash and a lot of parting line to smooth out. Also you would have to be careful to create an even wall thickness when brushing on the resin. This method sounds slow and tedious to me. I would opt for the rotation method or I would cast the individual halves in separate molds and glue the castings together. I think that either of the last two methods would be easier, faster and cleaner.
Oh Great and Powerful Overheated Tiki-Tolone! I am pleased with your hollow casting, and would ask of you to perhaps address the issue of making a hollow casting of a specific thickness? Is possible?
Depends on how precise your requirements are. It is very difficult to precisely control the wall thickness of Roto cast pieces. The only way to ensure precision is to cast both the inner and outer walls of a piece.
@@RobertTolone That's what I was afraid of, yet I feel better also now, knowing my variable thicknesses are to be expected with this, and to just try not to get them too thick. I'm making some sculptures to be cast in bronze, you see, and it has to be 3/16 minimum, but it's so darned expensive that I'm trying to figure out how (other than to cast inner and outer walls) to keep the thickness as even as possible, though the smaller parts will of course be solid. Thanks for your insights, as always very helpful. :-)
Can you tell me about the construction of your pressure pot set-ups? How were they made and the front hole can't be round to get that oversized round door inserted.
They are made from the air cylinders from the brake system of very large trucks. The door is oval in shape so that it can go in one way, turn 90° and seal the door shut. The door is bigger than the opening. If it were round you would not be able to get it inside the tank.
@@RobertTolone I did find the post where you describe how the pressure pots were made. It is obvious the hole isn't round, I was curious what the width of the oval was and the diameter of the door and diameter of the chamber. If you were starting from scratch, and money wasn't necessarily an issue, would you still make them round and the current size, or larger? What would your perfect pressure vessel look like? I was thinking about making one out of square/rectangular, thick aluminum tube with a square/rectangular door. It would give me some practice on the TIG welder, and I have the thick aluminum sheet for the ends and a door. I have a stainless steel autoclave that is round, and good for the pressure, but it has 6 latches which take time to secure, and the thing isn't quite long enough for the largest pieces I need to cast. I am thoroughly enjoying your videos. I have some parts to recreate for classic sports cars. I have a vacuum chamber for the rubber, but without the pressure pot, I am getting too many trapped bubbles in the resin that are affecting the integrity of the pieces. I have lots of thin pieces, essentially vent/grate covers and louvers. How does one attach a photo? Thanks.
Thanks! Awesome info! What was the name of that was pen thing again? Looks like a soldering tool. I was thinking that if you kink the paper cup on the lip and pinch it slightly as you pour, it might give you slightly more control.
It is a Foredom wax Carver. Good idea on pouring from the cup.
I have a piece I want to cast but I’m not sure how. Can you give me some advice?
please help, is it possible to make a mold of an aquarium outlet nozzel. ive lost one but cant purchase it as a spare part. can i make my own??
If you have one to mold from you could probably do it. Or design one in CAD and 3-D printed on a resin printer.
You mention you can pour in 3 separate shots, as opposed to one shot, is there a time factor that needs to be considered? Do all your pours have to come one after another in a short time frame? What if say, you got called away and couldn't do another pour until the next day, would the resin adhere to the earlier pour?
It probably would but I always do the pours as close together as possible. As soon as one layer gels I pour the next one. I have no experience with what happens if you wait a long time between pours so I don’t really know. Do a small test and see. Let us know what you find out.
@@RobertTolone If I do a test, I will let you know. Hopefully, I'll be able to do the pours close together. Just was wondering about the limit of the product. Thank you, Robert.
Enjoy your videos. Was wondering if you may know or be able to tell me how figure out how hollow body frog fishing baits are made?...want to make my own and cant find any information on what kind of molds the companies like Spro use.
Thanks
Industrial molds are likely to be different than the molds custom shops use. I’ve never actually held a Spro frog in my hand but just watching RUclips videos and looking at pictures online I’m going to guess they are injection molded. You could mimic that technique by creating a frog body that is divided in two parts. Each part would be half of the hollow body, so they would be thin-walled hollow shapes. After casting you would insert the hooks and harness, legs pieces, etc, then glue the halves together. This would be a great project to do on my channel. Do you have a frog body that you have designed?
@@RobertTolone was looking to make frogs similar to "scumfrog" brand, only a bit larger. Would be really cool to see what you could come up with if you gave it a try. Made one once with a form of plaster of paris that I dipped, then broke out the form. Then put the hooks in. Worked, but not great and labor intensive.
how much resin do you calculate to make a hollow part ?
It depends on how strong you want to make the part. But you can begin with three resin pours of 8% of the filled weight each. So the final casting would weigh about 25% of the filled weight. But really you need to figure out the wall thickness for each project. Lightness versus strength, etc.
I have a product i need to figure out how to cast. I need it to be in fda grade silicone or similar soft material. it’s a very small product 4 cm by 1 cm. Any chance you have insight for me??
I will be happy to look at it. roberttolone@yahoo.com
Is it possible to do this with epoxy resin?
I have never experimented rotating epoxy resins. It should be possible if you can find a resin that sets quickly. Obviously you wouldn’t want to use a resin that cures in hours because you would have to keep spinning the rotator all that time.
@@RobertTolone great point! Thank you so much for responding. Your videos are great help! ❣
How do I make a mold out of my little jar and lid?
I don’t know. Send a pic of them to me at roberttolone@yahoo.com.
How many casting you can make from one mould?
I depends on many factors. With this resin and rubber combination I can usually get at least 20 good castings.
u used smooh on resin ?
No, here is information about my material supplier: www.dropbox.com/s/kz6mhmf7v5vpy7l/Material%20and%20Suppliers.pdf?dl=0
good jop
Thanks for watching!
It's a little kids toy, they come in a set with different shapes that click together and make a chain
The original green doodad looks like a toddler’s “pop bead.”
Somehow I missed those as a kid. Never heard of them before.
Yep… that is exactly what the little green "doodad" is :)
“Solid” is “sold” on your title FYI
Fixed it, thanks!
Woodprix Blueprints has some very useful blueprints with all the details you need.
Nice video but please wear a respirator and gloves to protect yourself.
woooooow you dont know what that is? thats VINTAGE. i havent seen that toy since the 1970s
No idea what that toy is. Love the shape though.
Yep… it’s called "my first pop beads!" I had them as a kid and I bought some for my own kid when she was a toddler… I got a little chuckle when he asked if anyone knew what it was… I was really surprised he didn’t know what it was! Of course it is only one piece of the set…
Why do you wear the hat indoors ?
Out of habit. I keep my head covered to avoid both sunshine and cold. I’ve lost more hands than I can count by setting them down somewhere indoors. So I got into the habit of always just keeping them on.