I have never used resins or molds, yet, I can't get enough of this channel. There is nothing like watching an experienced craftsman who knows how to teach, has a chill vibe and a soothing voice to boot.
Love those very interesting and educational video! Thank you very much! Very inspirational also, I just bought a vacuum machine, and some pigments. Resin and silicone are next! I already made molds and castings but did not know how to mold more complex pieces. I will start to work with cut-molds.
Your comment about making 500 sparked a question. How many castings would you expect to get out of a mold without a lot of surface detail? Something like these, rather than something like the bigfoot figurine. Great as always!
So many factors go into mold life. How many copies you need dictates everything from mold and resin choice to surface finish, temperature, release agents, cycle times, etc, etc. For most projects in my shop the sweet spot is 10-20 castings per mold cavity.
Hi Robert, you mentioned that the bubble was an easy fix. Could you make a video about that? Filling bubbles and correcting other mistakes, to save an otherwise good cast?
Thank you Robert for your work. Very very very useful. I still have trouble with the cut of my mold. I know you recommend to cut the mold with zigzag pattern. Nevertheless, for half of my mold, I would like my part line goes through a precise line and alignment, for exemple the edges of my model. I struggle cutting my mold (quite thick) along the desired line which would minimize the length of my part line, simplify the sanding,.... Maybe you know useful tricks ? Thank you for your help.
@@RobertTolone Yes, as you wanted neatly closed parting lines with consistent pressure, I wondered why you wouldn't just put the mould back in another identical cup, as I thought it would support it all the way around?
@@NeilStansbury It’s an excellent question. The answer is that the cups are are very similar, but weirdly, not identical. So the rubber won’t fit exactly into the new cup. Also, in the cup I can’t see the parting line. With rubber bands, I can see the parting line and I can make sure that they are perfectly closed. I can also adjust each band as necessary to close the mold correctly.
@@RobertTolone Ah interesting thank you. I ask because I need to very precisely cast an electronic circuit and mini LCD screen into PE resin, and have been learning from you about how I might achieve this. This confirms my decision that a 2 piece is probably the right approach for my project, but any uneven distortion re-assembling the mould risks moving the components potted inside it.
@@NeilStansbury Potting components into resin is a difficult challenge. There are lots of problems to overcome. Which is why I always add components to a finished casting rather than pot them in.
God bless you, as always i'm learning something new from your videos. But sometting struggles my mind, you could have easily make a open mold and casted the 3d printed parts. Afterwards these castings gonna need sanding but considering its much more easier cast and mold the parts that way, thats what i would do. Why did you choose this types of cut molds instead of open mold? I'm really sorry that if the explanation is in the video and i've missed it.
If I had cast the 3-D printed parts in open molds the backs would not have been flat. They would have to be sanded flat. One option would be to print them thicker to allow for the fact that they need to be sanded to the final dimension. The other reason is that I pick my projects to demonstrate different ways to approach molding and casting things.
I noticed the same thing. As the nut that was cast in camera was the same colour "dark blue" as the other part. But the nut cleaned up was a lighter colour. @Robert Tolone was there any issues with the darker blue nut?
I made a second set of castings to correct the bubble in the first part. But the video was already over 30 minutes long and I deemed it not worth the extra time. Then, when I shot the last scene I thought that having the nut be a different color when it screwed on to the flange made the assembly more visible. At least a couple hours of video gets cut out every week. Maybe I should have “Outake Tuesday” where I put the footage of the accidents, spills, failures, sweating, screaming and non-stop cursing.
@@RobertTolone thanks for clearing that up. Many of us would enjoy the out takes as we do alot of learning and seeing mistakes made can be effective learning aids as well.
That's great camera work Bob , makes for a more thorough viewing . Always interesting watching you cut open a complex cut mould. You seem to have done a real hatchet job on the left thumb mate , was it the exacto ? 🙃. Any schedule of getting back to CA ? Take care. All the best from Australia.
Can one make a cut mold with more than one cut? Let's say you were going to cast a light/lamp reflector. Like a bowl, but with a hole in the middle. Would you cut down the outside edge in 4 parts, so the mold ended up kinda looking like a xenomorph egg opening when stretched out?
The best thing about cut molds is that you can cut in all different directions. The important thing is to leave the mold in one piece. If you make the mistake of cutting the mold into separate pieces it becomes almost impossible to reassemble them and make clean parting lines. Also, be sure to consider how you are holding the parting lines closed. If you have cuts in all different directions you must have rubber bands crossing in all different directions as well to hold the mold closed properly.
You’ll have to break it into separate pieces, especially the dragon. I would solid cast the dragon parts and horn feet. Hollow cast the horn or print it in two halves. The entire object should be broken into 10-12 pieces that assemble like a plastic model kit.
Robert, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm new to mold making and casting. About the Sticky wax... From where have you purchased it? Are there different kinds? any other suggestions? Sorry to bother you with this...
Thanks for the video, I was looking forward to this. =D Sanding the parts is a trouble for me when doing it on clear resin. I'm not sure if that can even be done without a power tool, to get the resin clear again on parting lines. (Or maybe it's just more effort than I am willing to put into my pieces. :'-D )
Another reason I'm no fan of making clear parts. After you clean the castings you have to polish them to restore clarity. Break out the buffing wheel and compound! That and the fact that even if a mold is producing clear parts when it is new, after several castings the surface starts to wear our and the castings look like frosted glass.
Warning: Sculpting wax is not much fun to make! It takes work to grind the powders into the melted wax. Sift powders together first. It is hard to get the powders to disperse in the wax so it is best to use a glass muller. Google it. The waxes melt at different temperatures so you melt the hottest wax first. Add the waxes together in the order shown. You must mull the wax on a hot surface. A glass lasagna pan works great for this. De-air after mixing, cool under pressure. Melt in the order listed below: Material Amount by weight Carnauba wax 20 Candelilla wax 30 Beeswax 15 Paraffin 15 Talc 10 Titanium Dioxide 5 Iron Oxide 5
Hi Robert! I just found your not-responding-to emails-notice. Phew! I thought you didn't want to respond to my email. My question is: which resin is better to use if I need thinnish casts, rigid, translucent, and I'm a beginner. Epoxy or urethane? Also, would you consider a private tutorial to answer specific questions through Zoom? Thanks a million. Love your RUclips posts. I have learnt a lot from you!
Seeing you cut open this 3rd mold, I'm wondering how often you cut yourself in the finger?! o_o The band-aid on your thumb is telling me, mold making is dangerous...
My X-acto is by far the most frequent wound producer in my shop. Cutting molds I tend to stab myself with it, not so much cut myself. The worst is when it rolls off the bench and drops like a javelin into the top of my foot. Really hate that! This time however my thumb got into an argument with a different tool.
Super informative as usual Robert. I was wondering if you cast a tube with threads on the outside would it be at all possible to unscrew the part from the silicone hance avoiding any parting line?
It’s theoretically possible; thing is, you have to get air into the mold as you twist the part out. Mold release on the threaded part might help. Give it a try and let’s us know how it goes!
@@RobertTolone Yes, I was wondering if a squeeze of the air compressor gun would do the job. I may have a mould with a large 3D printed thread on the horizon. Will let you know.
Hell and BigThanks Robert for your work! I have a question: would It be easier to brush and cover some difficult to pour parts of the original model with silicone and then dip entire piece into the material or bubbles are more likely to appear this way? I'm also interested if you use different density rubbers (heavy body rubber for rigidity and light flow for fine details) or this will compromise opening the mould?
Pre-painting areas of the model with rubber before pouring the mold is a very useful technique and one I use often. I have never tried mixing hard and soft rubbers in a single mold but it is an intriguing idea and one that I will explore. I use soft, flexible rubber for intricate or complex models where I want a lot of flexibilty to be able to easily release the castings from the mold. Thanks for your comment!
You could I suppose. I never bother because it's always time vs money in my shop and I come down on the side of speed. The molding process does not harm the wax so it could be re-used.
Hi Robert, thanks for your work and channel! I'm wondering what size wax wire you like the most, and (if it's not too much trouble), a link to your supplier. Or just the size. Thanks. - Eric
I believe it’s 16 gauge. But the size of the wire you use depends on your projects. You generally scale the sprue and vents to the size of the object being cast. It’s a good idea to buy an assortment pack of wires to see which ones fit your style the best.
Hey Robert, I have changed over to a 30A silicone for my molds. Once I cast into the mold and place it into my pressure pot, I take it out and the mold itself starts to bubble. It will progressively get worse for a little bit and then by the next day the bubbles are gone. It's as if I am pressurizing all the tiny bubbles trapped in the silicone and they need time to vent. This prevents me from using that mold immediately after removing my parts. Do you ever experience this?
I don’t use a pressure pot to de-air rubber. I de-air with a vacuum chamber and pour the rubber over the model without any pressure or vacuum until the rubber cures. Then I use the pressure pot to cast resin.
@@RobertTolone I am doing the same. I degas the silicone after mixing and pour my mold. Let it cure. When I'm ready to use the mold I assemble, cast the part, and cure it under 60psi. The part comes out great, but the mold bubbles for a day before going back to normal. I don't know if it's a characteristic of the platsil or something else.
![ARGENTINA vs. CHILE [3-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 7](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/De3AWmXzhuA/mqdefault.jpg)
I have never used resins or molds, yet, I can't get enough of this channel. There is nothing like watching an experienced craftsman who knows how to teach, has a chill vibe and a soothing voice to boot.
Thanks so much for watching.I do the same thing; watch channels of artists making things I’ll never do.
I'm thoroughly enjoying my weekly RUclips visits with Robert, the mold whisperer.
Never believe anything on RUclips. The Whisperer is actually cursing and sweating off camera.
@@RobertTolone Hahahaha
@@RobertTolone Hi Robert. Would you be able to tell me the shore hardness and brand of silicone you use? Thanks.
@@kevinwarner959 I use Econosil-25 from www.silpak.com. It is Shore A 25.
Rob , another ripper .
31:20
"I like to do things the easy way... It's just easier"
-R. Tolone
I am slapping that on a tshirt.
I'll try to think of more inane phrases for your Tshirt company! 😀
You must have worked in dentistry, very detailed and talented sir, love the expertise you share with us
You da man! What a complex mold! What a great job!
Well that hole in the middle of the pendant wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be. Thanks for another lesson teacher!
The secret is in the stretchy rubber!
I'm a new caster working on a prototype and your videos have been so informative. Thank you so much!
“The genius of me!” ❤️
More gratuitous self congratulation.
Your videos have helped me with small production run ideas immensely! Thank you again for putting these out.
Great to hear that my videos have been helpful to you! Thanks for letting me know.
Thanks for sharing your mastery Robert!
My pleasure! Thanks for watching.
awesome video Thanks Robert
thanks for watching Jerry!
well mr Tolone,have to say it,yet another briliant video,you nailed it,we learned about casting an moldmaking,love it
Wow, thank you David.
I want to thank you again for inspiring me to start my own RUclips channel.
Very nice once again - looking forward to next friday. Allways an extra reason to try to make the week passing by quicker.
Great work Robert!
I really like the format of this video, just the end result
look at that genius of me... hahaha.. great work sir
So proud about so little. 😳😄
Part one and part 2 videos!!! Well worth watching. I’m glad I’m not doing the think , a lesson well taught!
Love those very interesting and educational video! Thank you very much! Very inspirational also, I just bought a vacuum machine, and some pigments. Resin and silicone are next! I already made molds and castings but did not know how to mold more complex pieces. I will start to work with cut-molds.
Oh boy I've been waiting for this.
Wow first time I've seen a threaded item cast. I like it how you show each step with detailed explanations
Your comment about making 500 sparked a question. How many castings would you expect to get out of a mold without a lot of surface detail? Something like these, rather than something like the bigfoot figurine. Great as always!
So many factors go into mold life. How many copies you need dictates everything from mold and resin choice to surface finish, temperature, release agents, cycle times, etc, etc.
For most projects in my shop the sweet spot is 10-20 castings per mold cavity.
Excited for a longer video
Thanks Rob. I'm going to use your comment against people when they complain about how long my videos are!
18:10 closed captions thinks the compressor is applause :)
😄😄
KILLER job Robert! The next level of this would be the conical mold like a hollow funnel shape. That's what I'm trying to wrap my brain around.
Should be doable. 2-piece inner and outer molds. Parting lines around both rims, one vent and one sprue, or even just a mold open at the small end.
Thanks a bunch Robert!
Great success, complicated made easy..genius!
Thanks Paul!
Pure genius 👏
Entertaining and educational. Good job.
Fantastic job Robert. It's always fun to watch you work and I always learn something. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks 👍
Super awesome! I learned some new stuff from this video, thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Robert, you mentioned that the bubble was an easy fix. Could you make a video about that? Filling bubbles and correcting other mistakes, to save an otherwise good cast?
I have a bubble repair video in the works. Thanks for watching Evan!
@@RobertTolone you’re the best!
just ignore the big hole on the inside :)
Thank you Robert for your work. Very very very useful.
I still have trouble with the cut of my mold. I know you recommend to cut the mold with zigzag pattern. Nevertheless, for half of my mold, I would like my part line goes through a precise line and alignment, for exemple the edges of my model. I struggle cutting my mold (quite thick) along the desired line which would minimize the length of my part line, simplify the sanding,....
Maybe you know useful tricks ? Thank you for your help.
Duration of the video: 33:33 ;-)
Love this channel! Question though, in a cup mould, why wouldn't you just put another cup back around the mould as it's the same size?
Do you mean when I put the rubber bands on?
@@RobertTolone Yes, as you wanted neatly closed parting lines with consistent pressure, I wondered why you wouldn't just put the mould back in another identical cup, as I thought it would support it all the way around?
@@NeilStansbury It’s an excellent question. The answer is that the cups are are very similar, but weirdly, not identical. So the rubber won’t fit exactly into the new cup. Also, in the cup I can’t see the parting line. With rubber bands, I can see the parting line and I can make sure that they are perfectly closed. I can also adjust each band as necessary to close the mold correctly.
@@RobertTolone Ah interesting thank you. I ask because I need to very precisely cast an electronic circuit and mini LCD screen into PE resin, and have been learning from you about how I might achieve this. This confirms my decision that a 2 piece is probably the right approach for my project, but any uneven distortion re-assembling the mould risks moving the components potted inside it.
@@NeilStansbury Potting components into resin is a difficult challenge. There are lots of problems to overcome. Which is why I always add components to a finished casting rather than pot them in.
God bless you, as always i'm learning something new from your videos. But sometting struggles my mind, you could have easily make a open mold and casted the 3d printed parts. Afterwards these castings gonna need sanding but considering its much more easier cast and mold the parts that way, thats what i would do. Why did you choose this types of cut molds instead of open mold? I'm really sorry that if the explanation is in the video and i've missed it.
If I had cast the 3-D printed parts in open molds the backs would not have been flat. They would have to be sanded flat. One option would be to print them thicker to allow for the fact that they need to be sanded to the final dimension. The other reason is that I pick my projects to demonstrate different ways to approach molding and casting things.
very nice job except for the text on the F cancer witch you try to hide with your finger.
thank you so much your videos great
28:27 - Continuity department lapsed - the nut changed color between scenes. ;)
I noticed the same thing. As the nut that was cast in camera was the same colour "dark blue" as the other part. But the nut cleaned up was a lighter colour.
@Robert Tolone was there any issues with the darker blue nut?
At first i thought it was an exposure issue but them I saw the relatively darker blue part in the same shot.
I made a second set of castings to correct the bubble in the first part. But the video was already over 30 minutes long and I deemed it not worth the extra time. Then, when I shot the last scene I thought that having the nut be a different color when it screwed on to the flange made the assembly more visible. At least a couple hours of video gets cut out every week. Maybe I should have “Outake Tuesday” where I put the footage of the accidents, spills, failures, sweating, screaming and non-stop cursing.
@@RobertTolone Tuesdays it is, then. ;)
@@RobertTolone thanks for clearing that up. Many of us would enjoy the out takes as we do alot of learning and seeing mistakes made can be effective learning aids as well.
That's great camera work Bob , makes for a more thorough viewing . Always interesting watching you cut open a complex cut mould. You seem to have done a real hatchet job on the left thumb mate , was it the exacto ? 🙃. Any schedule of getting back to CA ? Take care. All the best from Australia.
The thumb got into a fight with a stronger, more determined opponent. For once it wasn't an X-acto blade. Lessons learned!
Can one make a cut mold with more than one cut? Let's say you were going to cast a light/lamp reflector. Like a bowl, but with a hole in the middle. Would you cut down the outside edge in 4 parts, so the mold ended up kinda looking like a xenomorph egg opening when stretched out?
The best thing about cut molds is that you can cut in all different directions. The important thing is to leave the mold in one piece. If you make the mistake of cutting the mold into separate pieces it becomes almost impossible to reassemble them and make clean parting lines. Also, be sure to consider how you are holding the parting lines closed. If you have cuts in all different directions you must have rubber bands crossing in all different directions as well to hold the mold closed properly.
Hi!
I 3D sculpted a big hollow horn with a dragon on it. The one from the movie Beowulf, and I printed it. I wander how I am going to cast it
You’ll have to break it into separate pieces, especially the dragon. I would solid cast the dragon parts and horn feet. Hollow cast the horn or print it in two halves. The entire object should be broken into 10-12 pieces that assemble like a plastic model kit.
Robert, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm new to mold making and casting. About the Sticky wax... From where have you purchased it? Are there different kinds? any other suggestions? Sorry to bother you with this...
I buy it from Freemanwax.com but it’s available from many sources online if you Google it.
@@RobertTolone Thanks for helping
Hello. Great job. Which resin you using?
There's a link to my materials in the description. In this project I'm using FastCast by Silpak.com
Thanks for the video, I was looking forward to this. =D
Sanding the parts is a trouble for me when doing it on clear resin. I'm not sure if that can even be done without a power tool, to get the resin clear again on parting lines.
(Or maybe it's just more effort than I am willing to put into my pieces. :'-D )
Another reason I'm no fan of making clear parts. After you clean the castings you have to polish them to restore clarity. Break out the buffing wheel and compound!
That and the fact that even if a mold is producing clear parts when it is new, after several castings the surface starts to wear our and the castings look like frosted glass.
@@RobertTolone Oh man ... ok that means, I better make my clear castings first, before casting my colored opague version. Good to know, thanks!
Hey, Bob. In your supplier pdf you say you make your scupltor's wax yourself. Would you share the recipe? - Keep up the good work.
Warning:
Sculpting wax is not much fun to make! It takes work to grind the powders into the melted wax.
Sift powders together first.
It is hard to get the powders to disperse in the wax so it is best to use a glass muller. Google it.
The waxes melt at different temperatures so you melt the hottest wax first.
Add the waxes together in the order shown.
You must mull the wax on a hot surface.
A glass lasagna pan works great for this.
De-air after mixing, cool under pressure.
Melt in the order listed below:
Material Amount by weight
Carnauba wax 20
Candelilla wax 30
Beeswax 15
Paraffin 15
Talc 10
Titanium Dioxide 5
Iron Oxide 5
@@RobertTolone Wow, thanks. I'll give it a go. Should I rough up the bottom of the lasagna pan or will the rough surface of the muller be enough?
Hi Robert! I just found your not-responding-to emails-notice. Phew! I thought you didn't want to respond to my email. My question is: which resin is better to use if I need thinnish casts, rigid, translucent, and I'm a beginner. Epoxy or urethane? Also, would you consider a private tutorial to answer specific questions through Zoom? Thanks a million. Love your RUclips posts. I have learnt a lot from you!
I sent you an email. Sorry it took awhile to respond.
@@RobertTolone Yes, thank you. No worries. I responded already.
Seeing you cut open this 3rd mold, I'm wondering how often you cut yourself in the finger?! o_o The band-aid on your thumb is telling me, mold making is dangerous...
My X-acto is by far the most frequent wound producer in my shop. Cutting molds I tend to stab myself with it, not so much cut myself. The worst is when it rolls off the bench and drops like a javelin into the top of my foot. Really hate that!
This time however my thumb got into an argument with a different tool.
Super informative as usual Robert. I was wondering if you cast a tube with threads on the outside would it be at all possible to unscrew the part from the silicone hance avoiding any parting line?
It’s theoretically possible; thing is, you have to get air into the mold as you twist the part out. Mold release on the threaded part might help.
Give it a try and let’s us know how it goes!
@@RobertTolone Yes, I was wondering if a squeeze of the air compressor gun would do the job. I may have a mould with a large 3D printed thread on the horizon. Will let you know.
I should get you a Dremel or other rotary tool for your birthday.
Ok with me!
This might be a "duh" question, but can you re-use the wax you've used in your mold making, or does the process render it bad?
The process does not harm the wax. Up to you to decide if the material savings are worth your time.
What is your opinion on using mold making latex, pourable and brush on.
I have very little experience with latex rubber. Many shops use it and there's a lot of info available out there about latex mold making.
Hell and BigThanks Robert for your work!
I have a question: would It be easier to brush and cover some difficult to pour parts of the original model with silicone and then dip entire piece into the material or bubbles are more likely to appear this way? I'm also interested if you use different density rubbers (heavy body rubber for rigidity and light flow for fine details) or this will compromise opening the mould?
Pre-painting areas of the model with rubber before pouring the mold is a very useful technique and one I use often. I have never tried mixing hard and soft rubbers in a single mold but it is an intriguing idea and one that I will explore.
I use soft, flexible rubber for intricate or complex models where I want a lot of flexibilty to be able to easily release the castings from the mold.
Thanks for your comment!
Are you able to recover the red and blue waxes you use in a mold?
You could I suppose. I never bother because it's always time vs money in my shop and I come down on the side of speed. The molding process does not harm the wax so it could be re-used.
Whays the rubber you use?
Hi Robert, thanks for your work and channel! I'm wondering what size wax wire you like the most, and (if it's not too much trouble), a link to your supplier. Or just the size. Thanks. - Eric
I believe it’s 16 gauge. But the size of the wire you use depends on your projects. You generally scale the sprue and vents to the size of the object being cast. It’s a good idea to buy an assortment pack of wires to see which ones fit your style the best.
@@RobertTolone Thanks Robert!
What if u don't have a pressure thing like u habe
Use fresh resin, keep the jars tightly sealed and do the best you can. You can always repair the bubbles in the castings.
Hey Robert, I have changed over to a 30A silicone for my molds. Once I cast into the mold and place it into my pressure pot, I take it out and the mold itself starts to bubble. It will progressively get worse for a little bit and then by the next day the bubbles are gone. It's as if I am pressurizing all the tiny bubbles trapped in the silicone and they need time to vent. This prevents me from using that mold immediately after removing my parts. Do you ever experience this?
I don’t use a pressure pot to de-air rubber. I de-air with a vacuum chamber and pour the rubber over the model without any pressure or vacuum until the rubber cures. Then I use the pressure pot to cast resin.
@@RobertTolone I am doing the same. I degas the silicone after mixing and pour my mold. Let it cure. When I'm ready to use the mold I assemble, cast the part, and cure it under 60psi. The part comes out great, but the mold bubbles for a day before going back to normal. I don't know if it's a characteristic of the platsil or something else.
@@mitchs36s That is very odd! I don’t know what is going on there.
What band of rubber you use? Where do you buy from and the urethane too?
I get my casting materials from www.Silpak.com. There’s a link to many of my suppliers in the video description.
@@RobertTolone thanks Robert. 😊 . Thank you for sharing how to cast. Im learning alot. Thank you again
are you thecrafsman? your voice sounds very similar
No, but I'd love to steal his subscribers! He's a good guy and has said nice things about my channel.
I use surgical spreading tools to make my cuts there is no shame in using the tool to get better results
Absolutely no shame! I always say, use the method that works best for you.