Aves for Casting?

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 10:27 pm

Would holy Aves be apropriate for use in casting?

i find myself in ned of many replicated parts, with limited detail. infac,tthe surfaces may well end up smooth. i'm wondering if Aves could be used to make these pecies?

what i'm looking to build is a cryptex, as seen at www.cryptex.org and as described in the book da vinci code. here at some simple 3d models i built that show what i want to build:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/A ... ptex02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/A ... ptex01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/A ... ptex04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/A ... ptex03.jpg

i'm going to build the master just with laminated sheet styrene. i've since found out my friends want cryptex's of their own, so i'd like to find a simpler way to build multple rings, rather then laminating hundreds of shetes of styrene.

so, i'm thinking i could take my master discs, give them a good hard press into a bed of Aves to create the mold, then when it was cured removethe master and coatthe shape with something like vasoline or such, so the aves can't bond to itself. then fill the space with fresh Aves, let it cure,and bingo. replicated part.

am i missing something? would Holy Aves not work for some reason? i dont really want to get into RTV and resin casting too deeply, but casting, in some form, does seem to be the most logical way to proceed, since these shapes are simply repeated over the whole design, and i want to make half a dozen or so. (that and, who knows, maybe sell a few. heh.)

Post by **TER-OR** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:36 pm

you can do this sort of thing, sure. There are all kinds of tricks you can use.

By using corn starch or talcum and a rolling pin (polypropylene confectioner's tools are great) you can roll out a thin layer of epoxy. Let it cure about 30min before trying this. Then you can drape the sheet into or over another piece. This will be very easy to replicate parts without much surface detail.

You can do as you mentioned, and use something like vegetable oil without any real worries - you'll have to clean well before painting, of course. But still, details are going to be tough - you'll likely have a "soft" casting.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:39 pm

"Cast out fear from thy hearts, for Aves shall provide thy daily bread."

~ II Decals 13:10

Kenny

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 12:13 am

ya know ,the rolling pin thing gives me an idea... anyone for Aves Cookies?

...this could actually work, i think. make the "cookie cutter" in the desired shape... then roll out a good shet of ave,s properly cured, and begin stamping out cookies.

would take a bit of practice and prep to get just right, but for thin items could work. hmm. we shall see.

...wish i could experiment withthis stuff now and not have to wait a month to get home to my model supplies. doh.

Post by **TER-OR** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 9:06 pm

Don't wait for it to cure to try to cut it, treat it like pie dough and you'll do OK.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 9:45 pm

Funny this should come up.

Was desperate for a duplicate part so I thougth I'd give Aves a try.

Rolled up a wad of Aves, pressed the Pam coated part into it and let harded.

When said part refused to come out I tossed it into the freeezer and after a few hours popped the part out without further complications. Very nice detail.

Then, like a fool, I sprayed more Pam into the mold and mashed some more Aves into it.

Didn't want to come out. Froze it. Still no go. Busted the sides off, no go.

So, Pam is not a decent mold release in this situation. Will try talc next.

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 11:29 pm

oh good, someone else to go through trial and error and save me a few headache,s how nice. heh.

good luck kyl.

Post by **TER-OR** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:56 pm

Also let the putty cure for a while, until it's not tacky anymore before working into the mold - that should help. Use plenty of cornstarch or talc. Both work fine. Starch will rinse off without any problem, unlike oil....

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:39 pm

talc it is then. this sounds promising really, as the device i'm trying to replicate is supposed to be a combination of stoenand metal, and aves, properly weathered and painted, should beable to give a good aproximation of either...

now i just need to buy a few pounds... heh.

Spacephrawg · Post by **Spacephrawg** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 4:46 pm

what about smoothon's universal mold release? Its basically a grease of some odd kind but its suposed to work "on everything."

Post by **TER-OR** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 8:51 pm

The veg oil might have squeezed out, not allowing enough to remain. The Talc or corn starch won't have that problem. Probably. I hope.

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 11:47 pm

i broke down and bought a casting starter set thingy of micromark. money burns holes in my pockets... sigh.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 3:36 am

Just thought you'd like to to know but I tried out the moldmax 30 with a starter pack and used the chef mate scale I got to do plaster mixings, it worked fine. I use a larger more accurate scale now, but that chef mate will get you started. (It won't let you mix up large pours, it's upper weight limit will limit how much you can mix in a shot.)

What you need to mix with is: some plastic spatulas, got these at walmart I think (or the flea market) and the 1.2 pint or pint paint cups they have at home depot. Mix thourghly and you can pull the unused rtv off the sides and resues the bucket and spetuals until they brake.