Round Molds

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jbostian

jbostian

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I am new to casting and need to get/make some molds. I was thinking about using round molds. I only plan on doing color swirls for the time being. My question is, how do you swirl the colors in a round mold? I used a rectangular mold for my first/only cast. When I did that blank I just poured the two colors into the mold after the started to setup a little then swirled them some with a tooth pick. With a round mold how do you swirl the colors after the have been poured into the mold? I thought about swirling the colors before I put them in the mold but I figured the colors would mix too much when I poured the resin into the mold. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jamie
 
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Why a round mold ? There will be allot of waste when you cut the rectangular blanks from it . As for swirling the colors , it's the same as a square mold , just round .
 
ldb2000 said:
Why a round mold ? There will be allot of waste when you cut the rectangular blanks from it . As for swirling the colors , it's the same as a square mold , just round .
Click to expand...

Why would you have to cut the blanks rectangular again??? Seems to me you want them round RIGHT. Oh you were just having fun putting that in there right. LOL trying to trick us.

Lin.
 
I have the resin-saver molds (purchased here on the IAP), they are round - some pour in pairs and is a very easy system to work with. Do a search or contact Charlie aka NewLondon88, if interested.
 
Last edited:
ldb2000 said:
Why a round mold ? There will be allot of waste when you cut the rectangular blanks from it . As for swirling the colors , it's the same as a square mold , just round .
Click to expand...

I meant round as in cylinder shape. I figured there would be less waste this way.

Jamie
 
Mark said:
I have the resin-saver molds (purchased here on the IAP), they are round - some pour in pairs and is a very easy system to work with. Do a search or contact Charlie aka NewLondon88, if interested.
Click to expand...

I remember reading about those molds. If I remember correctly there were a little out of my price range at the moment. I am trying to get a feel for casting before I put a lot of money into it. Right now my only cost has been the $40 for the silmar 41. I was able to get some pigments for free:biggrin:. I figure if I get get at casting and really like it, I will invest in some of the resin saver molds.

Thanks,
Jamie
 
The ice trays from Walmart, and other places I suppose, used to make cylinder shapped ice to drop into drink bottles have been used. I used them when I was casting colored stuff and they worked well. I swirled the colors by bending a wire close to the end at 90 degrees. I inserted the wire with the 'L' shape into the cylinder of resin and pulled it out as I twisted it. Other methods similar can also be used. That will get you started.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
jbostian said:
I am new to casting and need to get/make some molds. I was thinking about using round molds. I only plan on doing color swirls for the time being. My question is, how do you swirl the colors in a round mold? I used a rectangular mold for my first/only cast. When I did that blank I just poured the two colors into the mold after the started to setup a little then swirled them some with a tooth pick. With a round mold how do you swirl the colors after the have been poured into the mold? I thought about swirling the colors before I put them in the mold but I figured the colors would mix too much when I poured the resin into the mold. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jamie
Click to expand...
 
Jamie, I have used cylindrical molds and what I did was to set the two or three colors up
in individual small cups and catalyze. Then to pour mixed colors, do one then the other, alternating back and forth.
When done, take a small piece of wire long enough to reach the bottom of the mold plus enough to hold. crimp a small 90° "leg" on the bottom end of the wire.
lower the leg end of the wire to the bottom of the mold, and as you pull it slowly out, also gently twist it. That will swirl the colors, along with the back and forth pours.
I have examples in my album.:)
 
I will check out the ice trays. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the wire tip that should work well.

Jamie

its_virgil said:
The ice trays from Walmart, and other places I suppose, used to make cylinder shapped ice to drop into drink bottles have been used. I used them when I was casting colored stuff and they worked well. I swirled the colors by bending a wire close to the end at 90 degrees. I inserted the wire with the 'L' shape into the cylinder of resin and pulled it out as I twisted it. Other methods similar can also be used. That will get you started.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Click to expand...
 
Thanks a bunch. That should work great for what I am planning on doing. I will check out your album too.

Thanks,
Jamie

johnnycnc said:
Jamie, I have used cylindrical molds and what I did was to set the two or three colors up
in individual small cups and catalyze. Then to pour mixed colors, do one then the other, alternating back and forth.
When done, take a small piece of wire long enough to reach the bottom of the mold plus enough to hold. crimp a small 90° "leg" on the bottom end of the wire.
lower the leg end of the wire to the bottom of the mold, and as you pull it slowly out, also gently twist it. That will swirl the colors, along with the back and forth pours.
I have examples in my album.:)
Click to expand...
 
You can also use lengths of Schedule 40 PVC pipe. you can get skinny pipe to make slimline sized blanks, and bigger pipe for larger kits. I use blue painters tape to cover the bottoms. You do have to replace them every 4 or 5 pours, but a stick of PVC is really cheap.
 
RAdams said:
You can also use lengths of Schedule 40 PVC pipe. you can get skinny pipe to make slimline sized blanks, and bigger pipe for larger kits. I use blue painters tape to cover the bottoms. You do have to replace them every 4 or 5 pours, but a stick of PVC is really cheap.
Click to expand...

I was planning on trying to use some PVC. I believe I have a couple feet of scrap in the garage. I didn't know I could just use painters tape to cover the bottoms. That is great to know. Do you spray the PVC with some kind of mold release? I thought I read some where on this forum some one used cooking spray to keep the resin from sticking to the mold.

Thanks,
Jamie
 
swirls

jbostian,

I made some swirled wine stoppers as Christmas gifts with PR and round PVC molds. After a few mistakes I just poured the colors into my molds without swirling them together. I then used a vacuum block I got from Wolftat and degassed the resin in my pressure pot.

Degassing the resin caused the bubbles to rise up thru the PR which mixed the colors for me. It caused some nice effects.

If you need more info or some pics let me know.
 
purplehaze said:
jbostian,

I made some swirled wine stoppers as Christmas gifts with PR and round PVC molds. After a few mistakes I just poured the colors into my molds without swirling them together. I then used a vacuum block I got from Wolftat and degassed the resin in my pressure pot.

Degassing the resin caused the bubbles to rise up thru the PR which mixed the colors for me. It caused some nice effects.

If you need more info or some pics let me know.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I don't currently have a pressure pot. I will store away that tip for when I do get a pressure pot.

Jamie
 
RAdams said:
You can also use lengths of Schedule 40 PVC pipe. you can get skinny pipe to make slimline sized blanks, and bigger pipe for larger kits. I use blue painters tape to cover the bottoms. You do have to replace them every 4 or 5 pours, but a stick of PVC is really cheap.
Click to expand...


The PVC wont work for alumilite will it? I dont think it shrinks like PR?
 
jbostian said:
I am new to casting and need to get/make some molds. I was thinking about using round molds. I only plan on doing color swirls for the time being. My question is, how do you swirl the colors in a round mold? I used a rectangular mold for my first/only cast. When I did that blank I just poured the two colors into the mold after the started to setup a little then swirled them some with a tooth pick. With a round mold how do you swirl the colors after the have been poured into the mold? I thought about swirling the colors before I put them in the mold but I figured the colors would mix too much when I poured the resin into the mold. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jamie
Click to expand...

Vertical, round molds can be swirled as described, although I've typically used them for where I want a swirl that's somewhat layered. I.E. Red, white, blue where the red and white swirl, the white and blue swirl, but red and blue are pretty well separated. (but it's a swirl- so anything can happen).

Good molds aren't cheap (because the rubber used to make them isn't), but having used a number of substitutes, they're worth it. If you don't want the resin saver molds, look at Gadget's.
 
mywoodshopca said:
The PVC wont work for alumilite will it? I dont think it shrinks like PR?
Click to expand...


Yeah, I dont think the PVC will work for alumilite. Only PR.

And no, I dont use any type of release agent. If i did i could probably get more pours before the pipe goes "bad".

The blue painters tape is the best to use. Duck tape is no good at all. The heat causes the duck tape to come apart and leave the sticky and webbing on the pipe, but the paper comes off leaving you with a sticky mess. (damhikt:biggrin:)

I am also currently working on horizontal round molds. I wasted like 7 or 8 tubes of silicone on my first attempt because i forgot to knead it in soapy water first. My new attempts will hopefully be much better! I will post pics if they work out!
 
RAdams said:
Yeah, I dont think the PVC will work for alumilite. Only PR.

And no, I dont use any type of release agent. If i did i could probably get more pours before the pipe goes "bad".

The blue painters tape is the best to use. Duck tape is no good at all. The heat causes the duck tape to come apart and leave the sticky and webbing on the pipe, but the paper comes off leaving you with a sticky mess. (damhikt:biggrin:)

I am also currently working on horizontal round molds. I wasted like 7 or 8 tubes of silicone on my first attempt because i forgot to knead it in soapy water first. My new attempts will hopefully be much better! I will post pics if they work out!
Click to expand...

Keep us posted on the horizontal molds. I have a few idea I am playing around with in my head.

Jamie
 
Well the molds cured ok, now i just have to test them. It was fun figuring out how to make a round mold..... flat. LOL

My only concern is that the mold will flex outward under the weight of the resin. If that happens, I may have to build a little box to go around the mold itself. The thought of this alone has inspired me to build a cool "mold caddy" for my pressure pot! Should be fun!
 
I use pipe a lot. There are some designs you can't do with them, but for solid colors, flames, or swirls, they work great.

I alternate colors every inch or so in the pipe (depending on what I'm going for) and they swirl on their own if I pour them fresh. If I let them start warming up before pouring then there's less swirling, more color definition.

(Who was selling rectangular slab molds on here? All the commercial ones I've found are too short, and I need one 5.5" - 6"...)
 
DurocShark said:
I use pipe a lot. There are some designs you can't do with them, but for solid colors, flames, or swirls, they work great.

I alternate colors every inch or so in the pipe (depending on what I'm going for) and they swirl on their own if I pour them fresh. If I let them start warming up before pouring then there's less swirling, more color definition.

(Who was selling rectangular slab molds on here? All the commercial ones I've found are too short, and I need one 5.5" - 6"...)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I appreciatie it.

Jamie
 
DurocShark said:
I use pipe a lot. There are some designs you can't do with them, but for solid colors, flames, or swirls, they work great.

I alternate colors every inch or so in the pipe (depending on what I'm going for) and they swirl on their own if I pour them fresh. If I let them start warming up before pouring then there's less swirling, more color definition.

(Who was selling rectangular slab molds on here? All the commercial ones I've found are too short, and I need one 5.5" - 6"...)
Click to expand...
Try Gadget. Here is a link.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52769

I'll be requesting several stopper molds and one of the larger slab molds. (at some point)
 
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