[Jewelry making - Article 00257] - Re: [Orchid] Molding Organics

[Andrew Werby]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

Hi Heather

    I do quite a bit of this sort of thing, and I've found that painting
    on the first layer or two of rubber lets me avoid air bubbles,
    without having to use vacuum or vibration. The two-part silicone is
    thin enough that it doesn't easily allow bubbles to form as it drips
    off the model, leaving a thin skin. I typically set a small piece up
    on a wax sprue attached to a piece of plywood. Once I've got the
    surface covered and it has set up (allow 24 hours for this) I
    surround the piece with a piece of tubing waxed down to the board, a
    clay dam, or whatever is handy, and pour in renough rubber to fill
    the volume surrounding the piece. When that sets up I cut it out
    with a zig-zag stroke to avoid seam misalignment. For hollow waxes
    or single-sided ones, I pour microcrystaline wax in, let it set a
    while, and pour it out. 

    There are lots of different formulations of silicone rubber
    available; I usually use a tin-soap catalyzed type (#1621) which is
    available from my local sculpture-materials supplier Douglas and
    Sturgess (www.artstuf.com). The important things to remember about
    it are to weigh it carefully (you need to insure that the catalyst is
    10% or 5% by weight, depending on the one you're using); to mix it
    thoroughly; and to transfer the mixed product into a separate clean
    container and mix again, to avoid leaving incompletely catalyzed
    portions which will remain sticky. There's more information about
    rubber molding on my site, and more suppliers listed, under
    alt.sculpture FAQs.

Andrew Werby
www.unitedartworks.com

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________