Mold Making of All Sorts

Announcing New Site

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:08:00 +0000

For all of you that might be interested in building your own online shop, go to http://judysbookshop.com/center
and sign up for your own blog.

The site is set up with plugins to help you in your sales. It's all free to the first 100 sites built.

Grand Opening

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:07:00 +0000

Well, it's finally up and running. Our new Crafter's Center designed strictly for crafters to build their own shops and blogging.
I'm telling subscribers first, to let them have first choice. This the the ground floor of an entirely new site. The first 100 to build their own blog/shops will be grand-fathered in, when the time comes to start charging for the service. In other words, those who helped to build up the site will be forever free of charges.

This is your chance to be one of the few, those founding members. Drop by and take a look at the skeleton (it's bare bones right now), sign up for membership, give your new blog a snappy and descriptive name and start building.

I'm still writing tutorials but already have quite a bit of information available for you. I'm here to help.

I will tell you, I tried a check out program that just was so confusing, I gave up on it. I think using paypal makes things a whole lot easier and I can teach you all that. Yes, you can build your own shop.

What's more, I'm tying all the sites together for mutual traffic. The more I build, the more the sites attract attention. I'll do that part, you come build your part. :)
Judy

oh yeah....the site :) http://judysbookshop.com/center
There is also a link on the main page at the Crafter's Corner at http://judysbookshop.com/nuke and will soon be on the blog at http://judysbookshop.com/blog

New Connections Website

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:10:00 +0000

http://judysbookshop.com/biz2bizAmerica/
This site is strictly for connecting U.S. crafter's and small business manufacturers with U.S. wholesale buyers.

Casing

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:40:00 +0000

Reading in books about any sort of mold making, and you're liable to run across the term 'casing'.

Casing, in some applications, would be called a 'mother mold'. A casing is an additional component to the master block, which actually provides you with an outer perimeter fencing. It is the part, which dictates and encloses the outside of your mold.

Where a mother mold is actually an outer rigid form, helping to hold a rubber mold in place - casing is the part of a master block, that forms the outside of a mold.

An example of a casing, would be a cake pan. In the event of a cake, you simply want a uniform outside shape. You're not interested in an interior design. The same happens, when you add a casing to your master block.

The master block forms the interior design, while your casing forms the outside shape and form.

Using a casing with your master block, gives you the freedom to simply mix and pour your mold material (plasters or rubbers) into the master, as the mold material is then completely restrained into a form. Like just pouring into a box.

Without a casing, one has to continuously use the mold forms in its place. While a mold form is a handy way to provide walls around your original mold, it's hardly time efficient when producing subsequent molds off your master. By taking the time to build a casing, each of your master's are self contained and ready for pouring, at all times.

More about this is explained in my instruction e-books http://judysbookshop.com/ebooks.html

Plaster Mold Making Materials

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:10:00 +0000

There are so many ways to approach the subject of making molds, one almost has to be an expert on the materials available to make a decision.

For the most part, if you plan to make your finished product out of clay or clay slip, the material is pottery plaster.

Basically, you have 3 varieties of hardness. Pottery plaster, hydrocal and hydrostone.

Pottery plaster is the main stream for making ceramic molds. Of all the plasters, it’s the easiest to work with as it doesn’t run as fluid as the others. Easier to control leaks while making your mold.
If you’re able to find it in 50 or 100 pound bags, the name on the bag is #1 Pottery Plaster. If you don’t have access to the larger bags, you can find it in small quantities (although more expensive per pound) at the craft supply stores, under the name of Plaster of Paris.

I like working with Hydrocal (White Hydrocal) for ceramic molds for one reason only-it’s harder, just as absorbent and is more durable and longer lasting. People will tell you hydrocal is not suitable for ceramic molds. Let me tell you, I’ve had hundreds of satisfied customers, as well as using my own molds made of White Hydrocal.

Hydra-Stone or Hydrostone, is rock hard. The only time I’d consider this material for a mold is if I simply want finished pieces made of rubber. It is not absorbent. Hydrostone is most suitable as a finish product, like statuary.

When you want to make a finished product of a plaster material and it needs to be super sturdy and exposed to weather, something like stepping stones, there is yet another Hydra-Stone product called Hydra-Stone Super X. This is the cement material used in pavement. The only problem might be that it is a medium-dark gray.

In the middle is a variety of specialty plasters. One in particular, used strictly for figurines has a glass fiber in it.

Another specialty plaster is called Moulding Plaster. Don’t get this confused with pottery plaster. This Moulding plaster is strictly for finished pieces. Ultra-Cal, Tuf-Stone and Dry-Stone are the same. Not suitable for molds.

Good luck with all your mold making adventures and remember one thing from Judy - every mistake is a learning experience.

By the way, spilled plaster is no match for water. Don’t panic. If spilled on a concrete floor, it’s best to wait until it’s finished setting up. Then go after it with water splashed on it, and a flat edged tool. Just scrape it up. If it’s been spilled on carpet, add water and scoop it up as best you can. The portion that is left, that you can’t quite get to, will set up. If you’ve already added water to it, it has become diluted and weak. After it’s dry, you can come along with the vacuum and a stiff brush to help loosen it.

A rigid putty knife, about 3″ wide, is a helpful tool to keep handy. Especially when it comes to scraping up plaster from a smooth floor.

If you run into troubles, be sure to come back here and give me a holler. I’ll help.

Suppliers

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:05:00 +0000

For anything rubber or plastic, one of my favorite suppliers is http://smooth-on.com

For my plaster molds, my favorite parting compound, I get from http://perma-flex.com
I've used their polyurethane parting compound for years. The secret is to apply with a soft paint brush, use a hair dryer to dry, while dabbing at puddles with a dry soft brush. I use a very soft, 2" paint brush. Using this method, you only have to apply one coat. You will be left with a fine film of something that feels like wax. I use a thin coat for every mold I pour off the master block.

Alginate

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:34:00 +0000

Alginate is a wonderful thing. It's made from sea-weed, and highly non alerginic.

Have you seen those booths at the fair, where the little children get a cast of their hand? It's alginate, at work.

A very fine powder, you just mix with water. It sets quickly so what ever body part, you happen to be casting, has to be inserted or covered immediately and then held very still, for about 5 minutes. An eternity, for a child. :)

The new mold, then has to be used almost immedately, as the alginate will begin to dry and shrink. It eventually dries up into a little wad of nothing and is useless. So your newly made mold is short lived.

Because of that, you need to have everything in place, before you even begin the mold. If your making an object out of plaster, have the plaster ready to add water.

Your new mold is also spineless and needs back up, to hold its form, unless it happens to already be in a can or cup. So if your making a mold of the face, your very patient model must remain in a lying position, while you add a layer of plaster over the top of the alginate mold, before removing the whole unit (alginate and its new mother mold of plaster).

You can use straws in the nostrils, while you work and (of course) the eyes remain closed.

The set up alginate, is like wet, spongy rubber and separates easily from the face.

Once the alginate mold, along with the plaster layer is removed, you can mix up plaster and pour into your new mold. As soon as the plaster is set, you can then remove it from the alginate.

There is always residue left behind but not to worry. As the whole unit dries, the alginate chips and flakes off like powder.

Easy as puddin' but you have to remember alginate is expensive, for a mold making material and it used once and then your mold wastes away.

Be sure to drop by Judy's Corner. It's a new portal just for crafter's in business. Sell your crafts online. It's free. http://judysbookshop.com/nuke/

Rubber Molds

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:32:00 +0000

This is a subject, I've thought about writing and illustrating, for a long time. Just recently, it seems to be popping up more and more.

I'm presently in the middle of producing a number of rubber molds which presents me with the opportunity to get pictures.

I guess my next project will be another instruction booklet, this time about rubber molds. So hang tight, I'll be working on it.

I plan to include my list of suppliers (I prefer) and a reasonable brief on the different kinds of rubber compounds. I'll keep everybody posted and let you know when I've actually accomplished and finished the new booklet.

New web portal

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:26:00 +0000

Well folks, I know I've been really quiet lately, but that's because I've been busy. Really busy.
I've built a new web portal just for networking crafters in business. Boy, that's a long winded term, but that's exactly what it is.

So....if you're into crafts, if you're into selling those crafts, then you should also be into networking with others interested in the same thing. Networking brings business.

So head on over and see what's I've been up to
http://judysbookshop.com/nuke/

Pretty soon, every addy involving judysbookshop, will be redirected into this new portal. Not yet, though....there's a lot that needs to be moved into our new home, before I close the doors to the old one.

One thing is for sure-this new home is a whole lot more interactive than the old one. You can keep a blog, upload pics, write about yourself and your product, submit articles.....there's a classified section and I forget what all. And I just keep scrounging around the internet looking for more goodies for the site. :) So who knows what this place will look like, a year from now.

For sure, I plan to take over the crafts networking on the internet.

Now, the whole idea of this new portal is getting the crafters and their product, out there for the world to peek at. Then, as soon as we can get a good base of crafters built up, I'll head out into the internet world, and find those shoppers for you and bring em in. I don't want to get too excited about bringing the shoppers yet, until we have something really exciting to show them. So it's a waiting game for me, now. Just waiting for the kiddos to get their stuff included into the site and give me plenty of ammunition for creating a virtual shopping center.

Come on.....join in and start building.

Liquid Latex Molds

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:36:00 +0000

As I was checking the traffic for this site, I was amazed at the search words used to find it. Most of them questions and yet nobody goes to the trouble to post a reply here, to ask those questions. hmm
Liquid latex mold medium
different types of molds
how thick will liquid latex set
how to make a rubber mold of my hand
liquid latex art craft
liquid latex mold making tips
liquid rubber latex mold making
plaster of paris mold release compound

The answer to some of these search terms, goes like this.
Liquid latex is a brush on compound. You start with a thin layer, let it dry then add another layer. Never leave areas that are thicker than most of the layer you're working on. Don't let the layers sit over night, it's best to keep working the mold until you're finished.
Using a hair dryer will speed things up.
Keep layering until the mold is as thick as you want it. Anything from 1/16 inch to an inch (if you're that patient)

As for mold release compound for plaster, you can buy mold release or even make your own. To make your own, mix about 1/4 dish washing soap to 3/4 water. Brush on with a soft (short) paint brush. Let dry. Polish with a smooth, soft, dry towel. Reapply, dry, polish. It's best to build up 2 or 3 layers until you get a sheen.
The soap must be completely dry, before applying plaster to plaster.

I'll be glad to answer any questions. Just ask away. :)

Talking about Copyrights

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:38:00 +0000

Especially those copyright laws concerning the crafted product, which includes ceramic designs.

This, according to the federal copyright laws.

Things like vases and dishes, cannot be copyrighted unless the object is also art, which can be viewed as art in its own right, aside from its utilitarian purposes. In other words, a vase cannot be copyrighted but if the design itself would be displayed, simply for its artwork (which is actually in pot itself, not painted on), the its the artwork that is being copyrighted.

Painted designs on things like a plate or vase, cannot be copyrighted, simply because the copyright law covers only those items which are 'fixed and tangible'.

Fixed and tangible means, in its final form and capable of being used or viewed by others, in its finished form. This means a sketch of the pot is not copyrightable. Only the final finished piece, is copyrighted. So if you're designing something, it cannot be copyrighted until you can actually hold the piece up and show it.

Many times, people are confused about what laws protect their painted designs. Actually, there is no such law. You have to find ways to protect yourself, ie secret paint mixtures or techniques. If someone catches on to what you're doing and copies your technique, there is actually no law to protect you.

Ideas are not copyrightable. So if you have a great idea, don't share it until its in a fixed and tangible form.

To protect yourself, when the piece is finalized: pack into a small box, your original sketches, photos and the first attempts along with the first finalized piece. Mail it to yourself and don't open it. If you ever have to go to court, the only person you want to open the box, will be the judge. Once there has been a judgement for the copyright ownership, that judgement replaces your box. Until then, it's the U.S. postal service, serving as your witness.

Any time you feel someone has infringed on your copyrights, make sure you've filed your copyright at least 30 days before any court date.

What is a Mold? What is a Master Block?

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:31:00 +0000

Have you ever used cookie cutters with special little designs imprinted? You press the cutter down onto the dough and it leaves an exact opposite of the design you see in the cutter itself.
That's actually a mold.

A mold is something you can use over and over to replicate a design, shape, form. Think of the mold as the negative that forms your positive.

A master block is actually the permanent positive for your mold. From the master block, you can make numerous molds and from the mold, you can replicate numerous positives in the finished form.

Place your hand down onto rolled out dough and make a print. Your hand is the positive-the print in the dough is your negative.

If you happen to want numerous copies of an original, you will need a mold. From the mold, you can make 'repeats'.

If you also happen to need to know that you can make numerous molds, all exactly the same as the original mold, you will then need to freeze that design for all time, by making a master block of the original mold. In this way, you can continue to make the same exact mold, over and over for years. Thereby, freezing your design for all time.

Replace-Restore? What Is It?

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:58:00 +0000

One of the first questions, one has to answer, when faced with the project of replacement or restoration, is 'What is it?'

Is it ceramic? Is it some sort of plaster or cement? Is it wood? Stone?

Identifying what a piece is made of, can sometimes be perplexing. If the piece is broken and you can see its interior, it helps in identifying.

Some soft clays can fool you into thinking it's plaster. Here are some tests, you can try out.

If the interior appears pure white, it might be plaster, it might be clay. If it's clay, it might be earthenware or it might be china or porcelain.

Test with the point of a Xacto blade, to see if it easily powders off. If it does, it's either plaster or very soft clay. If it's pure white, it's most likely plaster. If it has a slight pinkish hue, it could easily be mexican clay.

If it does not easily powder off, and is very hard, then it's either earthenware or porcelain. If it's shiney, even inside, then it's china. Porcelain will still have a dull appearance to broken edges.

So now, if its very hard but not shiney, then we're down to earthenware or porcelain. Tap the piece with the handle of your Xacto blade. Does it ring? Earthenware, depending on the size of the piece, might have a ring to it but it will not have the 'thin', high pitch as that of porcelain. Porcelain will have a high pitch and will last more than a quarter second, where as earthenware's ring is very short (time) and not as high pitch (tone). When testing for a ring, don't hold the piece. Set it on another hard surface, like a dinner plate or a metal turn table.

If still in doubt as to whether the piece is earthenware or porcelain, run the sharp point of your blade, along the broken edge. If absolutely no pieces, flake off, then it's porcelain.

Mexican clay will have a pinkish or slightly brown hue to it and will chip off easily. It has no ring.

Earthenware can sometimes fool you, as it can be colored. Usually white or red (terra cota). It has a slight ring to it when tapped, but short lived. Not very high pitched and has a 'thick' sound.

Porcelain also can be colored. Just about any color. It will not flake off, when you drag your blade across the broken edge. It has a high pitch sound and clear (not thick sounding) It appears very hard but not shiney.

China is unmatched by any clay. A broken edge is still shiney.

Stoneware (harder than earthenware clays), may have a slight shine to the broken edge but very visible coursely ground stone pieces. Very hard and does not flake off easily.

Plaster appears very white but when matched up with the white of china, it appears dull. It easily flakes off with a light drag of your blade. Much like chalk. Very chalky.

Another plaster, which is super hard, will still flake off but has a harder feel and appearance. Can be easily mistaken for mexican pottery.

Filled resins, can appear much the same as china but will have a hard plastic sound when tapped. These are clear resins mixed with things like plaster or other powdered chemicals. These are restored with yet more clear resin.

Any time you need a filler that is pure titanium white, you can actually purchase powdered titanium from a pottery supply.

Knowing what a piece is made of, helps you determined what materials you will need to repair or replace a piece.

All clays can be molded from a plaster mold. All resins and plasters, can be cast into a rubber mold.

If a piece is not broken but you can still see the interior, you can use the same way of testing. If the piece is not broken and you can't see the interior then you have to go by appearance and feel.

Again, the tapping to hear the ring, helps a lot. In addition, just the outward appearance can help. If it appears to be clay and has a bluish hue to the white background, it's china.

Porcelain can be just about any color. If it feels very hard, harder than clay, has a slight high pitch ring then it's probably porcelain.

If it has a ring but not very high pitch, it's probably poured clay (earthenware) Does it have a hole in the bottom? It's earthenware or stoneware.

Stoneware is rarely used for figurines (poured).

Resin, when tapped, has no ring and a definite plastic sound. Usually solid.

If I've overlooked anything, give me a holler here.

Free Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:09:00 +0000

I've uploaded a free gift to my website. It's 2 gift cards, I think you will like. One is New Bride which consists of 6 pages when folded, the other is New Mother which consists of one card stock page folded.the New Mother contains all sorts of well wishes, the same with the Bride but with some recipes and hints and helps.
There are instructions for print out, on the same page as the links to the files. You just right click the file you want and 'save target as' to download.http://judysbookshop.com/giftcards.htm

Enjoy,
judy

Rubber molds

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 04:55:00 +0000

There are numerous places online, where you can get the rubber compounds for mold making. The first thing you need to take into account is whether or not the compound is self lubricating. Self lubricating, means no mold releasing agents are needed.

While that might seem like a good idea, I stay strictly away from the compounds that are self lubricating for one good reason. If you ever need to repair a mold, you can't with self lubricating, because the new batch won't bond with the old. Since I always want that avenue open to me, I make sure it is not self lubricating and does require mold release.

I'll be back to finish later.

Liquid Latex Molds

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 04:24:00 +0000

Since liquid latex is the easiest material to get your hands on, I thought I'd go into more detail on making a mold with it.

For this practise, we'll take on a simple, flat sided object. Something most likely to be hung on the wall or added into a shadow box.

The reason for choosing a flat backed object, is simply that it's so very simple to perform. Probably a good place to start, if you've never played with liquid latex or making molds of any kind.

If you have something like a wall plaque, it's a good practise piece. If not, try forming something with modeling clay, leaving the back of it flat.

You'll need a small working board. Something a little wider than your model and as smooth as possible. A piece of plastic window material, a tile, something like that. You will need a smooth paint brush as well as an acid brush (one of those small ones you find at the hardware store. The handle is metal) Get some acetone (hardware store or paint dept.) for cleaning your brushes. A pint or quart of liquid latex. You will need some plaster to form a mother mold. If your object is only about the size of a biscuit, a cup of plaster will do.

You can usually find liquid latex at the craft supply stores. Some, not all, ceramic supplies that carry a wide variety of supplies for both the poured ceramics and the pottery supplies, carry the liquid latex. If you can't find a supply nearby, try online.

A fresh supply of liquid latex should look off white and the consistancy of pudding. When not using it, close the lid tightly. It's best if kept in a tight glass jar.

There is little need to apply any sort of separator to the model. If the model happens to be rough wood or very dry plaster, you might want to give it a very thin coat of vaseline.

Lay your model in the center of your working board and apply the first coat of latex. Very thinly, at first. Then as the coats of latex build up, you might start applying a little thicker coat each time.

The trick is to let each coating dry enough to actually be set (not sticky to the touch) but not dry enough to be tough, before applying the next coat. Usually, a thin coating is ready for another layer, in about 30 minutes. Keep applying another coat, letting each layer dry, until it's built up to about 1/8" then let it dry overnight.

Before pulling the mold and model off the working board, you need a mother mold. The easiest way to mix plaster to its hardest form, in very small amounts, is to first pour your water (about 1/3 the volume you think you'll need. Begin slowly sifting in the plaster until it stands just above the surface of the water. You'll notice the plaster becomes saturated and then appears to crack on the surface. It's ready for mixing. You can simply mix (whip) with a spoon for about 3 minutes and then begin to spoon it onto the rubber mold. As it begins to set up, you can form it like icing on a cake, into a box like form, slightly wider both ways, than your mold. I'd say a width of about 1/2" wider all the way around, is sufficient. Before it's had time to become rigid, smooth the top of your mound to make it a flat surface, as this will be the bottom of your mold unit, when it comes time to pour materials into the mold for reproduction.

When the plaster is set up, twist the whole unit off the working board, turn it over and let it finish setting up until the plaster has completely cooled down.

With a sponge, wash back any plaster that has seeped around the edge of your rubber mold, preventing it from just dropping out. Grab the edges of your rubber mold with finger tips and gently pull the rubber mold out of the mother mold.

Once that is done, remove the rubber mold from your model. Now you can sponge down your mother mold and wash the rubber mold. Replace the rubber mold back into its mother mold for safe keeping.

When your ready to pour something like plaster into your mold, rinse your mold in soapy water and just shake off the excess. Then pour your plaster into the mold. The soap will rise quickly, bringing with it any bubbles formed in the plaster.

The soapy solution should be about the same as a pan of dish water. No more soap than that.

For simple objects, like wall plaques, you can use pottery plaster (plaster of paris), mixed very densely. For things like incense burners or trivets or highly detailed figurines, I suggest using hydrocal. Hydrocal is pure white, not as hard as hydrostone but certainly harder the pottery plaster and you can mix it very densely for a non-porous stone-like material.

Just a note of caution. Liquid latex is not suitable for pouring resins.

Defining Different Types of Molds

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:31:00 +0000

When people think 'mold making', it's very possible they wind up in all the wrong categories because they were thinking one thing and the search engines are coming up with yet a whole other item.

When it comes to making molds, there is a wide variety of types and uses. I thought I'd take some time to help clarify.

First, we look at the many types of materials one would use to make an object from a mold. Objects can be made from plasters (I say plural because of the many varieties of plaster and their uses), clay, resin and paper. Yup...paper. Well, there's also glass but we're pretty much sticking to things that can be formed without a furnace. There are also different metals, one can use.

For the most part, folks are trying this out at home so we will look at those forms that can be done on the kitchen table (if need be).

Molds to form items out of plasters, are made of rubber. Of course, you can make a plaster mold to turn out plasters but rubber is so much easier to live with.
Rubber molds are also made out of a variety of different rubbers and formulaes. Liquid latex is usually the easiest to find at a large craft supply store. Most of the other rubber compounds needs to come from the manufacturer,their reps or online.
When trying to decide which rubber to use, check for flexibility and release. Flexibility becomes important when you may or may not be using a mother mold. A mother mold is sort of a rigid backup, to hold your rubber mold in place. Like a cradle.
Release is important when you are making objects made of resins. Some rubber compounds come already formulated with a self release. It's sort of 'greasy' on the surface, all the time.
Especially with rubber compounds that aren't already self releasing, you will need something called 'mold release'. For rubber molds, this mold release is usually silicone but there are others and you need to make sure your rubber molds are compatible with the release.

Liquid latex molds are a 'build up' mold. It's created by layering coats of the rubber onto the object being copied. Enough layers, and you have a sturdy mold.

Molds made of plaster also depend on what type of object you care to reproduce, as to which type of plaster to use. Most times, it's just pottery or #1 pottery plaster (also known as plaster of paris).

For very large objects made from a plaster mold, I would suggest hydrostone instead. It's much denser and harder than #1 pottery plaster. You can make plaster objects using a plaster mold only if there are no undercuts to trap the object.

Another material I love using is called hydrogel. It's actually made from seaweed and harmless to the skin. Great for making forms of the human body. With hydrogel, one must immediately add on top of the soft new mold, a mother mold of plaster, in order to hold the hydrogel in form, as it is soft and pliable. Also, hydrogel molds can only be used once and pretty much immediately as the material dries up quickly. As it dries it shrinks and contorts.

This should give you a ballpark view of the different kinds of molds, materials and the uses.

I will go into more detail very soon now, it additional posts.

To view my other posts
http://creatingceramics.blogspot.com
http://pour-ceramics.blogspot.com
http://clayslip.blogspot.com