Year: 2013

Adventures in epoxy casting part 2

Art, Projects

wpid-IMAG0619.jpg

I’ve done a lot of casting, but all plaster so far. I knew that if I was going to make more complex detailed designs then I would need to move to epoxy plastic casting. In hindsight I should have started with a simpler, one piece mold. I thought that since this shape is basically a ball it would be easier.
Mistakes.

  1. Not building a outer mold
  2. Forgot the pour spout in the mold making.
  3. probably should have cast this upside down, to avoid bubbles in the face.
  4. I worried way too much about getting all the angles perfect on the prototype, i’m going to have to fix all these bubbles anyway.
  5. I should have built in places to screw this down.
  6. probably should have used deeper registration marks.
Continue reading →

Adventures in epoxy casting part 1

Art, Projects
remove clay, feel sense of accomplishment.

remove clay, feel sense of accomplishment.

Trying to make a mold for a small project I’m working on. I thought it was going to be a simple sculpture to start with. But the size and the fact that I wanted to keep it hollow are making it very challenging. I’ve followed a bunch of different tutorials online about making the mold. That’s not really the hard part. I think it’s very difficult to judge how much silicone you’ll need. Like everything in this it’s really important to plan ahead… which I’m not that good at.
gallery of process after the break.

Continue reading →

Epoxy Clay round 3

Art, Projects

wpid-IMAG0485.jpg
Round three in the epoxy clay testing. I’m really getting the hang of this stuff. Like any material there are things that I love and things that I have to work around. I still don’t like how soft it is when it’s first rolled out. But I really like how you can sand it and carve it later. After making the diving helmet and space helmet I got inspired to make a more simple project. That and I realized that I was never going to finish the other sculpts without buying more clay.

a Dremel with rotary wheel cuts this stuff pretty great and sanding with 100 grit will really burn through big sections of it. Which is good becasue it’s hard to get it right the first time.
see more in progress pictures after the break.

Continue reading →

DIY car work saturday

Stuff and Things

I finally got around to putting on the new brake rotors for the Forrester. They had been getting really rough recently, I hope it wasn’t because if the new brake calipers I put on a while back. Buuuuuut anyway, this thing is fixed now. NTB quoted me $90 per brake pad and $230 to machine the rotors. I bought 2 new rotors for $70 total. THINK ABOUT THAT.

This process is just one step up from brake pad replacement, just unbolt the calipers and the rotors might just fall off. If they don’t, like they didn’t on the drivers side, then bang on them for a whike. Then get tired of that and break out the PB Blaster and soak the connection between the rotors and hub. Inside those little holes, and around the center.
Then go have lunch. Come back, scrape some rust off, then bang on the back of it again, boom, done.

What is weird about my car is that one side is much more rusty than the other. Don’t understand about that.

Continue reading →

Epoxy clay test round 2

Art, Projects, Stuff and Things

image

I’ve decided to test out one of the best aspects of the epoxy clay, the ability to sand it and make thinner shapes than with traditional clay. I sculpted this space helmet over one of the plastic bubble inserts, I did it in two steps this time. First I just made a think dome then sanded that smooth. then I cut the hole for the plastic to show through. Then I went pack and added the outer visor and sides. What is cool about this stuff is that I was able to sand off a LOT of it with a sanding wheel and was able to get it looking very symetrical. Which is something I have trouble with.

I think I’m getting the hang of this. I get that you have to be pretty methodical with the planning to get it just right. and it helps to be patient. I’m not sure what I’m going to do for the body section of this? I might have to do some more planning. The bottom image is from another sculpt that I’m doing currently. I get why Jason Freeny is constantly working on more than one thing at a time.

I ordered some mold making materials that should be here today. I’m really excited to get into epoxy casting and then start with the painting on these guys.

more pictures after the break.

Continue reading →