Project Black PC (part 14)
7th April 2008
I don't like the plastic fan filter covers so...
I have decided to make electroform copies of the covers. But first I need to make a mould.
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After rubbing down the face of the fan cover it was stuck to a sheet of plastic. This will form an outer waste area around the molding as the electroforming does tend to bubble up around the edges. |
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I used A liquid weld glue. It melts the plastic on each surface and works into the gap by capillary action. |
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I decided that on the off chance the electroforming on the waist was usable I should at least do something there... So I stuck these two white pieces of plastic to the sheet as a guide.... |
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... and wrote my name in plastic letters. The trouble I had finding these on ebay, kept coming up with Blondie's second album. |
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I decided to make the waste area a little thicker so glued a second sheet under the the first. Oh and those little clamps cost 25p for 20 of them. bargain of the year I think. |
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| Walls added to the mould and ready for pouring. |
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| ...and while I'm mixing up RTV I thought I'd make a mould for these cogs as well. |
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This gloop added to this gloop makes a mould. |
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Mix it 20 to 1 by weight... |
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Mix it... Trying not to splatter it all over the kitchen. |
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Pour it. Then keep going back every 5 minutes to prod it to see is it's going off. |
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12 hours later it has set. |
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Break off the mould walls... |
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And it's done.
I need to trim off a few undercuts with a scalpel but it's looking good. Then to take it to my friend who is going to do the electroforming... I suspect he's going to say "no won't form... the walls are too deep "... in which case I have another plan. |
| I should not have worried. Louis is most impressed with my mould making skills... |
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and sets to with the bronze powder... on his living room floor. |
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It is wired up and placed into the tank. |
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Here it stays for several hours. |
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This is what it looks like fresh out of the mould. It needs cutting out and lots of finishing now. If anyone wants some electro forming Louis is yer man... contact him here www.theplumery.co.uk |
| Back to part 13 | That's all for now. |