Re: [DL] making molds and casting

[darklord@dark-sky.net]

1.  Carve the wheel out of wax

2.  Attach a wax string to the wax wheel

3.  drop the thing into a small metal can with the string sticking out
the top

4.  Fill the can with plaster and let it dry, Carve a small crater into
the top of the plaster around the hole

5.  put the can into a small kiln upside down so that the wax melts out
of the plaster leaving a hole that leads to the wheel.

6.  pull it out of the kiln and use a blowtorch to melt a small slug of
metal into the crater so that it is completely liquid

7.  soak some newspaper in water and quickly lay it on top of the
plaster/metal and push down on it with a block of wood, the cold water
should cause the metal to rush into the hole/wheel.

8.  Immerse the whole thing into a bucket of water so that the plaster
dissolves away and cools the metal fully.

9.  File the metal string off of the wheel and you have a wheel

10.  see any decent high school art department for more detailed
instructions... that's where I learned.

Dirk "Metal Master" R.

Nick Zachariasen wrote:

> Does anybody have any experience making molds of things and then
> casting from them?  You see, my dilemma is that some time ago I bought
> a pack of Grenadier mad scientists and one of them was in a
> wheelchair.  Well, when my mother was up here helping me clean when I
> came back from Christmas Break, while I was getting something from the
> car she threw away the wheels to said MS in wheelchair.  I now have
> the chance to get a figure from which I could make a suitable
> replacement, but I don't know how I'd go about it.  I will NOT let Dr.
> Strangelove (as I have taken to calling the figure) just sit around
> like the currently useless hunk of lead that he is.  I don't care what
> it takes (short of bestowing that fate upon another figure by simply
> cannibalizing it for its wheels), I WILL have wheels for his chair
> again. Can anybody give me advice on how to make a mold and then cast
> replacement wheels using the ones I'll (hopefully) get? Nick "one Hell
> of a squeaky wheel" Zachariasen
> President
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