cast your piece

[mark yundt]

Several of you have asked me "What are you working on now,,and Keep us posted."Rather than send individual replies I thought others might be interested in this and find it uesful. Casting is nothting new, but it is to me in this larger scale. For this job they wanted more of the swags and the 8ft and 10 ft column drops. Rather than carve them (the cost exceeded their budget for 4 more col. and 4 swags) I said Hey , I can cast them,,went home and then figured out how.The first shot you see the originals in the crates,the second you see the rubber mold and fiberglass shell,third ,the cast itself (only half)and the fourth the complete set,Now Ill epoxy the two halves together ,prime and gild them.I've done smaller pieces, as well as make the master for others to cast.(350 casts for one ceiling alone) I thought this might be handy for those teaching classes or doing the faces,eyes, mouths in a story stick. Why not make a bunch of casts for your students to have at their home/work bench during class. Or make casts of your favorite project. The company makes products that look like crystal clear ice carvings or the look of antique bronze.Some of the reliefs I have seen on here just might look really neat as a bronze plaque. And don't worry , smaller pieces aren't that much $ and you can do them quickly e.g. I've done up to 100 small pieces in a day using a pourable liquid rubber molding compound and quick setting resin.Thought it might spark someones imagination.

[slivers&dust]

Hi Mark, looks like the church job is coming along nice.

From what I can see in the pic’s, your shop looks like a great place to spend the day working. I’d like to see more

What is the drawing of in the background of the fourth picture?

[mark yundt]

Thanks Tony,but this isn't that monster church I sent to you ,I did find places to add more to it, so I have a feeling I got the bid.This is another one. And the drawing in the background (inquisitive eyes you guys seem to have) is for another church job,a fairly big Tryptich,( yes it's the one I've sent to others) which I'll carve my butt off with. That's the door scene of the Garden of Eden,general sketch. It all comes out in the wood, or clay models. Right now ( like I've said on other posts) there is a bunch of church work out there,,got 4 in right now ,,3 in the wings,,buy a ticket ( deposit) and get in line,,, now serving # 4. HA,,it's a hoot.

[susieq]

Hi Mark,
I was looking into casting some of my santa ornaments a while back but got discouraged because I was told I would have to pull a vacuum on the piece to get rid of bubbles, and a few other complicated things that made it an un attractive idea for me. Also, the ornaments would have been too heavy for hanging on a tree branch unless I could figure out a way to make them hollow? Is there a simple process to make a small cast and maybe make it hollow? You made casts in "halves" and then put them together, did you have to pull a vacuum on them?
susieq

[mark yundt]

Sure there is an easy way. Like I said, this job was my first try at larger castings but I've done a few smaller ones in a variety of ways. I'm not sure how big your Santas are, but I'll guess 4-5" maybe?At this size there are lightweight resins that I don't think would be heavy at all. I've done some small pieces 1-2" that were so light (lighter than the wood orig.) that you barely knew you were holding anything at all.At 4-5" I know they would be lighter than the wood and lighter than some blown glass ones I have.
No I didn't have to use a vacuum on these pieces. Here I used a brushable liquid rubber,it sets fairly slow and the bubbles weren't a problem. For my other pieces I captured the piece in a poured rubber block,popped it out and filled the void with casting resin and made them solid. one thing that can be done is instead of filling the mold, just pour some resin in and rotate it around till it sets and you'll have a shell.Large or complex shapes most likely will need multiple pieces of shell, but they too , once assembled will act just like a solid poured mold.
I do think the sticks with the progression of faces, eyes etc. as well as the reliefs would be easy and great to have for students,( or sell a few) as well as practice painting them , strip, paint again, and again,. So many possibilities.

[susieq]

That sounds do-able. Does the original need to be coated with anything to keep it from sticking to the mold material?

[mark yundt]

Yes, the company I deal with sells a mold release, but I have also used PAM cooking spray, silicone spray, and a generous coat of Butchers Wax all work well. It can depend on the intricacy of the piece ( wear and tear pulling the piece out) but most molds are good for hundreds of castings with a little care and proper prep.And believe me,, this is easier than it sounds , or what some make it out to be, once you do one or two,,LOOK OUT.