Subject: Re: Making a mold...

From: [email-masked] (Bathsheba Grossman)
Date: 20 Feb 1994 02:16:34 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>, Hal Sullivan <hsulliva@nermal> wrote:
>I've got a jewelery piece that I've been wanting to duplicate for some time,
>but don't know how to go about doing it.  The piece is a ring, simple band
>with a detailed crescent moon on it.  I've been trying to make a mold with
>various means, but haven't had any luck.  Does anyone have any suggestions
>on how to do this?

There are various methods, ranging from cuttlefish bone through
vulcanising machines, but I'd recommend RTV silicone rubber
(room-temperature vulcanizing, that is).  It's easy to use even the first
time, not unreasonably toxic, as cheap as anything else in one-ring
quantities, and you can run off many very good copies with ease once you've
got the mold. 

It can be obtained in a small can at a plastics or jewelry-supply place,
or many of the FAQ catalogs will carry it.  I get mine from Polytek in New
Jersey, which I forget if is in the FAQ - it's a rubber/plastic supply
house with good prices, every kind of mold material back to gelatine(!),
in any quantity, and catalogs that double as instruction manuals and tip
sheets - (908)534-5990.  Excellent, excellent sculpture source...but I
digress.

Information about how to use RTV rubber is in various jewelry handbooks (I
began with _Creative Casting_ by Sharr Choate; it's OK; or I can talk
about small sculpture castings, but that may be more or less relevant.

-Sheba

---

From: Larry Paul <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 94 22:47:07 -0500

Re: Making a Mold
Silicone rubber is very costly and messy a wax injecting machine is also needed.
my business  is casting, model making and, casting we also make molds in rubber,
silicone and aluminum if I can help you please feel free to contact me.
       Your, Larry

---

From: [email-masked] (Bathsheba Grossman)
Date: 23 Feb 1994 02:57:20 -0500

>silicone and aluminum if I can help you please feel free to contact me.

Um, I'm not in the business, but while I'll admit that rubber is messy
(not sure I've seen a molding material that wasn't), I never needed an
injecting machine to get good results with jewelry-sized work. 

My fave rubber house lists various hard rubbers at $60-$90/2 gallons; of
course you'd pay more per pound for a pint.

-Sheba

---

From: [email-masked] (Bathsheba Grossman)
Date: 26 Feb 1994 15:38:38 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>,
>My fave rubber house lists various hard rubbers at $60-$90/2 gallons; of

I have a bunch of mail asking that I repost the number of this place, so
here it comes again:

Polytek Development Corp.  
PO Box 384
Lebanon, NJ  08833
(908) 534-5990

All kinds of rubber, resin, advice, instructions.  They have latex, vinyl,
DPR, polysulfide, urethane, silicone rubbers, not to mention
gelatine/alginate for the classicists among us.  Mail order in quantities
from small to enormous, at the best prices I know of.  Enjoy.

-Sheba