Hey all, Things are going good so far…here’s a picture of the pattern (on the right), the mold (green/blue piece), and a couple of castings (on the left)
My first piece is a gondola end that I’m going to make a DT&I 52’ gon with. I decided to wet my feet with this piece since I wasn’t about to scratchbuild 4 ends (I want 2 gons). I figured it was going to be enough to make one. These came out great. I bought Micromark’s sample pack for RTV and Resin. I really like the RTV and the resin is very thin (low viscosity) but after requesting some data sheets on it I wouldn’t recommend the resin for outdoor garden RR applications, as it’s only rated for temps up to 140 F, it will be fine for indoor applications though. I’ve been doing some research since this has all begun and I think I understand why Burl (GRM-articals) uses the resin he does…it’s the highest heat rated resin available (250 F) and it has a quick demold time. I bought some but I don’t like it for a couple reasons. It has a very short pot life - only 90 seconds from mixing to setting - and it’s pretty thick compared to the Micromark stuff. So you have to mix quick and pour quick but it flows slower - not a good combination for me. Ultimately I’ll either use Alumilte RC-3 or Micromark CR-600…those are the next batches I’m planning on buying. For my purposes they are a better compromise of pot life, viscosity, and temp resistance. So, after feeling good about the whole process, here’s a picture of my next project. A standard 9’ Pullman-Standard PS-1 door…This one is cast with the Alumilte resin Burl uses. For comparison, the Pennsylvania car on top of the undec car has the door as it comes on the USA 50 footer (a Youngstown door). Since I bought 3 of these undec 50 footers I need at least 6 of these doors and I may put some of these doors on some 40 footers too.
So now I’m kinda wishing I’d have cast a side and end of my Railgon…oh well…maybe next time. This is beginning to get more and more fun. Enjoy! Brian
