These look as good or better than the polystyrene windows I bought a few years ago. Nice work!
@Dan and Korm, Yes it is really that easy. A little attention to detail goes a long way.
Good point, David. I guess that I failed to mention,
A 2 part resin is exothermic. That means that when the two parts are mixed together they generate heat when they react to each other. It is this “Heat” that has to be there to get them to “Set Up” and get hard. If the part that is being cast is so small or thin that there is very little resin present, and with the mold absorbing part of the generated heat thru transfer, then there is not enough heat for the chemical process to occur properly. When this happens, you do need to heat up the mold to get the process to work. As to how hot? Well, that varies with the product you’re using, but 100 deg. F is generally enough to get it done.
Confession: Since, that it was brought up, I have been heating the molds for the window battens… I left it out of the “Tutorial” so as to Keep it simple, and not make it seem as it is way complex, and scare away someone from learning to mold their own stuff. Most common molds do not have the need to heat, only the ones that use very little resin, to create fine/small/thin parts. The batten mold did set on its own, but it took an hour + to set. With heating in the oven with just the pilot light for heat @ 95F, I could de-mold after about 25 min. Having to make 48+ of these that’s a BIG difference in time. One could achieve the same thing using a 150W light bulb in a small box, or even a child’s “E-Z-Bake Oven”. KISS principal comes into play, no need to make it more complex then it needs to be. Tip: If you have a mold that you know will need the touch of heating, Get it in the oven ASAP after pouring to get the reaction going from the get go. You can also pre-heat the mold to give it a kick start.
Oh, is that all. With the resin I chose, I did the hit and miss method to determine that 20 to 25 min in a 200 degree oven did the trick. I threw out a few goopy failures before I hit upon the magic numbers. Different resins set up differently, and your mileage may vary.
Also with the resin I chose, I did the baking on a summer evening when I could have the windows open, because there was definitely an odor. And oh yea, my mom wasn’t home at the time.
Good tip so far for my fine barke details I haven’t needed to do that but I wonder if I am just lucky. I will preheat the molds and put them in the oven. My lowest setting is 170 but I could preheat the mold then pour and then stick it in the oven and turn it off in suppose. Any danger of over hearing at say the 170.
Devon, if resin cures too fast it can become excessively brittle. And if you really overdo the heat it can scorch or burn. I don’t think 170 will scorch the resin, but as I stated, each type of resin is different and your mileage may vary.
I will give it a go. I wasnt going to spill the beans yet but I am doing some casting as well made the mold yesterday and will pour today. I will post results tomorrow as part of my next installment. I will play with heat I am curouos now to see the results
@Devon If you don’t need the heat to get it to set, don’t do it. Just let it do its thing. I think that 170 deg. way well be to much for your resin. It can also harden your mold, and make extraction hard.
I’m way behind on my build, from were I thought that I would be. Who the hell designs a building with 48 windows in it that have to be made. What an idiot…
I got the last window cast this morning… 48 total. Now comes the task of getting them all cleaned up for installation.
As of this Monday morning, this is the total of my build, not 2 boards connected yet. But I do have 48 windows almost made.
Up next will be cutting the openings for the windows and doors, and then glueing them in. Progress should be faster how. I’m going to try and use my mortice machine to cut out the square corners for the windows. We will see how well it works on birch ply. Stay tuned.
Wow! Very ambitious Dave, Nice work.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
48 windows?? And I thought my 8 were a lot. Great work. Again, thanks for the casting demonstration.
Progress… I got about half the windows in place… It’s starting to look like i Just might make it for the Finnish.
More to go tomorrow.
Progress. Finished installing the last of the F&%$#ing windows. What an Idiot for an architect.
Got the foundation cut to fit under the slab, Really a 1/2" piece of PVC. Got it all around, and then started on the “stone work”
The cut stones are a direct rip off from Ray D. Well not exactly a rip off. Ray showed us how he made the masters and the castings, And I really wanted my own, and I labored long and hard, two bandaids later, and I now have my own set to cast. WOW how I like the look.
Of course Mr. Max Taylor, Sr. ( CEO of Taylor Industries LLC. ) Insisted that for the new Tin and Iron factory that there should be a right and proper corner stone laid. The short ceremony was attended by many a stuffy dignitary, and a few that really didn’t care. And there sits for all prosperity a permeant reminder of prosperous times.
And the front entrance, and side wall.
Tomorrow the walls get attached to each other. I still have to figure out how I’m going to make the roof removable.
Very Nice!. I like the stone work. The windows and doors look really cool too. I need to get on to learning molding and casting…
A good looking building Dave, but it seems very time absorbing. By the way, I think I have seen those doors before (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Doors, What doors, oh those ol’ things. Tell ya what a deal I have for ya!! Make ya the best deal in town on 1:30 doors, great price, the’r left over from an ol’ project, perfectly fine, just don’t need them all. Cut ya a sweet deal, ya can’t pass up on this one… whatcha say ol’ buddy? The boss is outta town, and I can cut ya a sweet deal.
Hey, isn’t one of those doors upside down? And what are those two paintings in the background?
The stonework is awesome, definitely bookmarkable. The “Taylor” is a nice touch!
I love the rock work especially the corner stone
Yup, one door is upside down, one of those things that happen when you’r jamming things together after midnight. I’ll have to cut it out and re-mount it.
The paintings in the background are a couple of Plein Air pieces the wife did at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. She just finished touching them up in her studio, and I have to copy them to make Giclee prints before they get hung in her studio for sale.
Question is: Which one is upside down, huh? It reminds me of a guy I knew once who wore two watches. True story. Why? Because he bought cheap watches and wanted to have a check on accurate time. I told him he needed to wear three cheap watches then, because if you wore only two watches and they disagreed, how would you know which one was right?
edit: the paintings look good, especially for painting outdoors.
What, no date? Cornerstones should have a date.