Rainy day project...

[HarveyH48]

Been raining pretty steady all day, so took care of a few chores. Was going to mess around with a penny sorter project, but got a little side tracked, after finding that the slot machine spare hopper I was looking for, was in parts an pieces, then remembered I need something off it, to get the working one to use quarters. Still have another hopper, but it's in another machine I never messed with much after the initial sparks from just plugging it in...

Anyway, found a plaster casting of a Labrador dog, had planned on someday making a mold to cast in pewter. Read about using silcone caulk, thinned with paint thinner. I just happened to have an unused tube, from fixing my bathroom sink a couple of months ago, half a gallon, of some really old paint thinner. The caulk was the cheapest silicone Walmart had, wasn't sure I was going to need it, but figured it best to have ready, just in case.

I found a cardboard box, right size, lined it with tinfoil, placed the plaster cast in the middle, then started mixing. Didn't measure anything, was more interested in getting a syrupy consistency. Did about half the tube of silicone, poured it in, little clumpy though. Just barely covered the piece, so mixed up the rest. Stirred it up a lot better this time, didn't notice the chunks, and brought it up to a good thickness.

Have no idea how this is going to turn out, just an experiment I've been wanting to try for years. Thinking it could take days for this thing to setup and cure. Will probably wait a week or more, before attempting to pour hot metal into it. There will be air bubbles in it, may shrink some too. I'm not positive that it will hold up to the heat at all. Really don't expect a perfect mold, or a perfect cast, pretty sloppy work. But it does work out, it's pretty cheap and easy way to make molds, and could be a way to use some of the lead fishing weights, tire weights, and so forth.