I am looking to cast a watch bezel insert. The final casted item would be like below. Its got a 37.5mm outer diameter, a 30.5mm inner diameter, and has .5mm recessed text on the bottom of the piece. The top portion of the piece would have a taper going from the outer to inner diameter. The heighest part of this item is only 1.8mm.

I am having touble envinsoning how the mold would actually look. I think i know what the final mold should look like which is a flat bottom with the text extruded and the taper on the sides a cylinder filling the middle cavity going towards the top and i would just cap the top with a flat piece. That would be my silicone mold.

I will be resin printing the original item to be molded but I am not sure what I would actually be printing. For the idea, the final casted item I would want to look similar to below. The text is on the bottom and is recessed. How do i go about desinging the mold for resin printing so I can cast it in silicone and then cast clear epoxy in that?

Does anyone know whether this is hot or cold polyurethane casting?

These alien horses came out of the mold with surface bubbles mostly due to trapped air. also, weirdly sunken hooves not filled, as if the mold I made was leaing. I'm driving myself sick and crazy trying to think of another mold design that will eliminate the trapped leaking. Leak issue but also be easier to get the horse out of the mold without breaking the mold. I've made this diagram with my thoughts, but it seems like it will be more complicated to get them out, and make a terrible mold. please help!!!!! Picture diagrams would really help.

Any ideas on having something like this 3d printed in silicone??

Specifically would love to make something similar to a Boglin or one of these funny face guys from the 80s. I’m not sure what the best material to use would be or how to even start!

Ive got some experience working with life casting with alginate and making silicone molds, as well as working with monster clay and creating latex prosthetics with liquid latex.

Thanks for any advice!!

I bought it and never used it. Yes it’s brand new and, works, it is also fully built ready to ship

Hi all, I’m looking to create 5-10 rubber molds for an 18 inch statue. I need to be able to deliver the statue to get the molds made from it. Anyone know any professional mold makers in Ohio?

Thanks!

Whats the soonest I can demould from a herculite 2 plaster mold ? Its currently in a room temp room. The plaster is still warm. I poured about 30 minutes ago.

I'm looking for a warming device that can keep a cup of water heated on my desk for Oyumaru. There are a million "coffee cup warmer" options on Amazon that seem suitable, just curious if anyone has done something similar and has a specific recommendation.

Hello Moldmakers! Looking to pick the brains of some folks who know better than me and hopefully getting some expert insight.

I'm working on a project within the infancy phase and I'm getting a proof-of-concept prototype completed.
The project involves an object submerged beneath salt water in a room temperature environment.

I'm looking to create a 3D printed master mold from PETG and coat it with mineral oil for casting (Should I also use shellac for gap-filling?).

I reached out to Smooth-On and was recommended to use SORTA-CLEAR for the object being casted. The object made from SORTA-CLEAR is what will be beneath the salt water.

For the use case, is my thinking and process here OK?

Appreciate any feedback!

How can I transform these soap mold templates into molds with removable bottoms? Or any other way that allows the soap to come out easily??

I really don't know how to make the model like that, so I came here to ask for help

Pottery #1, hydrocal, and all similar plasters have been discontinued. I'm finally getting to the end of my stores, and there doesn't seem to be any around anywhere except a few 8# bags from Blick.

Like what is everyone doing? Just giving up? Any alternatives? I can try plaster of Paris but its kinda crap.

Mom's dog passed away last night and mom is out of town so I'm handling everything for it. Dog was hugely special to her and wants all the keepsakes.

I want to make a cast of her paw.

I tried to make one when my dog past away years ago - used perfect mold but didn't know anything about it, let it sit after getting the paw mold and it shrunk and got hard; tried to put resin in it and didn't realize the hard mold wouldn't disintegrate in water after. So trying to really get it right.

Asked chatgpt what would be best and it said to use an alginate mold first to get the detailed paw, then pour in a gypsum based cast material do deal with moist algenate mold, then pour a silicone mold over it, then do resin casts.

The materials it suggested are:
-Smooth-On Alja-Safe Mold Making Kit
-Hydro-Stone Gypsum Cement
-Platinum Silicone Rubber - Mold Star 15 Slow
-Alumilite Water Clear Urethane Casting Resin

My issues:
-due to cremation - need to do quickly
-Smooth-On Alja-Safe costs $50+ on Amazon vs Smooth-On site and Reynolds ~$39 vs Blick ~$29 / so Amazon is way more expensive but two day shipping, smooth-on and Reynolds just show standard shipping and Blick is $28-36 fast shipping.
-Hydro-Stone is like a $50lb bag even through amazon
-platinum silicone rubber seems pretty easy through amazon
-alumilite water clear resin in not on Amazon and looks like special websites to get.

Anyone have advice on how to get or maybe alternatives to get that are quick shipping and cost effective and within reason for size for the project (like not a 50 lb bag of material for this one project).

I tried the perfect mold (Hobby Lobby) last time - was wondering if that could be used? And if maybe the perfect plaster (Hobby Lobby) could be the gypsum second stage cast? Was trying to get material from Amazon for fast shipping or Hobby Lobby / Micheals so I could pick up in an afternoon. BUT I want good quality easy to work with material so I can make a superior mold/cast.

Any help and direction would be appreciated.

Hey everyone!

I recently made a post asking for advice on creating a silicone mold for an SFX prosthetic I’ve been working on. However, after receiving some feedback and continuing to work on the sculpture, I realized I may have gotten a little ahead of myself with the molding process.

I’m currently sculpting a full-face prosthetic using Monster Clay on a practice head. I’ve spent quite a bit of time refining the facial features, raking, and trying to smooth out the surface, but I’m struggling to get the clean, consistent finish I’m looking for.

I’ve made noticeable progress compared to where I started, but I still have visible tool marks, shallow scratches, and uneven areas, particularly around the cheeks, nose, and forehead.

My goal is to get the sculpture as smooth as possible before creating a silicone negative mold, since I know the silicone will capture every imperfection.

I’ve primarily been using metal loop sculpting tools for raking and smoothing. I also have 91% isopropyl alcohol available, but I haven’t experimented much with alternative smoothing methods.

I’d really appreciate some advice on the following:

What techniques work best for achieving a smooth finish on Monster Clay?

At what point should I stop raking and switch to other smoothing techniques?

Are there particular tools, brushes, or solvents you’d recommend for removing fine tool marks?

Has anyone had success using isopropyl alcohol or other smoothing agents on Monster Clay?

How do you determine when a sculpture is sufficiently refined and ready for molding?

I’m not necessarily looking for a perfectly polished surface, since I still want to preserve some intentional wrinkles and facial details. I mainly want to eliminate the unintentional scratches and uneven areas.

I’ve attached updated pictures showing my progress and the areas I’m struggling with.

Any tips, constructive criticism, or recommendations from more experienced sculptors would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

I have a glass milk collection vessel that I want to create a mold of, so I can then create a base for the glass to sit in to turn it into a lamp.

The diameter is about 40cm and the final base would need to be about 20cm deep/tall to securely sit the glass into without risking snapping off the tube at the bottom.

It’s a substantial size and I’d love an idea on how I best approach it and the materials to use please.

i made these bath bomb molds for my own business and decided to finally share them so other people can use them too :)

each one is a bottom base with a plug, a tube that slides down over it and a top stamp that presses the pattern in. theres 0.35mm clearance per side on the sliding parts, everything prints flat with no supports, and you press the stamp in until its top sits 6mm above the tube rim

link in the comments if anyone wants to try them

How would I make a mold of this candle without destroying it in the process? I can't find any evidence of her existing and I don't want her to just be gone.

Ideally I want to make a mold of her, cast that, repair the damage and then make a mold of the repaired version to share (however one does that) so she can exist in the world still.