Question For Resin Casters

[Spider]

I'm considering trying to cast some dozer track sections. I'm wondering how hard these would be to make. The two pictures are of the same part, one from each side.

[chevymaniac]

Should't be too hard, two piece mold for sure. do you only have one master?

Later
Dan

[Spider]

chevymaniac said:

Should't be too hard, two piece mold for sure. do you only have one master?

Later
Dan

No, I would have to make 5 pieces to have the full set to make both tracks. Why do you ask? Thinking a mold with several pieces at the same time?
Would it be best to just try to follow the parting line in the original part?
I'm asking because I'm really thinking about buying the casting kit and also making at least one more ripper for the rear or a dozer (maybe two of those). Would the Alumilite Super Casting Kit give me enough materials to make these parts?

www.alumilite.com/checkout/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=49&osCsid=7bd7e9383d415353b801e13f8c4c4554

[chevymaniac]

If you only need 5 of them, I would say that they can be scratch built faster then you can cast them....But, if you do want to cast them, I would make a mold of at least 5 of them. There is a minimum of resin you have to mix to get the proper part A to part B ratio and resin is pretty expensive so you really want to use what you mix. For small parts I would use Micro Mark resin...it's thinner than Alumilite and has a longer pot life allowing more air to escape, Alumilite has a 3 minute pot life and is sometimes too thick for small parts. Another thing you have to consider is shelf life...If you don't plan on casting a lot of parts, it might not be worth casting your parts yourself because after 6 months the resin is sometimes not good anymore and fit for the garbage. To cast those 5 track parts and one ripper you would need less than 1 Oz. of resin.

Later
Dan

[Rustycab]

Take a look at Smoothon.com They sell a real nice PArt A-B Kit (OOMOO 25 Rubber and Smooth cast 321 for Casting media) for under $60 with shipping that will be plenty to make your parts Very easy to use- No Odor east cleanup

I havent found anything better- cleaner and easier than any of the other resins I have tried

Rubber sets up in about 4 hours to demold and you can have your parts in 7-10 minutes

[Spider]

Well, went for broke (literally) and bought a Alumilite and some Smooth On casting stuff. I'd like to give this a shot. There are quite a few things I can make if I can manage to do it without just wasting the materials. We'll see. At some of the resin prices it wouldn't take that much to recoupe my costs and have the satisfaction that I made the parts too.

[Rustycab]

Take your time!
Study the part you want to mold and cast
You gotta kinda think backwards

The hardest part for me was trying to determine The mold process

Buy yourself some cheap Paper Mache boxes in various sizes to pour your molds in

Keep in mind that the smooth on rubber will seep into every nook and crevice so you will need to pay close attention how you mount your master in the mold box

It will take a few try's
Stay with it

As for the Alumalite I have no experiance with it

[Spider]

The mold process shouldn't be all that bad. I used to be a molder in a foundry eviroment (before I smarten up and went to the machine shop). I've made loose piece molds and poured them with molten iron. That was also before my eyes started getting old and these parts are much smaller. I'm more concerned about the mixing and pouring of the resin before it starts to set. I'll figure it out, hopefully.

[41chevy]

I've used Alumalite nad Smooth On. The Alumalite sets FAST!!! I ended up refridgerating it prior to mixing to slow cure time down. I have had the best luck with Smooth On. But it still boils down to your preference. As for the track sections... I've done them for Armor kits and link sets of 5 or more always seem to work best. Paul

[cdntrucker]

I have also used the Alumalite. The slow set kit is the worst to use as the ratio mix is different than the regular kit.

Good results for the most part. The mold prep and quality will make or break the quality of the part.



A tire/rim that I cast with Alumalite.

Glenn C.

[Spider]

cdntrucker said:

I have also used the Alumalite. The slow set kit is the worst to use as the ratio mix is different than the regular kit.

Good results for the most part. The mold prep and quality will make or break the quality of the part.

A tire/rim that I cast with Alumalite.

Glenn C.

Have you tired casting any dual wheels / tires? I was thinking and figuring you would almost have to part the mold in the center of the two wires but wonder if the rubber would give enough to allow you to get it out without tearing. I have no immediate plans to try this but was just wondering.

[78KW]

I have a few parts that I would like to cast for future projects, myself. Are larger pieces hard to cast? An example would be the nose of the Great Dane Reefer Trailer kit. Since only the dry van was re-released, I wish to cast one or two reefer nose panels, along with the reefer unit of course. My other hard project is the entire rear air ride suspension from the AMT KW K100 Aerodyne. I hope to cast it as I have a T600 and a T800 to build someday.

My other question is that after you make a mold, how long does it last? Or should I do lots of casting(once I get the mold working right) all at once, and toss the mold?