renfairpirate Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 And 75 & 100 I am cleaning and polishing them now,Will post pics of finished buttons later today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelsbagley Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 That is AWESOME!!! Thanks for doing that experiment and posting the results! It looks to me like the biggest drop in detail was between 25 and 50, and after that there was little degradation in detail between 50 and 100. Brilliant stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renfairpirate Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 Ok here are 1,25 and 50 And 75-100 I could get maybe another 50 or so out of this mold I hope this helps anyone who is going to try to make there own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renfairpirate Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 Oh by the way anyone intersted in 100 Dread Pirate Robert Buttons 3/4 inch shank back $35.00 Shipped. The copper looking spots are some weird light reflection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleneckhalfshell Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 nice work, but just a quick question, you didn't mention anything in your tutorial about 'smoking the mold'. when making lead soldiers with a metal mold or when casting bullets, we always 'smoked' the mold, (held the mold over a candle flame and blackened the mold surface). this procedure would give better metal flow to the different parts of the mold and insure a better product. I am not sure if it would extend the life of a plaster mold or not, so that is why I am askiing. No Fear Have Ye of Evil Curses says you... Aye,... Properly Warned Ye Be says I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleneckhalfshell Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 someone back in the thread I think said something about making it look like brass or copper. I remember seeing some stained glass information of solutions that can be applied to the zinc or solder frames the stained glass is held together by to change them to a copper look. Not sure how long it would hold up on buttons, but it might be worth a look see. One such product is called Novacan Super Bright Copper Patina, for solder (8 oz was quoted at $3.95) There is another for Zinc (I usually cast in pot metal which is mostly zinc) Novacan Zinc Plate Copper Patina, reacts with zinc ( 8 oz was quoted at $4.95 anyway, thought it might be worth an experiment, the cost is not prohibitive. No Fear Have Ye of Evil Curses says you... Aye,... Properly Warned Ye Be says I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renfairpirate Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 nice work, but just a quick question, you didn't mention anything in your tutorial about 'smoking the mold'. when making lead soldiers with a metal mold or when casting bullets, we always 'smoked' the mold, (held the mold over a candle flame and blackened the mold surface). this procedure would give better metal flow to the different parts of the mold and insure a better product. I am not sure if it would extend the life of a plaster mold or not, so that is why I am askiing. I use powdered graphite,I thought I included that in the instructions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renfairpirate Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 Ok you might want to get a tube of powdered graphite from the hardware store.The stuff you use on door locks. It cost around $2.00 and dust the mold with it, Sometimes you need it sometimes not. It will help extened mold life I will edit my earlier post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleneckhalfshell Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 (edited) Ok you might want to get a tube of powdered graphite from the hardware store.The stuff you use on door locks. It cost around $2.00 and dust the mold with it, Sometimes you need it sometimes not. It will help extened mold life I will edit my earlier post Yes, I was confused, I thought you were talking about adding the powdered graphite to the plaster that makes up the mold, not applying it to the surface of the mold prior to casting. we always just used a candle. Does the powdered graphite evenly stick to the mold surface? I never thought of powdered graphite for casting, always just thought of it as a dry lubricant for locks. Edited January 13, 2010 by Littleneckhalfshell No Fear Have Ye of Evil Curses says you... Aye,... Properly Warned Ye Be says I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelsbagley Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Yes, I was confused, I thought you were talking about adding the powdered graphite to the plaster that makes up the mold, not applying it to the surface of the mold prior to casting. we always just used a candle. Does the powdered graphite evenly stick to the mold surface? I never thought of powdered graphite for casting, always just thought of it as a dry lubricant for locks. I haven't tried it for use with plaster molds (yet), but it is the most widely suggested substance for brass molds for casting pewter. I've used it on my brass button mold and it makes a big difference. It's messy as heck though, and a very little goes a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renfairpirate Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 (edited) Yes, I was confused, I thought you were talking about adding the powdered graphite to the plaster that makes up the mold, not applying it to the surface of the mold prior to casting. we always just used a candle. Does the powdered graphite evenly stick to the mold surface? I never thought of powdered graphite for casting, always just thought of it as a dry lubricant for locks. The dry casting lube costs around $12.00 an oz. all it is, Is fine powdered graphite with a high dollar name. It just takes a small amount to coat, The plaster will look dirty Gray not black I only use it if i am doing a button with alot of detail or pouring more than 50 buttons from the same plaster mold Edited January 13, 2010 by renfairpirate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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