I recently attended a silicone mold (mould) class.
I was looking at buying some molds for pen casting and saw this course at the local community college.
Course description
Learn how to make a silicone mould for your unique jewellery piece in Sydney.
This hands-on workshop will teach you how to design and make your own moulds that can be used to make multiples of resin arts pieces again and again.
Develop an understanding about the mould making process as well as the tools and materials that can be used. You will be taken through all the steps that are involved in mould making as well as be introduced to the many uses and possibilities of it.
At the end of this workshop, you will be able to use one of your created moulds and make a resin piece within the limitation of the fast curing resin.
Ideal for
This course is designed for everyone. But please note, it is not suitable for pregnant women.
Course Content
- Silicone – the material
- Design and mould making techniques for your individual project
- What materials/surfaces can be moulded
- How to adapt and modify models to easily mould
- Making support and spacers
- Cleaning and securing models
- Preparing mould making compound
- Mixing, measurements, process
- Cutting and releasing mould
- Safety and Care of your silicone mould
- Tips and Tricks
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, you will have:
- created two different forms of silicone mould according to your needs and likes
- an understanding about silicone and the mould making process
- worked with the tools and materials required at mould making as well as know what is important to get should you wish to continue your journey from home
- know how to take care of your moulds and the many uses of it
- received the tips and tricks from our professional tutor
- been introduced to resin work
As I wanted to make casts for pen blanks I took along one full and one half blank. In hindsight I should have taken twice this as had plenty of the mould to fill
We used Pinkysil for the class.
|
Pinky is a two-component, addition cure, low viscosity silicone designed for taking very fast impressions. It is the product of choice for fast set moulds where a free flowing product is required and time factors are an issue. |
|
Ideal for –
|
Easy 1:1 mixing. It has a pot life of 6 minutes and demould in 20 minutes.
Unfortunately as this class was primarily for jewelry they only provided round forms for the moulds so the teacher had to improvise and found a plastic takeaway container for me to use. As you can see I had to cut the top out so not too sophisticated!
The finished mould looks ok if a bit thin on the base as was too wide due to the container size.
We then tested the moulds using fast curing resin the teacher had on hand. We were only to use one colour but the teacher had some grey left over so I mixed that in; it was going off by the heat so only just made it in time. Due to this I got quite a good result.
This is the pen I turned from the larger blank:
It looks a lot better than the blank indicated; very happy, not sure what to use the other half for.
I turned the small blank but it doesn’t look anything special so probably won’t waste a pen kit on it.