What is the strongest casting agent?

Jack of All Trades

I'm looking to make a mold but out of something very durable and firm but catches details very well. I thought of using liquid resin or epoxy, but what else is available? Any suggestions?

zorg

what is the item your trying to make a mold out of made from?

Jack of All Trades

I'm actually trying to make a press mold or a die for embossing leather. I'd like to do my own designs on bracers and book covers and such but don't want to pay up the rear to have them cut out of metal...

SUPERprops

you can mold it out of silicone and then cold cast it(so its like metal), or you can cast it in a low heat type of metal.

clonesix

I am no leather expert, but aren't there already metal leather tools on the market?

Are you trying to make a punch that will stamp a single design into the leather without doing the individual handwork?

My suggestion for a punch die material is Magic Sculpt. It will take a hammer blow and punch anything into wet leather. That is my suggestion for the material. How you want to make the reverse image is up to you.

Jack of All Trades

Cold cast it? Pardon my ignorance but I'm just getting into this. I REALLY have been wanting to get into casting and sculpting and such for quite some time, but this will be my starting point. As long as I can get the rigidness of metal while also keeping the intricate details of the design (Celtic knot work and such). And as long as it will last for multiple impressions (or embossings). I've been looking at the Super Sculpey Firm but I'm not sure if a polymer will be strong enough to last. I'm not familiar with any of these materials. This is all new territory.

By the way, I really appreciate the input!

Dedalus5550

Whoever gets Keanu Reeves in all those movies despite his lack of talent, for sure. Or did I misunderstand "casting agent".

Ozymandius

You most definately do NOT want to use sculpey for that application. That stuff breaks if you stare at it too hard.

My recomendation would be Smooth-On's "Task" resins (particularly Task 12). I do industrial castings for theme parks, TNA wrestling, etc, and they require that their orders be absolutely indestructable. If you embed a metal strike plate in it, it should be damn near unbreakable.

Here's a link for you.

http://www.reynoldsam.com/Urethane-P...157/index.html

Jack of All Trades

I'll have to give that stuff a try I suppose if I can muster up the funds. I was hoping to find a cheap alternative to it. I tried super sculpy firm and it didn't catch the details at all. (and you were right, it is SOOOOO BRITTLE!!). I also tried Sculpy III which caught the details very well, but just wouldn't leave an imprint into the leather when I pressed it.

CustomPropSculptorGuy

yea try something like Rebound 25 for a mold and then like Ozy said - use a Task-series resin. I use it for my MMPR helmets and resin masters; I use task 8 because of the heat capabilities, but anything from that line should work.

Case and point a helmet fell from about 8ft up on a "drying rack" and it didn't even scratch.

feek61

Try concrete it's strong and cheap

BlindSquirrel

You might ask Feveron what she used when she made my Boromir shield straps.
Shield Straps

It was some sort of resin but I know she also uses Super Sculpey for stamps as well.

portico

Have you tried Diamondcrete? We use it for glass or tile mosaics. It picks up finger prints in molds if you're not careful. Not terribly expensive. DiamondCRETE - the complete garden stone concrete

division 6

There are also Metal Clays but they do require firing.

And as someone else mentioned you can cast low temp metals into certain types of silicon molds

You could also try Lost Wax or Sand casting.

skynet

I don't see why coldcasting is so much different than a regular resin casting. Only difference is the filler (in case of cold casting).

When doing a cold casting you actually mix fine grinded metal (almost like dust) into the resin (bronze, copper....) in order to give it the look of metal after polishing with steal wool and perhaps treatment with some chemicals.

I've heard that the TASK resin from smooth on is quite a strong resin when cured but...I don't know if it's strong enough for doing leather stamps?

Wesman

I would have to agree with the silicone mold and using bismuth (a low temp metal).

JPolacchi

You should research on the DEVCON and/or DUPONT web site.They have a number of epoxies and urethanes too(I think) for such applications as I recall.

Jack of All Trades

Hmmm....I'll have a look at those too. May as well research the rest of them while I save up for smoothe on. Lol! Thanks guys! Keep em coming!

Stu Pidasso

Right now I'm casting tank treads and links for a client. They are for remote-controlled, "Battle-ready" tanks that require absolute strength and durability, as some of these tanks top $10K. I've been using a regular resin, such as Smooth-On's 300 series, or Silpak's slowcast, but I mix aluminum powder into the resin before I pour. I can take a hammer to the pieces and they laugh at me.

If you need a one-off, or a real low number run, give me a PM, I'll see if I can help.

Jack of All Trades

Really? The 300 series you say? Well, that's actually cheap enough to just experiment with...hmmm....is it pretty rigid? I actually won't be hammering to stamp the leather. I'll be putting a lot of weight and pressing it into the leather. Probably using weights or clamps.

TK648

All of your questions can be answered here
also check you tube for smooth-on how to videos

Mold Making and Casting Materials Silicone Rubber, Urethane Rubber, Liquid Plastic, Casting Resin, Lifecasting, Epoxy Resin, Rigid and Flexible Foam from Smooth-On