Best way to Replicate a coin? (Zork Related)

lint

Well I finally scored a zorkmid coin and it is on its way to me.

I would love to replicate these coins in metal but doubt that is something I can effectively do in my apartment. Is there a heavy resin that would work with RTV silicon that would be good for doing coins? Any other suggestions for replicating these coins? I imagine a foundry would be cost prohibitive. Open to any suggestions though.



-Todd

defstartrooper

Coldcast brass or bronze , basically it's using powdered metal as a resin filler you should find the metal powder at the same place you get your resin.
It'll come out dull straight from the mold you'll have to polish it back.

lint

thanks for the info. As you can tell I am new to this. Would a two part RTV Silicon mould be the best way to cast in cold cast brass or bronze? I am not sure if there is another way to do a coin front and back. Main concern of course is air bubbles, etc.

-todd

defstartrooper

Yeah a silicone mold would be fine

propologist

I have wondered myself , thanks trooper . I want to do this oneday. ( from spaceballs)

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lint

One thought I had reading more about cold casting. Since casting both sides of a coin, The two piece mould will be closed and bound. Will the metal powder settle at the bottom of the coin mould since I will not have the opportunity to have the mould open, paint it around, etc like on a one piece mould?

clonesix

Could you cast them in wax and have someone else do the lost-wax cast in metal?

If not, pot metal in slicone mold.

defstartrooper

Should be fine but if you're that worried just use a fastcast resin.
Pot metal would work too but that's white metal so you'll have to paint the coin and weather it.

DMExplorer

Lost wax is one way, foundry or those places that make challenge coins may be able to do it as well. The places that make challenge coins have a minimum, so a Zorkmid list of buyers would have to be made. I would be on that list for two or three if the price was right.

Did you score it on ebay? I was watching those but did not bid. Congrats!!

lint

yeah i scored the single zorkmid. as it stands now, i am going to try and do a few in cold cast bronze (or maybe copper). I'll see how they turn out.

-Todd

Mostly Fantasy

If you add enough powdered metal to the resin, settling shouldn't be a problem.

Tempus

I did some coins a while ago, and here's what I learned.

If I dusted the mold with the powder, then poured in the resin/powder mixture, when it cured, it was easy to polish with a little fine steel wool.

Maybe that helps?

Oh, and I had no problem with settling.

lint

Thanks for all the help guys. This will be my first molding/casting. I have a smooth-on starter kit on its way with some bronze powder. Is it better to add color to the resin or leave it clear (assuming smoothcast 300 is cear)?

Tempus, I would love to see some photos.

-todd

Tempus

You don't need to color the resin, it will come out bronze (that's the powder I used also) - I remember I used a 5:1 ratio of resin to powder, it made the coin feel heavier.

I'll see what I can find for pics - it was quite some time ago.

exoray

I believe off the top of my head the 320 series is the more "clear" pigment friendly resin... The regular 300 is pure white and you won't get as true of a color, not to say it won't work it just won't tint as true...

If and when you might want to consider doing a small run in metal let me know, I can do lost wax...

Tempus

I believe that Smooth-on makes a resin that is made for the metallic powders.

I can't remember the actual part, though.

I'll have the take a look in the shop.

TK648

Here is some info from smooth-on for cold casting

http://www.smooth-on.com/gallery.php...312&cPath=1211

lint

Well here is my progress so far. This is my first mold of anything, first time using silicone or resin. I did a two part mold which you can see at the bottom. It bound to itself and I had to muscle it apart. It is a bit rough but it gets the job done. The cream yellow coin was the first cast. It is probably 75% bubbles I added a few drops of my wifes yellow ink and think this had a bad effect on the smoothcast 325. It was bubbling out of the mold! Second was just pure smoothcast that I hit with a permanent marker after I cast it. It is hard to tell since it is clear but the details are spot on. Ill be picking up some brass powder from TAP this weekend and try another cast with that. Ill also pickup some black shoe polish as well to get the patina effect in the details.

Any and all comments and tips appreciated.

TazVader

Nice work mate. Looking forward to seeing more.

Regards
TAZ

exoray

Water suspended pigment or dyes + urethane resin = bad volcanic like eruptions...

You need pigments suspended in a urethane friendly base, yes they are stupid expensive...

Also that is A LOT of silicone for such a small part, next time try and conserve a little bit as it's costly stuff... And one last hint learn to pour from a height with a very fine stream to avoid all the bubbles in the silicone...

FYI mold release is your friend on those two part pours..

nimitzbrood

Forgive me if this is a dumb question but couldn't you use PMC (precious metal clay) and fire it in your home oven or jewelry kiln if you've got one?

That would give a highly detailed metal coin that would certainly look excellent once polished or mildly buffed.

Tempus

That's one hell of a mold for that small a coin!

And I don't see any keys in there. You may want to add one if you do another (unless I'm not seeing one)

lint

thanks guys. and yes one heck of a mold for a coin. It was my first one and I certainly misjudged how much I would need. Since I had mixed too much I figured extra thick walls would help with any warping when they were bound together. Also there WAS a key in there. Instead of waiting the full 6hrs for cure time I only waited about 4. It felt "done" to me. So I poured the other side and went to bed. Next morning, solid block of silicone! I was just trying to cut the coin out to do it over but managed to cut right down the middle. The torn chunks now act as a key

Amateur I know. Again, this was my first go!

thanks for all the tips so far guys.

Tempus

Well, experimenting is a way to learn.

My first mold looked a lot like that.

And, you will need a sort of mold release agent, to prevent the two part of the mold sticking together, FYI. (in case you didn't know that already)

Eaglewood

Isnt this considered recasting???? Just wondering about it so the poor guy doesnt get slammed by someone here.
I am ok with what he is doing but just playing Devil's Advocate!