89 batman Buckle

[strengthof10men]

Hi all,
I have previously made two pep helmets and I felt like I needed a change of pace. also since it was getting cold out side , I didn't like the idea of working outside at the top of the garden in the cold and dark.

I was looking for something small and had since I have been looking through the posts on this site I have noticed that a lot of people make moulds of there projects, I decided that this was a skill I should learn for the future, but as it was expensive i should start small. so I went with the 89 Batman buckle, as this was somthing that I always wanted but they dont sell them in shops, I guess I'll just have to make my own.

I knew I would have to carve it out of something but I wasnt sure what. I figured that a belt buckle is kind of like jewellery so I started there. , I bought some jewellers wax from the jewellery quarter in Birmingham UK and some carving tools from Amazon. I bought Green 'file-a-wax' and I didnt realise how hard it would be. It was like scrapping hard plastic with a blunt knife. I have since learnt that is because there are different types. and i had picked the hardest (just lucky I guess)

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back

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front

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front, sanded down and made a little better.

to save you all trouble in the future I have listed the properties of the different waxes below so you wont have to have the same trouble I had. They can be sawed, filed or carved. Will stand rough handling and will not soften in your hands. Available in 3 degrees of hardness and in a variety of shapes.

Green​

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Cannot be flexed​

melting point 240° F / 116° C​

Purple​

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Some flexibility​

melting point 240° F / 116° C​

Blue​

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Will bend 90 degrees on 1/8" thickness​

melting point 240° F / 116° C​

　
I then made a box from cardbored and filled the base with plasticine put the buckle in and sealed plasticine around it. I put in two straws so I would have a channel to pour the resin in and one for the air to come out of. I also poked a pencil into the plastice so that I would mould dimples into the silicone that would act as locators for the other side of the mould. I then mixed up the silicone what I bought of amazon and poured it ontop of the mould. I have now learned my lesson to wear a mask, I didnt while i was doing this and it stank horribly and it could not have been healthy fot me to do that. still it was a lesson I had to learn.

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I wasnt sure how long silicone took to cure so I just left it for 5 days and then opened the mould. I pulled of the plasticine, flipped the mould over and poured silicone on the other side of the buckle. for the second side i just left it over night. now I know what it feels like when it cures. I didnt realise it would be a bit spongey.

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[strengthof10men]

I then opened the whole thing, took the buckle out and put the two halves back together again. I made a cardboard box for it and tried my best to seal it tight. I then poured the clear cast resin into one of the channels in the mould after having mixed it with the right amount of catalyst as per the instructions on the container. I used clear cast resin because i have never done this before and it was a choice of only two resins I could find on amazon so i took the chance.Tto my embarrassment the boxed leaked. and I had to pour another batch into it. I have now learnt to not be soo quick with making the box and i should have done It properly the first time and saved my self time and money.

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I left it to set overnight. when I popped it out to the mould I was happy. All I had to do was sand it down a little and drill out two hole in the back. into which I bent a piece of brass picture wire that I had lying around into the holes to make the hoop on the back of the buckle. the pin was already carved into place and required a little sanding to get it to fit into the holes of my belt. I would rather make something a little too big and sand it down than make it too small and be screwed.

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I used emamel paint. which I found doesnt work that great on the clear cast resin. but with a few more coats I can now strut down the mean streets of Gotham like boss!

 

[the_batdemon]

That looks cool! A brass casting would be cool.