Molding wood?

[Stinky Dragon]

Would making a mold from something made of basla wood work? It seems like it might be a bit too porous on its own, but I suppose sealing it would solve that problem. Are there any other things to consider that I'm missing?

 

[darth_myeek]

Sealing wood makes sense. You might need to test to make sure the mold making material does not have an adverse reaction to the sealer.

I've used silicone to clone unsealed wood moulding which framed glass on our door and it worked, but I could see where the silicone lifted would fibers when I removed the mold. It also left wood fibers in my mold. The castings were just fine.

-DM

 

[GKvfx]

RTV is thick enough that it won't penetrate into the wood the way a liquid like paint of varnish would. But since it does have a tendency to wrap around fine strands and undercuts, it could pull them out.

Jelutong is a fine grain wood that is used for carving masters and molding them. Not as soft as balsa (not as cheap), but still easy to work with for carving/sanding. Much finer grain, too. A good thick coat of filler primer that is sanded will make it look like it was carved out of plastic.

Gene

 

[minifig]

Make sure you anchor it well in the mould-box; it'll REALLY want to float!!!

 

[exoray]

There is no need to seal it, but I would give it a coat or two of Shellac, it will produce a candy smooth finish in a couple of sanded coats...

 

[darth_myeek]

Jelutong is a fine grain wood that is used for carving masters and molding them.

Gene, thank you for the fantastic Jelutong tip! A quick search led me to great examples of it's use here, and here.

Take care,
-DM

 

[Stinky Dragon]

Thanks for all the tips guys. Especially mentioning the floating. It hadn't even crossed my mind!

 

[phase pistol]

I thought it said "morning wood".