New prop maker needs advice for John Hammond cane

[BryonRaymond]

Hi everyone here on the RPF! I'm a new user and a fairly new prop maker. I have experience in building things (such as a bartop arcade machine and sets for various college plays) but only recently have I discovered a love for trying to recreate some of the props I've coveted from various films. One of those items is the John Hammond amber cane from Jurassic Park! I recently took a wooden dowel and some air drying clay and made the basic shape of the cane. However, I am considering making a silicon mold of the cane and then casting it in resin since that is how I believe the film used props were made. But when I cast the cane in resin, I want to add a metal rod in the middle for support, so my question is, how do I get a metal rod to sit in the middle of the mold while I pour the resin in there? This step is still a ways away, I just know it's a problem I'm going to run into and I'm trying to tackle it ahead of time. Thanks for any advice you guys may have!

-Bryon

 

[doppelganger]

I assume you are going to make a 2 piece mold split along the length? Due to the shape of the cane you would be better off casting the cane upright to minimise air pockets . This will make it easy to centralise a steel rod in the centre. Use either a paster or firbreglass shell to hold the mold steady and use capped ends with locating holes for the rod. That should keep everything in line.

Hope this helps and I guess you are making the Amber egg as well? Whats your plan for that?

 

[BryonRaymond]

I don't know why I didn't think to do the mold standing upright. That would certainly make putting a metal rod in the mold much easier. Thanks! And as for the amber egg, I recently ordered one from a guy named Gavin in the UK. He does great work from what I've seen. That was before I thought to buy stuff to make molds and resin castings, otherwise I would have tried to make my own.