Resin casting hollow gun barrel

The Replicant

New Member
How would you mold/cast a hollow gun barrel in resin. If you think of an old flintlock or pirate gun.
I would like to cast it in one piece, but the core piece of the rubber mold can be difficult to remove.
Or I can split the barrel in two ... I just don't want the seam, if I can avoid it.

R.
 
I've never tried it with a two-part mold, but with a three part mold it isn't that bad:

1. Pull a cast of the inside of the barrel with a nail in each end. This should be easy, assuming no detail/undercuts. This is the plug.
2. Pull a two-part cast of the external barrel.
3. Suspend the plug inside the two-part mold (using the nails at each end). You will likely need to cast vents to ensure the resin (or whatever) can reach all areas.

The only problem is that it leaves you with a lot of flash (seams) to clean up. But since it's a barrel, the sanding shouldn't be horrific.

I hope that's even a little helpful. I realize I've condensed a ton of work into just three steps, but that's the basic overview.

- JD
 
you would be better off all around just filling the barrel with clay leaving an inch of inner barrel open. This way you just drill out the rest if you are absolutely set on having a through barrel. Its really not worth the time and hassle molding and casting hollow through barrels. Its also easy to cheat a three part mold into a two part, just dont over think things. I did this last year for my Man With No Name costume. The inner barrel through is hexagonal shaped but as mentioned the first inch is all thats needed to give the illusion of a through barrel. Ive done this many times before, simple wins the race on or under budget.

The mold, a three part mold was needed but I cheated it into a two part.
334m2hg.jpg


The part, cast in color all strait from the mold as is.
d8nch.jpg


assembled like the real deal with real screws and a cast wedge. All cast in color, all parts as you see are right from the mold.
2rfsr5d.jpg
 
you would be better off all around just filling the barrel with clay leaving an inch of inner barrel open...

robstyle, thank you for actually helping this person and saving them from my near-useless rambling. :eek

I'll be updating my process with your tips--yours is a much more elegant way of doing this.

- JD
 
No worries JD.

I should also add that I used an obscene amount of silicone on that barrel mold. Reason is the barrel is narrow and strait. If the silicone walls were too thin, even with wood blocks as support for the mold, the chances of a bent barrel part are very high. Sometimes you need to spend the extra dollar to save ten in the long run.
 
How would you mold/cast a hollow gun barrel in resin. If you think of an old flintlock or pirate gun.
I would like to cast it in one piece, but the core piece of the rubber mold can be difficult to remove.
Or I can split the barrel in two ... I just don't want the seam, if I can avoid it.

R.
I just took measurements and designed a replica in my PLA printer to adjust the fit and it after a few adjustments, I worked really well, It loaded and unloaded the bullet and made the weapon lighter, I know, However the chamber won't stand up to the pressures it is exposed to. But one can create a negative model and cast a steel replacement.
 
I just took measurements and designed a replica in my PLA printer to adjust the fit and it after a few adjustments, It worked really well, It loaded and unloaded the bullet and made the weapon lighter, I know, However the chamber won't stand up to the pressures it is exposed to. But one can create a negative model and cast a steel replacement.
 
Oooo ... this is an old one.
It was the barrel of the flintlock pistol (Lothars Flintlock) used in the Wold of Warcraft movie. After modeling I have 3D resin printed the barrel in two pieces. The barrel was then cast in bronze by someone else. I have CNC cut the gunstock of oak, then carved and indlayed with brass lines.
That's the bulk of it.
I wanted to make resin replicas of the barrel, but later in the production it wasn't needed.
The gun fired black powder, but without bullet.
Took me about three months to produce the three pistols used on set.
 

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