mikecheck1212

cool bruddah..ive seen some of your stuff on sd fish...your plastics are fresh...from what ive read mostly for the salt (i can be wrong)...ive been on a freshwater kick for sometime now but would like to get some bass out of the bay...where do you sell your plastics here.. @everyone else...i sure appreciate the tips..i will be looking into the super sculpey clay..altho ive seen some improvement in my molds..again being new to this im still just screwing around to learn from my mistakes...what ive found is i can do a nice draft with my clay as detailed as possible...bake it...and put some sanpaper to it...last mold came out alot cleaner than before..i think a dremmel or some sort of tool is definitely going to be on my list of things i need to get when i can...thanks for all the help..

good advice is good help...youve given me some ideas already...thank you sir

ok..i see what youre saying about different materials to use...i went with clay only because it seems like it would be the easiest to work with...for now...not sure how u work with metal and wood but i may assume you probably have some other tools to go with those...i think wood would be pretty good too i just do not have any wood working tools as of yet... on a side note i think some sandpaper would be in order...i just baked a piece of clay to make a sorta simple swimbait but its still very rough...i think if i had some sandpaper i could smooth it down a little more...see, the learning has begun...i figure since i cant get the details i really want with the clay, i may be able to make a rough draft, bake it, then work it a lil more once its in its solid form....right now tho imma have to just grind it on the side walk..haha..

another question for those making theyre own molds...what would you say are some must have tools you feel like you need to make your molds...from the clay part (special tools or sculpting) all the way to the actual mold making part...being new to this i figure over time i will find things that i need so am start REALLY basic..any suggestions on what would help me make better molds?

@dj thrillz..are you from san diego..

hey thanks for all the help..dont get mad if i pm you guys for some info..hahaa...luckily today i found a microwave in the alley that works so i dont have to melt in my house and run to my garage...

cool thanks for all the info...i will mos def look into sculpey clay next...havnt made any molds yet since this post but still want to try the cool down method..i have a few of those blue ice packs in the freezer..

thanks for the tip mark...i will try to cool it down and see how that goes...also ive realized that wax paper is a must because when i flatten the ribbon part down it sticks to my table and ruins the whole design..i wonder if actual sculpting clay would be easier to work with or if that issue will still be there..

im just curious on what kind of clay you veterans use to make a model for your plastics...ive tried easy bake clay, and it works alright for simple designs,but when you want to add detail it tends to be too soft and falls apart and almost melts in your hands on the real thin parts...for instance i was trying to make a ribbon tail type worm but the ribbon part was too tough to do with this particular clay..every time you touch the clay it changes shape..

ok..so i poured my first molds using the following video...havnt made it to the plaster of paris part yet...just messing around....i figure some trial and error is definitely neccesary to be able to have a complete understanding of the whole process...but i also dont mind learning from others mistakes...being new to this i dont wanna invest too much just yet..plus i have a 2 week old whos diapers are more important than my personal hobbies..so what i did and plan on doing for the first few pours is just using old plastics ive been saving for awhile...that'll get me through the whole making a mold process..once i have that down i will be investing in the plastisol, coloring, glitter and so fourth...anyway cant wait to drop the kid off at school tomorow and sneak out for an hour and try these plastics...i would post pictures but dont know how to.. couple things that happend...1..lotsa flash..gotta figure out a way to make the initial mold flat to prevent from that..again at this point i am still in the oven baked clay part of the process and havnt started making the molds with the plaster of paris yet..im following the steps according to the video..and what he does is to first make a mold with the clay...and pour a few worms..than use those worms to make the mold with plaster of paris.. 2nd...noticed some air bubles on the second worm i poured..this again was recycled plastic and this one actually contained glitter..not sure if that had something to do with it...all the air bubbles were on the exposed side of the pour...any tips on how to prevent this would be greatly appreciated or any tips about anything would be cool too...thanks for the help and as soon as i can get pics up i will do so.. link for the video (which i found on another thread)

coo...thanks vodkaman..ive been watching alot of videos via youtube and theres some cool stuff there as well..now that i know what rtv stands for i can search some of that too...preciate it...

Ok....so I have been thinking about making my own plastics for some time now...but have not started...i have been searching the forums but cant seem to find the answer i am looking for..first off..what is rtv (cant search for it because it is only 3 letters)...and are there any instructables on making a home made mold out of plaster of paris or something better?...i am at point a in the process, and i think the first thing to do is to learn to make molds...buying some would be cool too, but i have some ideas and want to try some stuff out..that leads me into my next question...best way to design a mold...would you guys suggest modeling clay as the best material to use?...i know i can do some google searches too, and will, but i figure i might as well ask some people who have tried this before...i know this website has been around for awhile, so im sure this question has come up numerous times, i just cant seem to find it...any info would be great (links or personal experience)...i do appreciate the help, and do plan on following through on this hobby...thank you very much...