gadawgs Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 For those of you that carve your masters for your molds, how do you create multiple appendages that are exactly the same? for exampe when you carve claws for a craw do you carve both of them or do you carve one, make a mold of the claw, pour two of them then attach it to the body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadawgs Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 anybody? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 I haven't done such a complex master as you are talking about. But for something as complex as a claw, I would definately mold it separately, as you suggested. You are then guaranteed to get both claws the same. When making the mold, I would have all the appendages and claws separate and not actually attached to the body. If they were hard attached, they would surely break, when you tried to remove them from the new mold. I would use soft glue, neoprene or rubber glue to attach them. Something that can be easily repaired and not damage the carving. This mold would then become my master mold, from which I would cast plastic purely for making further molds. Hope this made sense. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Sorry; just found this. Dave, you're right on. I would make seperate molds for each part, then hook them all together to make the master mold. As for the claws; you can't make one and use it to make a claw for each side if they have a left or right curve to them unless they are the same on the top and bottom as the right claw is a mirror image of the left claw. www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadawgs Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 what would you pour the mold of the claws with?plastic, resin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 I use plaster of paris simply because it's easy and cheap to use. If it doesn't come out the way you want you're not out a lot of $, especially when you are experimenting with new and differant shapes. www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zbass Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 The light bulb just went off! If you do what you're saying nova, pretty soon you'll have a bunch of different appendage molds that you can mix and match to create different baits. Wow. What a concept. Here I've been carving and recarving appendages for all this time. New project on the horizon. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 There you go Zbass. I always work under the K.I.S.S. rule if you know what I mean. I use whatever is at hand. I also browse stores, Wallyworld,(stay out of the sports dept), Dollar Store, etc and look through all the sections(except clothing) for inspiration. You never know what is going to trigger an idea. www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Ideally, if you make a PoP claw, then the next mold needs to be RTV. The PoP claw is going to be very breakable. Probly best to pour a plastic claw in a PoP mold, if you are going to use PoP as your production mold. This all needs some planning, because every time you copy, you lose some detail. Nove is right, symmetry is an issue to be thought about. Zbass, nice one, a library of masters, all interchangeable. A TU library of fishy parts? Possible, but not likely. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTfishingrods Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 check the kids toy box out if you have them. I found my best salamander body in my sons old box and once he found out what I wanted to do with it he was all kinds of excited to let me have it. Boys love to destroy and build things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear21211 Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 We do the same thing with some of our RTV molds. Carving masters is very time consuming.We designed a basic body we are using for 5 of our molds . Changing claws adding feet and such is much easier and gives the bait a whole new life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headshot Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 I just sit down with the kids and use their Sculpy clay. It's fun to see what ideas they come up with too. Sculpy's awesome. You can mold it in POP or resin soft, or you can harden it by baking it for 15-20 minutes in a 250 degree oven. After it hardens, you can drill it, sand it, carve it, fill it with more sculpy and rebake it, etc.....it's very resilient too. It's also cool to drill out and insert appendages into for various creatures. Right now I'm practicing scale patterns on it (wet netting quickly pressed on wet sculpy seems to work well) I'm finding it to be a great modeling material for lures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headshot Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 I forgot to say, you can also use Sculpy to make the molds themselves (1 piece at least, haven't tried two) although it can get a bit expensive for big molds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 The netting idea is great, no one ever mentioned that idea before. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 The netting idea is great, no one ever mentioned that idea before.Dave I tried that one quite a while back Dave. The problem is that the indents the netting makes are very shallow and after you seal and coat the mold they all but fade away. I always keep looking for netting that is a larger diameter with a tight pattern; but I've yet to find one. www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headshot Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 I tried that one quite a while back Dave. The problem is that the indents the netting makes are very shallow and after you seal and coat the mold they all but fade away. I always keep looking for netting that is a larger diameter with a tight pattern; but I've yet to find one. Really? That's a bummer. I was going to try to finesse a fine POP mold from it with REALLY watered-down elmers to seal. So you think I shouldn't bother with it? What about an epoxy mold? Actually this brings up a good subject I haven't seen covered here. A comparison of master media, molding media, and the uses, upsides, and downsides of each. Now that would be cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headshot Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 I always keep looking for netting that is a larger diameter with a tight pattern; but I've yet to find one. Remember in the late 70s - early 80s, when fishnet t-shirts were all the rage? I am ashamed to admit I still have mine, that type of thing might fit your bill. Or raid a lingerie drawer.....preferably of someone who has given permission. I have some old drawstring camping bags for stakes and the like. They have kind of a neat open mesh. Sports Jerseys? The mesh on the uppers of running shoes? I'm sure you'll find the perfect pattern sooner or later. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 You're on the right track;(you've got your thinking cap on and that's half the battle). One of the problems is that the baits are so small that a large hole pattern won't look good. Tried onion bags but the holes are too large. Maybe the metal screen from a car speaker or a puter speaker might work if it can be shaped. As far as the sealing goes, at the time I tried to do this, I didn't know about Elmer's glue. I might have to re-visit this later on; as right now I have 3 new baits I'm working and I don't want top add anymore to the plate. Let me know what you find out. Try browsing around the hardware section of the local stores; including the Dollar Store if you have one.(they have lots of neat things) www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 The depth/thickness of a mesh could be enhanced with a few coats of latex. This is just an idea and has not been tried. You might have to start of with a slightly larger mesh to achieve the scale size that you want. This could work. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyman Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 I make the part from plexiglass or something, hot glue it to small square of plexi., then mix up the homemade silicone and glycerin and coat it a few times. Once its dry, build a small box and coat with POP. A mold that you don't have to seal and shows every detail and is not too much more than POP. I think the netting idea would work fine with this approach. Nova, I also browse the craft sections of wal-mart and craft stores for inspiration. I like to tell the ladies I make baits so they don't think I'm fruity. Great ideas fellas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
