{"id":817,"date":"2011-12-02T18:16:50","date_gmt":"2011-12-02T09:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karatsupots.com\/wordpress\/?p=817"},"modified":"2011-12-02T18:16:50","modified_gmt":"2011-12-02T09:16:50","slug":"gyubera-attempt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karatsupots.com\/wordpress\/2011\/12\/gyubera-attempt-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Gyubera, attempt #2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who got the twisted James Taylor reference in the last post? Sorry about that, physical anthropology humor from a previous life.<\/p>\n

Anyway, a friend came over yesterday and gave me a crash course in plaster casting. In one of his previous lives, he was a dental prosthetic technician and did casting in various materials for a living. My knowledge of plaster handling and casting jumped about tenfold in 4 hours.<\/p>\n

We poured the mold similarly to before, with a couple of differences: he applied whipped cream consistency plaster to the backs of the originals, let it set, then turned them over and planted them in a freshly poured base, so the working side was face up. We cleaned up that surface in running water before it set completely, then applied separating agent and poured a different colored super hard type of plaster over the working surface of the originals. Then we leveled everything off with regular plaster. Mold finished.<\/p>\n

Once completely set, I took the mold and soaked it in hot water for an hour to let it absorb as much water as possible, which helps the separating agent to work, and also keeps the plaster from absorbing liquid from the resin mix, which keeps the resin more fluid. Once the separating agent was applied to all surfaces, I put the mold together and tied it with old bicycle tire rubber, stood it up and poured in the resin. Then after letting the full mold sit for about 15 minutes, put it in a 50C bath for 30 minutes to cure the resin. This time I literally used the bath, and set the hot water temp for 55C. Much easier than a pot on the stove.<\/p>\n

Once the curing was done, I let the mold cool, popped it open (which was easy with the proper separating agent) and out came two very nice gyubera. After trimming off the excess, and sanding them with a flap wheel and some 180 grit wet paper, they were finished. Victory! There were some small air bubbles but nothing like before, and the mold is in great condition for next time.<\/p>\n