Showing posts with label double mould. Show all posts
Showing posts with label double mould. Show all posts

Friday, July 11, 2014

Mould making factory

I finally get to play myself for a bit in my studio. Anna and I are cooking up some new stuff and I love playing around with my toys again. However, the first part of the playing is making moulds, not exactly what I like most but rather a necessity. But once the 'hard' work of mould making is done, I really get to play. Yeah!

Mould making factory...
To be continued...

Monday, June 23, 2014

Porcelain keys


It's been a while since I posted creative stuff on my blog. This work above was done in between over the past few months and I only now get around making a finished product of it.
I just need to pimp the packaging a bit but hopefully I have time to do so later this week!
I haven't had much time to work on new things lately so I'm actually happy I managed to make at least one new thing...
Next weekend I'll be at the ceramic market in Maaseik (Belgium) and I'll be taking these along.
So if you're in the area, please pop by and say 'hello' to me! :)

Monday, June 22, 2009

How to color and use liquid porcelain clay?

After showing a few times how to make a mould, I thought it was time to show you how to use a mould with liquid porcelain clay. I will also let you know how to color the clay.

Here is what you need: liquid porcelain clay (I poored it in a washing liquid container so that is easier to use), a mould, a glas jar or two, a filler with a sieve, oxide or stains, a sponge and two flat wooden sticks.
First we will color a bit of liquid porcelain clay. Put a bit into a jar.
Add oxide to it.
Stir it a bit an put it through a filler with a sieve so there is no lumps in the clay left and that the oxide is solved well.
Poor it back into the jar so that it has been sieved twice.
When it's ready, poor a bit of the colored porcelain slib into the mould and twist it around a bit.
Then fill the mould with white porcelain clay.
Let is set for 10 minutes.
Poor the liquid clay back into the container.
Put the mould upside down on the flat wooden sticks.
Cut with a knife the edge of the cup away and turn the mould around on the wooden sticks.
After a while, you see that the edges of the clay will come loose from the mould.
Turn it around and the cup will fall out of the mould. Let it stay there for a while until it is a bit dry because it's still soft. Then take a wet sponge and rub it softly around the edges so to get the sharp edges away.
Now let it dry slowly & then fire it.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

How to make a double mould?

Moulds are very useful for repetitive tasks for example if you work with polymer, paperclay, ceramic clay, papier maché,...
Making a mould is not difficult, it's just a bit messy so you better have everything you need prepared beforehand.

This is what you need: plaster, empty icecream containers, liquid beeswax, clay, scissors, knife, doublesided tape, tape, modelling materials (only if you mould claywork), plasterlocks, paintbrush, water, towel. Be sure to protect your surface with a plastic tablecloth and wear an appron if you're messy.The most important thing when you make a double mould is marking the exact middle of the object you want to mould.Make a little bed for the object to lay in. I do that by rolling out a piece of clay and draping it around the object.
Then you need to make sure that it closes tight to the marking line by adding clay and making sure that no plaster can go underneath.
It's a very precise task and it always takes me ages...
Done! I'm satisfied with how it looks.
Now there are two ways to make the locks for the moulds. These are plastic ones that you press into the sides. The advantage is that they make the mould more durable. So if you are going to use it often, I advise you to buy some of these.
The second way is to press a round object into the sides of the object. Plaster will go into those and will give you a bump.I will use the mould a lot so I chose to work with the plastic locks.
Build with plastic a tower around the clay and make sure that there is enough clay on the bottom so no plaster can escape.
Pour the plaster into the construction and let it set.
After about an hour, I open up the construction and you see this...
Take away the little clay bed you made around the object.
Then make sure that the object looks all nice and happy again. You can do that by smoothening it with a credit card or a slightly wet brush.
As I didn't do a very good job on the plastic slots, I decided to add some extra clay around it. It won't matter for the result of the mould.
Since you'll be pouring plaster onto plaster, you will need to add liquid beeswax onto the plaster.
Build the little construction again and fill it with plaster.
After about an hour, this is the result.
Oh, and the object is a full lump of clay - it's not hollow inside as the pressure from the plaster would make it go all wonky.
The mould will need to dry very well before you can use it. I put it on the radiator.
It will be great for much future fun! :)
Enjoy moulding if you start and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.