Hi Folks
As usual, Terry's work has inspired me to try a bit harder again. In this case, his thread about the flex Bonegrip, specifically the super clean way it came out of the mould. No flash and no visible lines means far less time spent polishing it after. So I went and bought myself some more silicone to try and am ready to try again, but I thought would reacquaint myself with various techniques, and maybe get some tips from the pro's here.
So far, I have tried pouring the whole thing in one go, and cutting it out using a zig zag pattern. While that is the quickest to make, it is very difficult to line it up, as the zig zag only lines up vertically. horizontally, it is very difficult to get it right, so you get some fairly big lines in that one.
Next I tried pouring a layer of silicone on the bottom of the mould, when that cures, I put the frame in and poured more silicone in up to half way, and the rest after it cured. This is relatively easy to do , but due to the way the silicone rises, it is impossible to be at a right angle with the frame, so the last layer has to do a lot of work to get in all the nooks and crannies...so mould lines. Also, if the slingshot has a flat surface, you need to pour the second part in while the silicone is still slightly soft, as it cannot get in under the frame's round bevel...lots of sanding to do after...
I have seen a popular method where half the frame is buries in putty, while the other is covered in silicone, then flipped over and finished off on the other side. I have not tried this yet, as I am not sure I have the putty skill to do it right...maybe if I watch some detailed videos...who knows...
Lastly, my own idea, which should technically leave no lines at all: frame goes in the mould, maybe over a still slightly soft silicone bed. next to the frame are cylinders that reach higher that the end silicone level. Pour the whole lot in one go after that, and you will end up with a silicone block that has cylinders going all the way through, so those parts will be hollow when the cylinders are removed. Next, zig zag cut the mould in two, all the way so there are two separate parts. To put it back together, reinserting the cylinders in the holes will act like the index pieces, as will the zig zag, so it should fit together really well, I hope, and there would be no discrepancies between the two halves, as there was no separate pouring done...
I made a crude drawing of how I imagine it to look.
Any thought s? Any tips will be appreciated.
Thanks