What is the cheapest way to make a mold? Thanks

;ook at the general modelling forum as I think 'Mother' describes how he used 'fimo' to make moulds, I have access to a wholesaler who sells whole starter kits with moulding material and resign all packed together for $50 au and sells to hobbyist
Ian

the question should really be - 'what is the cheapest way to make a mould to do this'

The cost of a mould depends on a few things.

A/ I wish to make ONE of this?

then you don't need anything fancy....BUT

B/ I want to make 50 of this?

then my advice is to spend more money for a better class mould.

So my question is to please tell us more including what and how many of this 'something' you wish to mould. Is it plaster? is it resin? Is it whitemetal? all these affect the price as well.

cheers
Cliff

I'd agree with Cliff. There's a few deciding factors.

How Many copies

Complexity of the part

Also.... do you need a one part or two part mold?

It also depends on what you're going to pour - plaster or resin.
Here is one suggestion in addition to the already mentioned ones

https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/248

What you pay is what you get. Best choice would be two-component silicone. This takes some experience to get it perfect, but it's not brain surgery either. Sharp edges, repeat casting. Air bubbles will be your enemy but there are solutions for that.

Clay and plastiscine may work for quick-copies that need only one copy and are almost two-dimensional. "bas reliefs".

Latex works for copying small parts, but it takes quite a bit of experience to make it work, and it never really does the trick. Furthermore, it s.t.i.n.k.s !

Anyone who wants to copy, sooner or later ends up using silicones.

Uncle Jan

I once made a mould for some ornate window frames using simple children's "Plasticene" and plaster of paris as the casting material.

It worked well enough for me to fill every window with the ornate frames!!

It's useful for making flat, one sided pieces. Obviously you're not going to do so well using it to make complex moulds but a big pack of plasticene costs what, a £1.00 at most !!

I wouldn't use Future as a release agent. Either buy a the recommended release agent where you buy your mould making material or use something like vaseline or baby oil.