Bronson Report post Posted October 8, 2010 I say "might" because I haven't actually made one yet but I think I've got a way to make a mold that is cheap, quick, and easy. I'm still looking at suitable casting materials...I'll take a look around work this weekend because I think we've got some left over stuff that might work. Anyway.... I've wondered for a while how to get a decent mold of a gun without having to use liquid latex (I know a maker who ruined one of his guns doing this). I ran across some stuff called floral foam and thought it might work. There are two different varieties of floral foam, wet or dry. The dry stuff is too brittle but the wet stuff (it is for use with water it isn't actually wet)compresses easily. I picked up a block at the store the other day and here is what I got when I pressed my Kel-Tec P-32 into it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/5061676158/ That is only half of the gun. I pressed the other side into the other half of the block...but it looks the same. This stuff is VERY porous. It is designed to soak up water and lots of it. A friend of mine does some resin casting with Alumalite and we tried pouring some onto the foam. It soaked right in and obviously didn't work. I thought maybe I just needed to seal it in some way so I sprayed it down with some spray can acrylic I had laying around and it seems to be working. Here's a pic with a couple of water drops. The drop that you can see is on the part I've sprayed and the dark spot on the right is on an area that didn't get any acrylic. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/5061065569/ I'm hoping that if I can get it sealed enough I can pour a molding compound into it and then epoxy the two halves together. If it works I'll buy a bunch of this stuff and head over to all of my friend's houses and start pressing their guns into the foam blocks It did leave some foam residue in some of the tighter places on the gun but I was able to blow most of it out and then pick the rest out with a toothpick. I really hope this works. Bronson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woolfe Report post Posted October 8, 2010 Interesting! Looks like a pretty cool idea. I've toyed with the idea of making molds myself. I found this webstie while researching http://www.smooth-on.com/media.php They have tutorial videos and sell resins and such. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reaper Report post Posted October 8, 2010 This looks impressive and do-able for sure... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCKNIVES Report post Posted October 8, 2010 I suppose I just don't see the reason for doing this.The time and materials needed would run over the cost of buying a dummy gun in the first place and you have to comprimise on materials because your not using the materials used in making actual dummy guns.I would be all over it if it was cost effective. I spent thirty years building machinery and could have built most of the machines in my shop, but the time and materials it would have taken cost more than buying new machines and keeping sending out products.Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoshDuvall Report post Posted October 8, 2010 I suppose I just don't see the reason for doing this.The time and materials needed would run over the cost of buying a dummy gun in the first place and you have to comprimise on materials because your not using the materials used in making actual dummy guns.I would be all over it if it was cost effective. I spent thirty years building machinery and could have built most of the machines in my shop, but the time and materials it would have taken cost more than buying new machines and keeping sending out products.Dave I don't think I would see it as being cost effective when it came to guns that have an dummy gun available either. But, I could see it working for some guns that don't currently have dummies available. Although I don't get many requests for those yet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattsh Report post Posted October 9, 2010 (edited) I agree with Josh, for guns with no dummy available it may be very cost effective. I am sure some people say the same thing about us hobbyists that build our own holsters and sheaths, considering time, tools and materials "Why don't ya just buy one?". Sometimes its more than the end goal, its the process of getting there that is more enjoyable. Can't wait to hear about the results. Edited October 9, 2010 by mattsh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigo5552000 Report post Posted October 9, 2010 Hve you ever thought of using alginate to make molds? Ive used it to mold lots of things im not sure how it would effect the gun though! My link Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shorts Report post Posted October 11, 2010 I suppose I just don't see the reason for doing this.The time and materials needed would run over the cost of buying a dummy gun in the first place and you have to comprimise on materials because your not using the materials used in making actual dummy guns.I would be all over it if it was cost effective. I spent thirty years building machinery and could have built most of the machines in my shop, but the time and materials it would have taken cost more than buying new machines and keeping sending out products.Dave Also don't forget you'll need to still get a hold of the real gun in order to mold. I think this process would be worth it for a rare gun or one that has not been put into mold form yet by the manf. Be aware that there is a patent that holds ownership of any gun mold made from epoxy resin/plastics and essentially corners the market if you tried to sell these. You either need to get a license and pay royalties to the owner or keeping the molds for yourself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bronson Report post Posted October 12, 2010 I was able to cast the two halves of the mold and they came out with quite a bit of detail. The problem is that I'm casting them as two halves and the time it would take to sand/fit them together makes it not worth it. If I had a way to cast the entire gun at once it might be a different story. As for cost I was into it for about $15 in materials and a couple of hours of actual time. Anyway, it was worth a shot. Bronson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shorts Report post Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) Bronson, any pics of the finished mold? To cast a solid piece you need to make a sandwich out of the blocks and gun, with a dowel pressed in to form the pour channel. So put a block down, press in the gun, then press in a dowel so that it touches the edge of the gun (I would put it in an area not important to molding a holster, like the bottom of the grip so it can easily be ground down). Before you put the top block on you'll need to spray both faces with some kind of lube that prevents the blocks and gun from sticking to each other. Then press the two together. When you're satisfied, pull them apart. You should have a matched mold set. Once that cures you're ready to pour the resin. When you pour the resin, keep them wrapped up together tight so the blocks don't move. Pour the resin into the channel made by the dowel slowly and make sure you have no air bubbles. Something you can do to help with alignment is press is a couple of short dowel pieces vertically into the mold be used as alignment pins. Or use a cardboard box the same size as the blocks. I did a stint of playing with molds and casting. Overall the trick is to get familiar with the materials you're using and you can make some decent stuff. You will have to decide about the cost of materials and how it works out for you. But if you can do it, do it. I never tried Alumilite but I read a lot about it and it would have been my choice. Edited October 12, 2010 by Shorts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
