Thread: Cloning celluloid scales: a work in progress

Like polyurethane soles on shoes that are not designed to last.

Use them or loose them.

I've cleaned up the scales I'm casting and minimized the scratches from pin removal, gotten more Silicone RTV, and poured a new mold.

By tomorrow the scales I poured should be getting close to cured (though thinner pieces apparently take longer, booo).

It is officially time to just wait.

Very cool!!! I want to try the same with a silicone mould. I'll be following along in your journey.

Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY

Very cool!!! I want to try the same with a silicone mould. I'll be following along in your journey.

Just keep an eye on the spec sheet for what you got, not all silicone molding formulas are compatible with all scale material. So far, this is a lot of messy fun.

We have a brand new art store very close to me. The fella that works there is super helpful. When I bought the polyester resin, he also tried to sell me some silicone. Haha. Maybe a little too helpful. If I do make a silicone mould, I want to do something that can be used more than once. Maybe a classic twist scale.... Is that what they're called????

Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY

We have a brand new art store very close to me. The fella that works there is super helpful. When I bought the polyester resin, he also tried to sell me some silicone. Haha. Maybe a little too helpful. If I do make a silicone mould, I want to do something that can be used more than once. Maybe a classic twist scale.... Is that what they're called????

Rope? Twist? Something like that.

The downside of the silicone mold stuff is that it isn't cheap. $25/lb (though the 4 pound version gets a nice price break).

My ultimate goal with this stuff (aside from being able to clone problematic celluloid scales) is to make my own Shivering Beggar scales to put old hardware store razors in, hone'em up and sell'em for $55-65 (with info about the hardware store they came from). That's still a goodly way down the road.

Well, it wasn't quite a full 72 hours, but the last resin pour has not noticeably hardened since I took the spare ones out of the mold over a day ago, so I'm gonna call those failed too and blame it on the food coloring I used to dye them (maybe the yellow dye turning ruby red was a clue that a chemical interaction had occurred, huh?)

So, with a freshly decanted, very clean mold ready, I mixed up more resin this morning (using the correct dye and the correct color!) and poured three sets.

Let's see how this goes!

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

Well, it wasn't quite a full 72 hours, but the last resin pour has not noticeably hardened since I took the spare ones out of the mold over a day ago, so I'm gonna call those failed too and blame it on the food coloring I used to dye them (maybe the yellow dye turning ruby red was a clue that a chemical interaction had occurred, huh?)

So, with a freshly decanted, very clean mold ready, I mixed up more resin this morning (using the correct dye and the correct color!) and poured three sets.

Let's see how this goes!

This batch is clearly going to be a winner. 2.5 hours after pouring, the leftover in the cup is already cured hard. It'll take longer for the stuff in the molds it's much thinner, but I'm confident of this one.

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

So, once I get this resin stuff down, the Duck scales get the cloning treatment. Those brass embedments are going to be a little challenging, but I’ll figure out a way to do them.

When you're ready for inlays, I have a set of cracked Otto Deutsch scales that you can practice with. Maybe we could swap for a pair of your poured scales.

standing by.....