Custom mold

[DebB]

Does anyone know where I can get a custom casting mold made?

[Morganica]

Permanent ceramic mold, i.e., one you can cast in multiple times, or a refractory plaster/silica mold?

[DebB]

I'm looking for a permanent one

[Bert Weiss]

The most permanent molds are made in a factory that makes kiln shelves and kiln furniture. I visited such a factory once, and there were stacks of pizza stones as well as the other stuff. These folks use a clay body and firing schedule not possible in a regular pottery shop.

Any potter can make you a bisque ware bowl. It will not be as strong as one of the above ones.

There are castable refractory cements that can make reusable molds, Castalot is a good one. Best mix is another.

[DebB]

Ok good to know. I will look them up.

[Buttercup]

Depending on the shape you want SS is about as permanent as you can get. Metal spinners can make bowl shapes for you. Jen

[DebB]

Great idea! Thanks

[Jenna]

Castalot? Really? Are there any kiln casters out there who have actually had any success with this product? I can see how you can maybe make a mold without ANY DETAIL (perhaps A smooth bowl or plate). For any kind of detail tho, it has not worked for me. The glass comes out with rough, hazy finish, the detail does not fill in. I would love to hear otherwise and what your secret is. I still have the better part of my castalot order sitting around, unused, after my initial hope and subsequent disappointment. I have been looking for a more permanent refractory type investment for years. What am I missing?

[Morganica]

Castalot? Really? Are there any kiln casters out there who have actually had any success with this product? I can see how you can maybe make a mold without ANY DETAIL (perhaps A smooth bowl or plate). For any kind of detail tho, it has not worked for me. The glass comes out with rough, hazy finish, the detail does not fill in. I would love to hear otherwise and what your secret is. I still have the better part of my castalot order sitting around, unused, after my initial hope and subsequent disappointment. I have been looking for a more permanent refractory type investment for years. What am I missing?

It's usually more a function of the specific design and processes than of the particular product. If you can see the detail and feel the texture in the mold, you can get at least 90 percent of it in the glass...assuming you have the right release, the right glass, and the right schedule. So it's hard to answer those questions without knowing more about what you're doing.

I've used Castalot--it's not my favorite product because I tend to favor hugely detailed sculptures with nasty undercuts and will probably never be able to use permanent refractories--and have gotten pretty reasonable detail out of it. It needs pretty thorough outgassing on the first firing (as does the release you use), and I give it long, slow schedules to settle the glass into the detail.

In terms of permanent refractory, though, if you've got a requirement for lots of detail without undercuts, take a look at Luminar Mold Mix 6. It takes as much detail as you can give it, is extremely easy to use (although you have to get used to it), and it creates a permanent ceramic shell. The biggest problem with MM6 is--as with all permanent mold materials--that it is absolutely inflexible where undercuts and locking details are concerned. There's an art to making permanent casting molds that can be used repeatedly without damage...

[David Jenkins]

Brad Walker can CNC mill a custom mold for you. He has certain constraints on depths, length, and width dimensions. The CNC machine is digitally-controlled, so you will have to supply him with specific dimensions and/or a drawing file in specific format.

He made one for me, and it was spot on.

[Buttercup]

Dah! I completely overlooked 'casting' in the original question. Sorry. I have no idea if SS will work for what you want. Jen