Tutorial: How to make your own Tin / white metal spoons

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Haroldg

New member
You really have this down to a fine art Bennie!! Thank you for the considerable effort you put into these tutorials and then sharing so freely. Really appreciated.

My experience has been that positioning the sprew at the top of the mould causes settling cracks. Is this why you position it at the side and tilt the mould like you do? How durable is Moldmax 30? Do these moulds last a long time and what is the wear and tear like? How many moulds could you make from a Kg of Moldmax 60 and what is the unit cost? The reason I ask is to compare this with aluminium moulds.
 
B

benniejordaan

Sealiner
Haroldg wrote:
You really have this down to a fine art Bennie!! Thank you for the considerable effort you put into these tutorials and then sharing so freely. Really appreciated.

My experience has been that positioning the sprew at the top of the mould causes settling cracks. Is this why you position it at the side and tilt the mould like you do? How durable is Moldmax 30? Do these moulds last a long time and what is the wear and tear like? How many moulds could you make from a Kg of Moldmax 60 and what is the unit cost? The reason I ask is to compare this with aluminium moulds.
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Hi, aluminum moulds are still the best but sand cast moulds have a lot of imperfections that requires a lot of work to get the lure right. Machined aluminum moulds is great but for DIY projects 4k per mould is crazy. Even in a commercial world, silicone moulds would be used to generate prototypes.

I use approximately 300 grams of silicone per mould, so I will get 2 out of he 1kg tub. I still have a mould from my lat spoon and I reckon I have made at least 50 spoons. The mould is still perfect.

I must add that these are intended for DIY applications and if you intend going commercial, an aluminum mould would be essential. In a DIY serting, most of us would make / cast 5 at a time before allowing the mould to cool.

I dont experience "setting cracks". When designing the sprew I consider how the material flows and I consider minimal filing and cleaning.
 
B

benniejordaan

Sealiner
To answer the question about MM30. It is extremely durable but not suitable for hot casts. If casting resins, you can protect the mould with mould release called Easrease 200. It will last a very long time.
 
H

Haroldg

New member
Sorry Bennie - that was a typo in my previous post. Should have been Moldmax 60... lack of co-ordination between hand and eye...
 
H

Haroldg

New member
4k per aluminium mould? - I spoke to a company in Pinetown about two years ago about doing some machining for me and it was nowhere near this. I'll search for this in the archives and PM you the details if you're interested.
 
B

benniejordaan

Sealiner
Haroldg wrote:
4k per aluminium mould? - I spoke to a company in Pinetown about two years ago about doing some machining for me and it was nowhere near this. I'll search for this in the archives and PM you the details if you're interested.
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Rather get us a quote to machine a mould as per this one out of aluminium. Make sure they include drawing/design time.
 
B

benniejordaan

Sealiner
A 2 oz spoon costs me around R18 each + rigging. I dont think i will ever again in my whole life buy one again.
 

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W

willem wikkel spies

Moderator
Staff member
Bennie

dit lyk steeds goed.

what are the initial costs on the mold max 60 "ie buying a bottle of each. an how much is that in total? lieters wise

with this tread in min, i have something else in mind, but will start a new tread

thanks
 
B

benniejordaan

Sealiner
willem wikkel spies wrote:
Bennie

dit lyk steeds goed.

what are the initial costs on the mold max 60 "ie buying a bottle of each. an how much is that in total? lieters wise

with this tread in min, i have something else in mind, but will start a new tread

thanks
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Hi,
I think it's about R300 per 1 kg pack of MM 60. You can make 3 moulds from that.
 
J

J_Bay

Sealiner
Awesome as always. I was wondering though, if you where going to design a spoon, how would you know what dimensions would make a 2oz spoon for example?
 
B

benniejordaan

Sealiner
J_Bay wrote:
Awesome as always. I was wondering though, if you where going to design a spoon, how would you know what dimensions would make a 2oz spoon for example?
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Good question. You can work out how much it will weigh before you make the mould but to calculate it and design it for a specific weight is difficult. That is why a chase spoon or iron candy is sized by numbers 1, 2, 3 etc. Check their weight, they don't actually weigh 1,2 or 3 oz.

To calculate the cast weight...

Place water in a measuring beaker. push the plug into the water and see how much it displaces. Then we know the SG of water is 1 and the SG of tin is 7.

So 10 ml of water weighs 10 grams. multiply by 7 = 70 grams.

OR fill a jug/cup with water till it over flows. Weigh it on an accurate scale. Then press the plug into it, spilling water out. remove the plug and weigh again. if you lost 10 grams (it displaced 10 grams of water), your spoon will weigh 70 grams.
 
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