PVC Tubing?

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Stevej72

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I should probably perfect my casting methods using regular molds before experimenting with something else. I think I had read on IAP before about using PVC tubing, so I thought I would give it a try. 3/4 inch tubing with 5/8 inch square wood pieces on the end of rubber plugs. Unfortunately I dropped the tube on the floor as I was attempting to get the casting out and it cracked. No PR got by the rubber plugs though.

Has anyone done much with this? Will it work, or am I wasting my time?


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That is moss in the tube on the right.
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It stuck to the tubes for us, Steve.

Cut the tube legthwise to get it out, still would not come loose.[:0]

But lots of things don't work for me that others say WILL work - so not a reason to give up on the project.
 
I soon discovered that any kind of tube mold was more trouble than it was worth when casting blanks where something is embedded such as the snake skins I do and what you are doing here. I found it too difficult to try to keep the tubes centered. Other types of molds work better for me. Curtis Seebeck has shown a way to make molds from the plastic cutting boards sold at several discount places. They work fine. I really like the silicone molds sold here by gadget. Round molds are ok if casting colored banks. But I prefer the tube ice trays for those as long as the diameter will work for the pens you want to make. Good luck with your casting.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
Steve,
I just poured 4 PVC molds with PR and each is 3-1/2" in length. The PR is a 2 color swirl without any insert and is under 60 lbs of pressure to remove (shrink) air bubbles. If I can't remove the blanks, I'll cut them out then I'll use Gadget's silicone molds from now on.

I have used Wally-World's ice 'tube' trays but the blanks are small. They also had to cure for a couple of days before they would come loose then they had to be driven out from the bottom. Not sure if this will work on the PVC but worth a shot.

As soon as this gal. of PR is gone, I'm going to try Alumite to see which I like better.
 
To this point I have only used the ice cube trays from wally world, but I am getting ready to make a couple of molds like Curtis showed in his post. I use Pam cooking spray and give each hole a real quick shot. I can push the blanks out with my finger, sometimes they will slide out as soon as get the bottom loose. I am going to try spraying a paper towel with the Pam and swabing the inside of the tray with the paper towel just so there isn't any accumulation of Spray in the mold and hopefully I can swab multiple holes/molds with one paper towel.
 
I've used PVC with varying degrees of success. If the blanks don't heat up too much during curing, they slide right out. If they do heat up, they tend to deform the PVC, making it quite difficult to remove the blank. Just go easy on the catalyst, and it should work ok, buy YMMV.
 
Try using 200 psi PVC tube. Get it at any of the box stores, or at a good plumbing store. Do you use a release agent? I spray Pam on the inside of the tube, and with the 200 psi (real thin walled) PVC tube....I can bend the PVC by hand to make it release. Still sometimes have a failure, but usually it works real well.

Just my 2 cents

Ed Jordan
Wichita Falls, TX
 
9 hours later and the 4 PVC filled 'molds' are still locked up tight.

In the mean time, I have poured 5 more but this time I am using Gadget's silicone mold. A real nice piece of work and if the PR sticks to that then I'm going to raid the kitchen for some Pam spray. Great idea, thanks guys.
 
This first PVC tubing cast I tried was in the tube for 2 days and slid right out. Not sure if it would have come out sooner as I was out of town for that time.
 
I think they just needed to cure a little longer. I checked them this a.m. (21 hours later) and a gentle tap [:p] was all it took to dislodge them from the PVC. [:D][:D][:D]

The pour in the silicone mold from Gadget went very well and each blank came out easy from the mold. I just need to get some better colors and also try embedding in clear PR.
 
Heat is an issue, for sure ... IceTubes work for me ... the cutting board mold looks interesting ... I guess there is no need to worry about leaks around the seams ?? maybe the material will squeeze together enough with pressure to self-seal ??
 
The more you use the same PVC, the more they tend to stick. Change your PVC out occasionally.

The late, and great, Eagle, had a good idea. Just turn the PVC off. Cut and drill to size, and then just turn the PVC off. Not such a good idea for clear, as you dont know if it got bubbles.
 
Originally posted by Jeff-in-Indiana
<br />[........cut.........] I guess there is no need to worry about leaks around the seams ?? maybe the material will squeeze together enough with pressure to self-seal ??
Click to expand...

Jeff,

I just folded some Duct tape over the bottom end of my PVC tubes and no leaks.
 
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