Mold Mod Project

papaperch

Active member
Joined
Mar 28, 2010
Messages
1,033
Location
Northeast Ohio
Been meaning to do this for years. Was always fearful of destroying a good mold. But anyway finally got tired waiting on custom mold makers to come up with something.

Decided to start with two mold I very seldom use anymore. In that they only pour one of each size. One was a pony head and the other a round head no collar. To drill each mold had to find center of each cavity. With the pony head was easy as the stock casted eye protrudes a little bit. This mean the cavity in the mold already has a slight depression. Sized drill bit and drilled plumb through each side. Found some round rod to fit tightly in hole. Drill size was 1/64 " bigger than rod. Approximated the depth and super glued rods in place to provide cavity for 3-D eyes. First attempt at casting proved I had the rods in too deep. Tapped out a little on each side and reglued. Next casting try appeared to work. results in pix below.

The round head no collar was a little more challenging but not much. Only drilled the 1/4 , 1/8 and 1/16 oz cavities. On pix they appear to be off center ( the holes ) but its just camera angle makes it look like that. To find center on those 3 cavities I used center punches that almost filled each cavity. Used three different sizes from my punch set.
Have to wait on rod to get here ( had to order on internet ) to finish the round head mold. Used a small table top drill press as the aluminum is very easy to drill. After center punching used a small drill to follow the center punch mark. Then drilled each size for the ordered rod. When finding depth had to make sure rod did not stick out if front of casting sprue of mold.

After I get everything adjusted where I want will use Loc-Tite to hold the rods . Superglue holds it good enough to experiment with. Used a little cutoff grinder to cut steel rods.

Easier way would be to drill and use ID tag metal drive studs. But never could find place to order in small amounts I needed.





 

Bucko

New member
Joined
May 26, 2013
Messages
734
Location
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Nice work! Been meaning to do that to some of my molds too. no drill less here though and worried about getting them crooked if I do it free hand.
 
Back
Top