Mold work /going it myself

toadfrog

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Heck with trying to get mold work done I've got basic machinist skills . Think I'll go it alone. Costs less too even If I screw up some bar stock. where is the best place to look for cheap brass or aluminum. I'd like to find a table top drill mill used. They have doubled in price since the first of the year. Thanks for the help.
 

steve r.

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Dec 17, 2010
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are you going to make a soft plastics mold or lead mold?
i get the best price from my employer, plus i'm able to use payroll deduction so i dont have to pay for it right away! one thought though, i dont know if i would use alum. or brass for a mold, as it would warp after a few uses caused from the heat. i would go with a soft steel like 4140, easy to machine, plus stronger. you will want to hinge it also, you could pin it but after pouring, the mold would expand and sieze the pins, you may have to "help" break the mold apart. this could cause damage. i'm sure some one here could elaborate more on the preferred mold material. if you have access to any vertical mills at work at all, i would go that route also. i just go in on my day off to do personal machining. wouldnt be hard to program a simple mold. and better yet if you have access to cam software, you can make a solid model and really get creative! hope this helped!
 

toadfrog

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I'll just be modifying some old lead molds first. Nearly all molds for plastic and lead are either aluminum or brass. Unfortunately I live in Okla. There are no really stable employers hear . You can figure looking for a job about every three years here. I went into health care for the stability. Pay stinks and now I don't have access to any machines. Yet. So far I've done pinning for eyes in some molds with good results and a couple of other cavity mods. Thanks for the reply it rang a few bells and made me remember to see if my buddy still has cam software .
 

steve r.

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i thought most of the molds were aluminum or brass also, but i wonder if that is a statigic move on part of the mold makers to get people to buy more molds, i would think that after constant use the mold would warp over time, most aluminum would , maybe a 5052 heat treatable aluminum is bieng used? if your just modifying a mold, depending how much, you could just go at it with a dremmel tool perhaps. if your set on a bridgeport or manual mill , check around on C.L. another idea is to maybe go down to the local high school and check with the shop class instructor and see if one could be used.
 

steve r.

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mmm.. interesting, after doin some research on mold making and materials used, looks like the low melting temp metals are completely ok for bieng poured in an aluminum mold. i still think some warpage is bound to come up on these molds. i'm sure some mold makers here would love to chime in...... and correct me! lol!
 

toadfrog

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Well they moved the only shop class around here . But I'm going to visit a few small shops to see if I can sell them on the Idea of doing molds for not only myself but others . It could be that they need some other type of business to fill in when things are slow and brother is this area slow. Also I have molds that are 80 yrs old in brass and aluminum the most warp I've had has been around .05 on the cavity surface. Where you hit a problem is hinge wear. Dang sure better keep the hinges oiled. The biggest reason for using aluminum is heat transfer. Heats fast cools fast. a very necessary element when using maleable metals.
 

upnort16

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Feb 10, 2011
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toadfrog, you wanted to know the best place for a mill table for a drill press? Enco.com I get their monthly flyers and the table is on sale, half price this month! They also carry aluminum bar stock, dowel pins, cutters of every style and shape.
With your aforementioned maching skills, these few supplies, molds are endless! Brass prices skyrocketed so stick with the aluminum. Just remember, 2 flutes, highest drill press speed, wd40 for lube watch the aluminum chips soar!
 

robbor

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Mar 4, 2011
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you need a cnc. a normal mill wont cut it most of the time. You will spend so much time on compound cuts (angle XY, or YZ) and indicating each cavity that the cost will be the same but you labor and electricity will be through the roof.. And thats just on a simple mold. good luck
 
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