2 part resin cast help

[Paison]

Hi all,

This is my first time posting...

I am about to start a large project dealing with resin and a large skull of a dinosaur. We have already created the mold so we're half way there.

The lower jaw, one side, is a 2 piece mold in which I need to spray the gel coat (never used this spray gun method before) and back it with a chop gun mix. I then need to put the 2 halve togehter...here's my delemma. I originally thought I could spray the 2 sides, let them cure, and gel coat the 2 halves togheter once they're cured. (you can probably gather at this point I haven't worked a lot with resin). I'm told they will shrink somewhat and cause problems when trying to put them togehter.
Because of the size and weight of the molds (I may be doing this alone) I was hoping to come up with a way do this without having to put the halves together before they cure.

Has anyone every tried this? Could wood dowels be placed on the inside walls every 8 inches to hold the cast in place as it cures? Any suggestions?


Thanks so much!!!

John

[ahirschman]

What will the final sculpture be used for? How strong does it have to be? How big is it? Will it have an internal frame for rigidity and strength?

More info will help.

Ari.

[Stevem]

Hey John,

It's Steve Miller from the Loveland show. Good to see you here. I contract out to do this type of casting all the time. I'm actually doing a 15 foot tall resin cast right now for a studio down in Atlanta. If you would like to pm me I'll give you my phone number and we could talk over the phone and I'll tell you all I know that might help you. Will you be back in Loveland again this year? I'll be there so if so I look forward to seing you there again.

Take care,
Steve

[Paison]

Originally Posted by ahirschman

What will the final sculpture be used for? How strong does it have to be? How big is it? Will it have an internal frame for rigidity and strength?

More info will help.

Ari.

Hi Ari,

Sculpture will be 6 feet long, there will have to be internal pipes to hold it up on a stand and for strength. No one will be climbing on it, it's for museum display.

Just trying to figure out how to put the 2 halves together with out shrinkage from the mold so I can get a clean joint. The molds are big and heavy (due to the mother molds) so I'm tryin gto figure out a way to let them cure, then take them out of the molds and join them...instead of joining them before they cure out. I would have to lift the heavy mold onto the other to do that.

Hope that helps....

[Paison]

Originally Posted by Stevem

Hey John,

It's Steve Miller from the Loveland show. Good to see you here. I contract out to do this type of casting all the time. I'm actually doing a 15 foot tall resin cast right now for a studio down in Atlanta. If you would like to pm me I'll give you my phone number and we could talk over the phone and I'll tell you all I know that might help you. Will you be back in Loveland again this year? I'll be there so if so I look forward to seing you there again.

Take care,
Steve

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the phone call.....great to catch up. We'll ber in touch about all this and look forward to getting together in Loveland. Hopefully a great show this year!!!

John

[Multi_Pass]

It would be nice if the answer to your question gets posted here as I am also working with resin casting and am new to it as well. Any tips for future projects would be greatly appreciated.