Great method for opening silicone molds! Easy to see and follow with closeups of Jena's techniques! Filmed live at Chimera Arts Makerspace (chimeraarts.org) with our instructor and professional caster, Jena Hounshell. Joined by Amber Romero, Moi and others in our Mold Making and Wax Injection class.
Jena demonstrates how to cut open your molds and create registration locks so that your molds line up, making wax injection a much smoother operation. She also covers how to find your cutting line and how to handle cutting when you encounter challenging scenarios and a lot more!
Jena was an awesome instructor and I hope to film even more of her classes at Chimera Arts! She has years of experience as a professional caster so, she knows all the tricks, short cuts and ways to keep you from ruining your molds. I know that I learned a lot. I hope this small snapshot of our class will help you too!
In class, we used clear silicone rubber to make our molds. Then, after the silicone set up, Jena taught us how to properly cut them and eventually, we all shot waxes. Jena kindly cast everyone's waxes in bronze. You can see some of the stages, for my pieces, in this video's thumbnail.
Tools & Materials used in this video. (Some links are affiliate links which help to support this free resource and Chimera Arts Jewelry Studio. Thank you!)
Castaldo Mold Frames: amzn.to/2Ja8eDv
Swan-Morton Curved Scalpel Blades: amzn.to/2JdnD6e
Scalpel handle for blades #10-#15: amzn.to/2RU7q8x
Douglass and Sturgess SR-2330, 1 lb., silicone rubber
Clamps or openers: some use a "C" clamp with a churchkey bottle opener. Others hold the mold under their bench pin and pull. Will let you know if the clamps (pictured in the video) will be available for sale - as soon as I know.
Thanks for watching!
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