# Make your own Mold and Cast your own Slingshot



## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

A few of you expressed interest earlier today in making Silicone Molds for Casting your own Slingshot.

I'm certainly no expert on the subject but would like to share some of the things I've learnt lately.

So as promised, here is a collection of videos and a basic run down on the process.

*Equipment Required:*
*Mold Making*
*Mold Making Silicone*
This can be purchased from any number of craft and hobby shops or online.
Investing in a quality product will see dozens of uses from a single mold.
*$20*

*Modelling Clay*
This can be purchased from any number of craft and hobby shops or online.
Probably will want to use fresh clay for each new mold you make.
*$5 *

*Release Agent*
This can be purchased from any number of craft and hobby shops or online.
A single can of this stuff will last for dozens of applications, be it mold making or casting.
*$15*

*Box making material*
Plexi glass sheeting, Acrylic, timber, Lego
Totally re-usable unlimited times. Well, maybe not timber, but the plastics will be. Lego rocks for this.
*$2 - $10 *

*Hot glue gun*
Any hardware store, craft shop, online or dollar stores
Chances are you have one already. If not, get one, they have thousands of uses.
*$5*

*Exacto Knife or similar sharp Knife*
Any hardware store, craft shop, online or dollar stores
Got something sharp you can use ? That will do.
*$2*

*Acorn Nuts*
Hardware stores
Using acorn nuts looks cool. You can also use a pencil cut into 1/2" pieces, any form of round or hex rod, even ball bearings.
*$2*

*Casting*
*Resin*
This can be purchased from any number of craft and hobby shops or online.
The current resin I'm using is Smooth-On Task 3. This costs about $30 for 1 liter of the stuff.
*$20 - $50*

*Release Agent*
This can be purchased from any number of craft and hobby shops or online.
A single can of this stuff will last for dozens of applications, be it mold making or casting.
*$15*

*Mold Making Process:*


Assemble box
Hot glue the seams to stop any leakage
Place layer of clay
Press master piece approx halfway into the clay
Press around all the edges and level off the clay
Place acorn nuts for alignment
Pour Liquid Latex and cover the piece at least 1/2" higher than the highest piece
Let cure

Remove box
Trim excess rubber / flashing
Remove acorn nuts
DO NOT remove master

Reassemble box around half finished mold
Hot glue all the seams
Add a clay 'funnel' that will form the cavity for pouring the resin
Apply release agent as per instructions
Pour top half of mold again, making sure you go at least 1/2" above the highest point
Let cure
Remove box
Peel both halves away from the master
Boom! You have a mold for casting

*Casting Process:*


Treat each surface of the mold with the release agent
Assemble the mold
Hold together with rubber bands or other suitable method
Pour resin
Let cure

Remove rubber bands
Carefully peel of each half of the mold
Feel good about yourself as you have just cast your first slingshot !

Now why did I just type all this out ? I don't really know. Just watch the videos below


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Here's a few more vids you might find interesting / useful :


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## Btoon84 (Nov 22, 2011)

Nice write up Hrawk, thanks for taking the time. I am gonna have to cast some stuff for sure. This looks doable.


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Btoon84 said:


> Nice write up Hrawk, thanks for taking the time. I am gonna have to cast some stuff for sure.


Totally dude. From what I've been looking into lately it's cake.



Btoon84 said:


> This looks doable.


More doable than your best mates mum


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## August West (Jan 21, 2012)

Frickin AWESOME!! My favorite natural will never die. LOL


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

I tried some resin casting. I thought it would be great. The *process has some tricks to it* and one of the most annoying was bubbles. I learned the best way to avoid bubbles was a pressure chamber.

It got to be such a hassle I ended up with a couple hundred dollars of materials from the molding silicon, dyes to resins. That's without buying the pressure chamber or buying and assembling one myself.

The biggest challenges were. Pouring the resin into the pour hole and then the resulting bubbles. Or if you have crappy timing the resin can set up befroe the pour is properly poured and completed. There may be easier resins than what I used. But they were pretty standard.

*Research well* before putting the time into the process. *Talk to someone* who has done it before. *Not the distributor*.

Other insight(s).

-Be aware of the time it will take to make a perfect original. Any blemish whatsoever, will show in the final product, as well as the witness line around the whole piece where the mold halves come together. Therefore if you don't want a tiny ridge that can be irritating on a slingshot. You will have to grind the edge down. Then when it discolors the final piece where you sanded, you will have to find out how you want to get the whole piece back to the desired color.

-It is fussy work to get the clay molded to the original, in all depressions and at the 1/2 way mark, and the top exposed 1/2 clean because any speck on the exposed 1/2 will be reproduced when the silicon molding liquid is poured on.

*I could go on*. I am not trying to dissuade someone from trying this out but *there is more than meets the eye* to getting a good result. That may be why you see many resin castings showing up here.

For me I wasted a lot of time and money. The best thing I got out of the process was an education and resin cattys that i transformed from the original resin cast.


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

I agree with Rayshot. You will start talking to yourself.


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

I have been told that it is a patent infringement to cast a patented product. I would also think that it would be a common courtesy to get permission to cast another shooters slingshot. -- Tex


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

Wingshooter said:


> I agree with Rayshot. You will start talking to yourself.


You picked up on my project to insanity, didn't you Roger?


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## hoggif (Apr 6, 2013)

I've tried only one type of polyurethane for casting (smaller objects than slingshots). The one I had was for model molding and it was supprisingly brittle. So, make sure you select the resin wisely and preferrably test it.

Making the mold and casting was very easy even for a beginner like myself.


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## The Warrior (Jan 30, 2012)

Cool stuff man, thanks for posting this up. I was thinking of making some knife scales at one point, but never have. Perhaps I'll give it a go now.


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