BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > CRAFTING CORNER

Making candle moulds from silicone

<< < (2/6) > >>

Lesgold:
As I said earlier, my concern was how the timber was going to release from the mould. The timber sealer that I used didn?t give much of a build up on the bark but tended to soak in. This may actually prove to be a good thing as it will strengthen the bark when it dries. I applied 5 coats and let it dry for a couple of days. The branch was then screwed to a small piece of plywood. An off cut of melamine would have been ideal as the silicone would not adhere to it. I didn?t have any lying around so the plywood was the next choice. The surface of the plywood was covered in a clear contact (what you use to cover kids school books) and a circle drawn to allow the rest of the mould to be centred.

You may notice that a small nail was placed into the centre of the branch to act as a guide later for the wick needle. The head of the nail was cut off. This pin was only about 3mm long.

I decided to use some PVC  plumbing pipe to hold the silicone. The size chosen gave me a silicone thickness of approximately 10mm around the branch. The pipe was cut 15mm longer than the branch and then cut in half with a hacksaw.

Two rubber bands were used to hold the pipe together.  It was then positioned around the branch and hot melt glue sealed all cracks and held the pipe in place.

You may not see it on the photo but the cut sides were also sealed on the outside to add strength. I was finally ready for the silicone pour. The old maths skills were used to calculate the volume of liquid required to fill the gap and the silicone was mixed and poured according to the instructions.

It is now just a waiting game. The silicone will be allowed to cure for a day and then hopefully released from the mould tomorrow.

Lesgold:
After curing, the silicone was removed from the PVC outer without any issues. To remove the branch from the inside of the mould, a curved, irregular cut was made down one side as the silicone was manipulated away from the timber. The branch was removed without incident and I could finally draw breath.


To ensure the mould was clean, I decided to cast a block of wax to pick up any minor pieces of debris that may have been left on the surface of the silicone. It would also be a test to see if the wax would release easily. The two half cylinders of PVC were positioned around the mould and secured with rubber bands. Wax was poured and allowed to set. Here is the result of the test.

I was really pleased with the outcome. Good detail came through on the block and it released quickly from the mould. With family coming down tomorrow, I will make and test a candle with the grandkids.

Cheers

Les

BeeMaster2:
Les,
Looks great.
What type of silicone did you use and where did you get it from?
Jim Altmiller

Lesgold:
Hi Jim,

Just purchased the silicone on eBay. Heaps to choose from. The one I got had a shore hardness of 25. It was a liquid that was mixed with 3% catalyst. Other silicones are a 50-50 mixture. They would work well also.

The15thMember:
Oh my gosh I love it!!  I would have never considered making my own molds, but it seems like this was pretty easy. 

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page