To begin learning the process of molding and casting, I casted a closed fist. This result of this attempt was very good for the most part, with some minor changes that needed to be observed for next time. The problem was that air bubbles were being trapped in upwards facing cavities of the original mold, resulting in missing parts in the final mold. The result was that the finger tips of the final concrete mold were missing.

Other than this issue, the quality of the resulting concrete hand was very high, with very fine details of my hand visible, such as scars and skin texture.

My next attempt was intended to be the final deliverable for this homework, two casts of two fingers intended to be identical to one another, both with a nail sticking out the end in order to allow the fingers to be mounted on a wall.

On my first attempt at mixing the alginate, I had some issues with getting enough volume to fully submerge my fingers. Specifically, I molded two of my fingers, but once I removed my fingers, I realized that there was not a great enough volume  to achieved the desired shaped. As such I attempted to mix more alginate quickly in another container, place my fingers back in the mold, and pour the alginate on top of the old mold. Note: this was because I thought it was alginate that was self-healing, not the silicon mold material. Oops!

 

The result was not ideal, as there was a noticeable rough separation at the interface of the two molds.

The next attempt was better, but the original issue described above was encountered. There was large air bubbles that were formed in the result, despite efforts made to ensure that this would not occur. The measures taken were to use a long screw to agitate the wet concrete whilst tilting the mold at different angles in order to allow the trapped air to escape and the concrete to take its place.

This mold was also not identical to the original one, due to my fingers being unintentionally bent at a different angle.

COSTS:

TIME:

• Practice Mold and Cast: 1 hour
• Removal of practice : 0.5 hours
• Final Molds and Casts: 2 hours
• Removal of Finals: 0.5 hours

Assuming $15/ hour

Total: $60

MATERIALS

Concrete: 3lb used

$5 for 50lb

Result: $0.30

Source – https://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-50-lb-Fast-Setting-Concrete-Mix-100450/100318521

Alginate: 1lb used

$32.99 for 4.5lb

Result: ~$8.00

Source – https://www.dickblick.com/items/make-a-mold-alginate-impression-material-box-45-lb/

TOTAL: $68.30