I now have a life-size replica of one of the fingers on my right hand that can screw into the wall … neat? Honestly, I’m really creeped out by this. But anyways, here’s the story of my finger replicating adventure:

This assignment’s purpose was to get us acquainted with molding and casting. We were to create a mold for one of our fingers and then cast a finger replica. I chose my right index finger (obviously the most aesthetic of all my fingers) and proceeded to create the mold.

I mixed 8 fluid ounces of water  with 2 ounces of alginate powder (measured on a scale). I mixed this using a paddle on a rod connected to a drill. This was a very effective way to mix the solution quickly. The mixture was pink while it was still liquid. I mixed until the entire mixture was pink and there were no clumps of powder. I made sure to scrape the sides of the container.

Next, I coated my finger in wax and stuck it in the mold. When choosing the amounts of water and alginate to mix, I made sure that the total volume would be enough to fill the cup so I could stick my finger in the cup without hitting the bottom. I left my finger in the cup for about 2 minutes — I didn’t time it exactly but waited until the entire mixture turned into an off-white solid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I removed my finger by wiggling it out and lo and behold, there was a mold!

Next, I mixed the 2 parts of liquid plastic by stirring them with a paint stirrer in a mixing cup. The reaction was exothermic and the mixture became warm. I poured the mixture into the mold. It overflowed a little bit but I tried to pour out the extra and even it out.

I also needed to include a screw in the casting so that the finger can be wall-mounted. To do this, I taped a screw to a paint-stirrer and laid it across the top of the cup so that the screw head was just below the surface of the top of the mold.

The plastic began to turn solid quickly, and was ready to demold in about 25 minutes. I pulled the finger out of the mold pretty easily. For “post processing”, I chipped off a few blips here and there and removed some excess material around the base. And there you have it — a creepy finger! As creepy as it is, I honestly would use it but I can’t actually put it in my wall because I’m not allowed to make holes in my dorm room walls. I might make another one and just add a command strip instead of a screw.