For this molding and casting assignment we made wall hooks with our fingers!

I first mixed the alginate and water in a 1:4 ratio by weight. Thanks to some guidance from Taekyeom Lee, we mixed the powder into the water (instead of vice versa). I think put both my middle fingers into the alginate to do 2 molds in one cup. I held them there for about 5-10 minutes for the alginate to set. I mixed the plaster 2:1 by volume and made sure it was a thick enough consistency. After pouring it into both molds, I put a screw in one of them and taped it to the sides of the cup. I let them set for about a day.

To take the plaster fingers out of the mold without breaking them (because I previously broke the one I made during class) I used a razor blade to cut through the alginate and carefully pull the fingers out. 

To post process these, I sanded the bottoms flat and smoothed the edges. For the finger without the screw, I wanted to it sit flat on a table to be a ring holder, so I made sure it would sit flat. I then spray painted them with 2 coats of white paint, and finished them with a clear coat. 

And here is the final product! The biggest challenges were carefully removing the fingers from the mold and making sure we had the right proportions for plaster.

Cost Analysis

Labor 1hr @$15/hr: $15

Alginate: $2

Plaster: $2

Spray paint (very little @ $5/can): $1.50

This estimate does not include the cost for 1 screw, a scale, and sandpaper since they are common resources at the OEDK.

Total Cost: $20.50