While this project had a somewhat disappointing outcome, the process was probably the most enjoyable/cathartic of the individual-skill assignments.

My initial goal was to better incorporate the idea of creating the cast of two fingers into the end product. That is, to incorporate both fingers into a greater whole. In practice, this would’ve taken the form of casting both fingers at once so the plaster could be poured to create a single platform, and cracking that base so the two pieces had notably imperfect bases unless reunited.

First, the casting, I followed the instructions rather plainly: A 4:1 alginate-water ratio and a roughly 2:1 plaster-water ratio, both by weight. Of note, based on the description Dr. Wettergreen gave during the in-class practice, my plaster slurry was more ‘milkshake’ than ‘juice’. This made me very afraid of air bubbles or a lack of clarity but with enough tapping to release air, the initial cast itself turned out quite well.

My only complaints would be the amount of my fingers (both index fingers since that likely isn’t clear) that was captured and the thickness of the base.

The former would be due  to me basing my initial alginate measurements on the in-class size, which didn’t account for the limited depth of my fingers due to trying to positioning both my hands  such that my fingers were pointing the same way.
The latter was also due largely to my own positional awkwardness, though in a somewhat different way.  Due to standing while casting and reaching slightly too far, my approach caused the vessel to bend towards me slightly. A side effect of this was slight stretching of the end product as my fingers inevitably moved a bit while the alginate cured.

(Things only go downhill from here)

Next, I attempted to remedy the uneven base. This was done with a number of dremel tool bits. Between a sandpaper bit, a grinding wheel bits, and what I can only describe as an engraving bit (the blunt orange), I wore the base down to a  uniform 6 mm thickness. This was by far the most enjoyable part of the process, though the product of it would not show…

In attempting to fracture the base, I threw probably two-thirds of my post-processing time out the window. The break happened UNDER one of the fingers. Though this essentially ruined my initial idea as there was no cheesy-couples/friends-pendant symmetry between pieces to speak of, it did immediately seed another idea. Essentially, I wanted to turn this fracture into a feature by turning what was the base plate into a geometric handle.

This process wasn’t ideal due to how close the break was to one of the screws. In attempting to make rectangular bases with one faces parallel to the inside of the finger, the position of the screw forced me to convert one to a pentagonal base. Additionally while the work on the base kept the fingers themselves pristine, filing away at these bases damaged them, notably maybe breaking both nails. Maybe I did that on purpose separately for the irony of it…

A thorough clear coat and that’s that. I suppose my simple post-processing on most of my projects could very well be seen as laziness. In this case I just feel that the use of paint really violates the classic aesthetic of human forms with a white stone/ceramic (not even mentioning the possibility of no longer capturing a fingerprint if it’s too thick, that feels like the whole point). My CNC project choice was entirely centered around actually coloring material for once and my somewhat punk horse mane was needlessly bold, its all about semester-long balance. That concludes my needless rant for the instructors (and coolest peers) that have read through enough of my posts to understand that context.

Cost Analysis (for individual consumers and not assuming scale: not fractionalizing bags of material)
Alginate: $7
Plaster of Paris: $4
Wood Screws x2: $1.20
Clear-coat: $6
Labor: 4 hrs (1 hr measuring/casting + 3hr processing) * $20/hr = $80
Tooling: Not factored
Total = $98.20