Pouring Boxes - two versions

[Jeff Longtin]

I was recently asked about a pouring box for mold making. Here are two versions I use in the studio.  The image with the bulbous object is my main pouring box. The pieces are 3/4" plywood cut into 5"x15" boards. I then screwed 1"x1" strips onto the ends which provide a lip for the small "C" clamps. Very quick and easy to assemble a box in any dimension.

The second image shows another box variation that I use often for flat castings. The sides of the box are 2"x2" pieces of pine. (In his case I also used some 1"x2" strips.) The 2x2 pieces are labeled as "turning blanks" and come in a variety of wood types.  (Woodworkers use them to make stairway balusters.) Because they are square and stocky they don't need much bracing other than a little clay at their base. 

The mold on the left I free formed and did not use the box to limit the plaster. (I shaped it by hand.) The mold on the right I filled the box with plaster and then ran a straight edge along the tops of the wood pieces which resulted in a mold that was evenly thick. 

 

[Min]

Do you ever use roof flashing for casting of simple one piece molds? (just curious)

[Jeff Longtin]

Min - Rather than use roof flashing I use thin plastic sheeting. (I was working at a large corporation, years ago, and they were transiting away from thin plastic sheets, to protect desk tops, to a formica desk top, so I collected lots of thin plastic sheets.)

While the plastic sheets are nice, when I mold round forms, (as opposed to a square pouring box) I sometimes forget that they need to be held down, at the bottom of the shape, as well as strapped together, at the top of the shape, to prevent the whole thing lifting up. (and covering my shoes and pants with a thin layer of plaster splatter.)