This project is a followup to the clay modelling project I did in the DIY Design & Fabrication class.

In this particular project, I explored creating molds and resin casts.

To get a more usable version of the grip, the task was to create a silicone rubber molds from the previous project's clay prototype.

The second stage of the project was to utilize the rubber mold and cast the model with solid resin.

The first physical step of the project was to model a clay surface to imitate the other part of the mold when creating the first part.

In order to do that, I used malleable clay and built up as pronounced parting lines around the model as possible. It was particularly challenging at the dimples because of how tiny these details are.

To make sure what the white does not mix with the actual model of the grip, I used plastic foil inbetween the two clays. In addition, I also 3D-printed the funnel and combined them with the whole model.

Having done that, I inserted the concavities and the curved line.

Finally, having creating a foamcore box, I hot glued it to the model with the white clay, and the sturcture was ready for molding!

In terms of molding, the process is relatively straightforward. I used spray release to cover the explosed part of the model to make the surface come off easily.

Following this, I mixed the mold with the silicone rubber mold with the activator in the appropriate amounts, and kept mixing them until I achieved a uniform yellow color.

Then, I started pouring the mixture into the box to make the first mold! I poured it from really high. I did that very slowly and did not pour on the model to make sure it preserves its shape.

After pouring everything, there were no leaks whatsoever, I left the mold overnight and the next day, it was ready! Very excited, I took everything apart and took out the first part.

The process was practically the same for the second part, apart from the fact that I molded it over the first part and the clay model of the grip.

Both molds came our pretty well in terms of their tidiness as they had no extended edges and fit perfectly. The only issue were the details on the inside - particularly the dimples, which I did not cover with white clay well enough.

In any case, this was not a big deal, and the molds were effectively ready for casting!

I was really excited for casting! I was going to finally get a version of my grip that I were able to comfortably hold, unlike the clay model.

The first step was to use spray release again, and then securely join both molds by pressuring them with foamcore tiles and rubber band.

In the next step, I mixed both resins and slowly poured them into the molds. The mold was to cure in a few hours and then, I opened my first cast model!

Unfortunately, the result was rather disappointing. The cast was really sticky, indicating the it did not cure properly. Since the resin ratio was on-point, I attributed that to the fact that I used a dirty cup to mix the resin.

In my second attempt, I took that into consideration, and used a clean cup to mix the resins. In this attempt, there was a significant improvement, however, I still had quitea few airbubbles on the surface of the model.

I felt that the reason for this might have been that I did not pour the resin from high up and I also didn't rotate the mold with the resin to evenly distribute it.

In my third and final cast, I made sure to fix those issues, and I also decided to do that mold in a pressure tank, which was supposed to get rid of some of these bubbles.

Third time's a charm! The cast came out great - the texture was on-point, the dimples were really well pronounced, and then there were no airbubbles whatsoever.

Having had a good casted model, I went ahead to make it presentation-ready. There wre two main issues I was tring to overcome.

First of all, the model was a bit rough in terms its texture, which made it not very pleasant to hold. Second, the model was quite a bit dirty from handling it - particularly in the dimple areas.

To address these issues, I went ahead and started to get rid of surface irregularities with a rasp and sandpaper.

After rough cleaning with a rasp, I then used sandpaper. I started out with a medium grit of 220.

Having smoothened the whole model, I then kept increasing the grit numbers. The highest grit I used was 1000, for which I needed water to collect the dust.

The use of water and sandpaper actually made the dimples even dirties. To clean them, I used different brushes which eventually made those dimples much more white.

Thanks to the cleaning up, I managed to get a model that was better as compared to the clay one. All these processes concluded in a smooth, very regular, and comfortable to hold model.

The smoothness of the product was particularly satisfying - the grip is extremely pleasant to touch, and its smoothness is so big that it almost feels like the hand is not touching anything.

I was also really satisfied with how no hidden airbubbles showed up after I was smoothing the model with sandpaper. It is a common occurance, but it did not happen in that case.

Overall, the last model is also a great improvement compared to the first two - everything worked as well as it could, and I reckon that pressure casting the model was particularly clutch.

The biggest issue I could not do a lot about were the irregularities at the parting line. While it is, indeed, normal, due to my choice that the parting line be at the dimples, the shape of some of them is less than perfect.

This aspect is what I would change next time around, but overall, I am really happy with the product and I really enjoyed creating my waiter's corkscrew grip!