Post #269743 by Bowana on Fri, Dec 1, 2006 7:33 AM

Thanks for the tip, Rum Demon and Mrs. The rainbow vent was to let the air escape from the tips of the pom poms (still waiting to hear the proper term for those things!) but after further examination I realized that the air had nowhere to go. In the vacuum chamber it wasn't a problem, but casting w/o the vacuum there were problems.

I've got the master for this figure pretty much sanded and smoothed to perfection and will make a second mold on it(with revised venting of course!).

Glad ya like the figure so much that you'd take an amputee! They've all gone to their graves though and I'd hate to part with flawed work!

Pdrake: A vent is an escape route for air inside of a mold. When material is poured into a mold it displaces the air already inside of it. A mold of an object shaped like a Tiki mug has a ready made escape route because of the wide aperture of the object (the perimeter of the bottom of the mug). A mold of a shape such as a human figure has a maze of small cavities that the casting material must find it's way into, such as arms, ankles, and the like. Vents in strategic locations throughout the piece help the casting material flow to where it needs to be. I know it's hard concept to grasp from reading about it. Seeing it actually happen will make it much more understandable. Hope this was helpful to you.

Now, as far as "huh??","der??", and "what??", these are things I say on a frequent basis myself. :)