[Katherine Swift]

This question comes from Barb through our eBay store:

I have a specific project in mind but Im having trouble finding a mold that fits it. It may be because such a mold doesnt exist, but I dont know enough about resin casting. I want to suspend a stone in a tear-drop of colorless resin but Ive only been able to find molds that leave 1 side flat. Would I have to cut up 2 mold sheets and figure out a way to fasten them together?

[Katherine Swift]

Wow Barb, this is a tough one! 

I would try to do this in one of two ways.  (Either way is going to require you to pour your resin in several pours.

First method:You could use a teardrop mold

https://shop.resinobsession.com/products/teardrop-mold-404-14-cavity-resin-earrings

I dont know how big your stone is or if it is a teardrop shape, but if is just a general round or flat shape, I would keep my mold flat.  If it is a teardrop shape, similar to the shape of the mold, I would put the mold on an angle such that the wide end is elevated above the narrow end.Next, I would pour enough resin such that if I were to drop the stone/inclusion onto that surface once it is cured, approximately half would be above the mold.  (This will help get your inclusion centered in your casting).  The reason I say to do a teardrop shape on an incline is so that the inclusion will stay straight for the next step.  (I realize this may be a bit confusion.  Wish I had drawings here.)Let the resin cure.

For the next pour, I would put in the inclusion (half of it should be resting above the mold) and fill with resin to the edge of the mold.  Let the resin cure.  Pop it out of the mold.  This will be half of your finished project.Fill the same (now empty) cavity with resin again almost to the top.  Let it rest for a few minutes and remove bubbles.  Place your other half you have already cast on the other side.  (You will need to let the resin cure a little bit to keep the already cast piece from completely sinking into the casting — or find a way to tape it up to suspend it).  Let the resin cure and pop out of the mold.With this way, you may see a seam and/or you will need to remove excess resin to smooth up your casting.Second method:Make a silicone mold of the tear drop shape you want.  (You can make a model out of clay, or you can use another teardrop shape you like). 
You will need to cut your mold lengthwise (along the vertical axis)  down from the larger open end to about halfway down to get your teardrop out.  Secure again with a rubber band to pour your resin.Pour your resin this time filling about half the mold.  Find a way to suspend your teardrop in the resin while it cures.  (Like hanging off something — imagine a making a letter T).   After it cures, you can remove the hanging apparatus and fill the mold with resin the rest of the way.  (You shouldn’t see a seam with this method.)  Remove from the mold like you did your prototype.If you end up trying this, I would LOVE to see what and how you did it.

Good luck!!

[Barb]

thank you!!!

Do you think it would work to affix two flat tear drops [from a standard mold set] together?  And what would be the best way to do that?  For example, covering the inside seam so it wont show on the resin – or how to polish the resin to eliminate said seam marks.

I will certainly share pictures of the finished project if I get it that far.  The stones are two irregular pieces of an opal that broke while I was cutting it.  I will be doing test pieces first though!

[Katherine Swift]

Yes Barb, that should work.  Youll need to glue it together with more resin and trim/sand up your excess.  It may have a flattened look to it (depending on which mold you use), but if youre wearing them as earrings, it may not matter since people only notice the front view anyway.

If after youre done you want a super shiny finish, I recommend our resin craft gloss spray (in the sealants/polishers section).

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