Anyone know whats envolved on a DIY basis. Can't be that hard can it?

[Edited on 3/12/09 by liam.mccaffrey]

What about the resin used in DIY stain glass, from what I’ve seen that is very easy to do

I’ve actually been thinking of possibly doing this as a job (stained glass that is)

Suppose a badge is just a simple sand casting, just make the mould from balsa and melt some aluminium?

I have some aluminium from an inlet manifold that has melted in an a car fire and poured onto the road, amazing detail of the road surface, I kept it as the metal looks very easy to use for model parts casting.


[Edited on 3/12/09 by Mr Whippy]

I made a badge for my A35 using casting resin, made the original cast from latex and plaster of paris. The trouble I has was that it needed the type of paint used on mirrors on the back and I couldn't get hold of any. Got the resin from a craft shop

We used to use the powedered/shaped enamel stuff at school. We made whatever shape we wanted out of copper and then put the powder on top and then made a design out of the shapes (usually little sticks to write your name) and then you heated it up in an oven or gave it a blast with the oxy gear...... Instant shiney things...I still have the keyring somewhere. I has a blue cock on it...

Hi couple of points in school we now use pewter for casting- could be useful if making own moulds a snot muchheat m needed tomelt it - ladle and bunsen burner.

Enamelling on copper still in use - have a small kiln here which hardly sees any use so we might be able to help with the odd prototype.

The other thing worthh thinking about is dye sublimation which allows you to print a digital image of a badge ( could be a distorted versionof some one else's that you "admire" onto plastic (flat ) then with a suitable matching former you can vac form it (3d) then trim it out!
Cunning or what?

atb
Mike

There`s a Webring with Plenty of info about smelting scrap Aluminum, you could use wax lost method on Plaster of Paris, provided you kiln dry te mold well before pouring.
I hav done it with a couple of cans of Baby milk as air chamber and furnace, and a can of beans as a laddle.
Dangerous? yes, Scary? yes, Satisfactory? Yes.
I have a bunch of stuff at my garage to make a more permanent safer outfit to do maybe 5-6 lbs castings.
Thats on the "back Burner" for now due to commitments with my locost projec.
PS: Rerading the thread, this one may be a little bit OT, sorry...