yet another question about helmet casting.......

okey doke....i've read a post on here that describes the fiberglass casting process pretty good...i got a question about the where exactly the part lines go, do you make the ear pieces separately, do you cast each piece separately or attach the mold together, and lastly, what kind of fiberglass resin would anyone recommend....lets see....that covers about everything but the answer to the meaning of life and the one about the train leaving New York and the other one leaving Chicago......any help would, as always, be greatly appreciated
 
I don't know if this was the tread you were referring to:
http://tdh.prop-planet.com/viewtopic.php?topic=466&forum=2

Use UNWAXED fiberglass resin. You can build up multiple layers & it will stick to the previous layer. If you use WAXED, you will need to clean the surface with acetone before appling another coat. If you make a flexible mold (RTV or latex) you can build a helmet in two pieces, parting along the earcaps. If you go the cheapo route like I did & only want to do a couple of pulls, I would recommend doing a three piece mold. The linked thread goes through my process.
 
dats the thread i saw....for some reason the pics wouldn't load up so i was wondering about where the walls went...also, where does one find unwaxed fiberglass resin...as usual, you are being a great help....god i love this place...thanx again
 
I buy my resin from a plastics supply company but you should be able to find it at an auto parts store or boat supply shop. I chose to make a three piece mold & partitioned around the rangefinder earpice (so that came out as one section) because of the undercuts. The other partion was centered across to the other earpiece for a total of three sections. I did it this way because I was using a cheap medium for a mold & had no intention of making more than one or two casts. It worked fine & did the job.
 
I made my helmet mold out of fiberglass. It consists of three parts that bolt together, and comes apart around the finished helmet. The ears and rangefinder are all seperate silicone molds. I've got over thirty pulls from my helmet mold, and it's in as good of condition as when it was made.
 
JD - when you say three parts that bolt together, have you done the dome as a separate piece or is there a seam line going across from ear to ear? The reason i ask is that I have had some fun (read difficulty) getting my vacformed dome off the mould and wonder if a hard fibreglass mould would be similar?
 
The three sectiond of my mold are the front, the back, and the dome. When the part is cast, the mold easily comes off around the helmet. Small seamlines around the band, and down where the ears will go, are very easy to clean up. Several members here have gotten these helmets. Maybe someone will post here, and tell us their experiences with it.
 

judz dwedd wrote:

The three sectiond of my mold are the front, the back, and the dome. When the part is cast, the mold easily comes off around the helmet. Small seamlines around the band, and down where the ears will go, are very easy to clean up. Several members here have gotten these helmets. Maybe someone will post here, and tell us their experiences with it.

Thanks, JD! (y) Might have to put a tiny bit more angle on the dome mould - it's too close to vertical at the base. Phil
 
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