Casting with Vinamold

[OJ102]

Hi all,

I’m looking for some advice on using this material, first a little background on what it’s got to do.

I run science workshops for pupils, one of the workshops introduces them to aspects of surgery and how operations are done. The activity on this section is to find and remove lymph nodes from a silicon skin pad, problem is, the pad is small, you can see the nodes under them as huge lumps and silicon isn’t cheap to replace on a Daily basis. I inherited this activity from my predecessor, and it annoys me.

I can’t reuse silicone as it won’t reform, so I’m thinking of using Vinamold. Similar properties to silicone, but can be reused. Melting it is fine for making new skin pads and I can even encase the nodes in them so they are less obvious, but I have loftier goals.

I want to cast a small half torso so just the front. I have a cast of one already to make a silicone mould from, but on my experiments so far, I can’t heal Vinamold damage, only recast as it won’t bind to anything.

Is there a way to liquify a small area or seal a seam that’s been cut in the material so that I could essentially heal my activity prop after each use as recasting the entire block per use isn’t a practical option.

Think of it like making a mould of an item and wanting to reseal the extraction cut before using it to cast something on the void.

Any help would be great.

Cheers

 

[howsitwork?]

Have you tried a soldering iron ( or pyrography pen - essentially a variable heat soldering option ? The product specification guide says it can be “ sealed with a hot blade “.

I have a peter child system which uses wire tips but you can get solid tips which may work better in this situation. Either way you want a VARIABLE HEAT tip or you will damage the material .

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[ValleyBoy]

First of all I think you win the award for most interesting (non-pen related) question for a while!

I think what Ian says sounds like good advice, and if you don’t have a pyrography machine you could at least test the theory by heating a scalpel (or similar) and seeing if you can use it to seal a small area. (A candle is always handy to have on hand for this sort of thing).

If that works then the pyrography machine route would be the way to go, as it will offer you the option to regulate the amount of heat being applied.

In any case I’d be interested to hear if you do find a solution that works and how you get on.

Cheers
Ash

 

[Phil Dart]

Way outside the experience of most of us here I would think Oliver. But welcome to the Furum, and as Ash said, an interesting problem to post. Someone may pop along with other suggestions addition to the two above, but in any event, please do keep us posted - I for one would be fascinated to hear how it goes.