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One hundred years ago Medalta Potteries made beer bottles (until glass ones took over by 1930). I am making master molds to create them again (using the slip-casting process). These are beyond cool! There is a glass one in this group, I'll bet you cannot pick it out! These are stoneware and fired at 2200F. The clay is dark-colored (like Coffee Clay) and the glaze is actually made using 80% of a clay we mine in this area (it is called Alberta Slip), it is extremely durable and has a chemistry akin to that of the glass in a regular beer bottle.
This time I printed the block mold, rather than the case mold, in six pieces on my consumer 3D printer.
Top: I printed the two halves upright (creating them in the slicer rather than Fusion 360). Because the print lines run concentric the quality is so much better than the previous version printed flat. The ribbing inside made the halves strong so they did not go out of shape when filled with plaster (to give them weight).
Second: The mold halves were simply laid against each other - they mated perfectly (and stayed in place because they are full of plaster). The four rails were then clamped in place.
Third: The PLA was soaped (using Murphy's Oil Soap) and rubber poured in (Smooth-On PMC-746). The next day it easily pulled out.
Fourth: The finished rubber case mold. The sides are pretty flabby so I make them rigid using the four rails (placed upside down).
Right: Using a plaster mold created from this rubber case mold I slip-casted a bottle using my L4768D recipe, glazed it with GA6-B and fired it at cone 6.
Buy me a coffee and we can talk