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Casting latex handguards from the plastic ones?


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Recasting in general is frowned upon with consent from the original maker. Goes for anything though.

 

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Whilst recasting is "A Bad Thing"™ there's also a lot of grey area.  If you are literally going to pour some latex into a plastic guard you already have? I see no issue personally.  It's for you and you're not selling it or making them for others.

 

Even if you do that for you and and gave a pair to 1 friend, probably not the end of the world but at that point your well on your way to recasting in a way that would be a problem.

 

I know some people see recasting as a black/white issue but I see it as a much more complex issue in general, and generally look at it pragmatically.

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I've read about the evils and stigma of recasting for years, and am against it for profit. I work in film and television and I view it similar to piracy. But if you want to burn a copy of your DVD's, to have a back up for the day you eventually scratch the crap out of it, or rip your CDs to load on a portable player or keep stored in your computer, I see no problem. Distribution of IP is the problem and in my personal belief morally wrong. But I've paid for my handguards, and I'm making a back-up per se.

With a goal in the future of building a suit to EIB, or Centurion level where there is a requirement of rubber hand guards, I feel with some of the skills (very basic), and materials I have on hand that I could attempt it myself. If I didn't have a half gallon of latex, it would be more cost effective for me to order a set due to material cost, and labor time.


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Edited by DBGrip
typo
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I really started this just to see if anyone's tried it, and what the results were. I'm a dolly grip and we use Zep mold release Silicone spray to treat the rubber of our wheels, so I have a few cans of it lying around as well. The stuff smells horrible, and my first fear was watching ABS melt before my eyes if I sprayed it on. (Guess I could always try it on some scrap). Or if anyone had tried it, and was able to pull the rubber away from the ABS without lubricant.

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1 hour ago, themaninthesuitcase said:

Whilst recasting is "A Bad Thing"™ there's also a lot of grey area.  If you are literally going to pour some latex into a plastic guard you already have? I see no issue personally.  It's for you and you're not selling it or making them for others.

 

Even if you do that for you and and gave a pair to 1 friend, probably not the end of the world but at that point your well on your way to recasting in a way that would be a problem.

 

I know some people see recasting as a black/white issue but I see it as a much more complex issue in general, and generally look at it pragmatically.

Exactly what I'm talking about.

 

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If you are making these for personal use, I don't really see an issue. It's not like you haven't already gotten a pair and are just using it for yourself.  If you intend to sell them openly, then it's *likely* not a good thing depending on whose you use.  For instance using FX or CAP as a base is not a problem as those people aren't making them anymore.

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I really started this just to see if anyone's tried it, and what the results were. I'm a dolly grip and we use Zep mold release Silicone spray to treat the rubber of our wheels, so I have a few cans of it lying around as well. The stuff smells horrible, and my first fear was watching ABS melt before my eyes if I sprayed it on. (Guess I could always try it on some scrap). Or if anyone had tried it, and was able to pull the rubber away from the ABS without lubricant.

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To answer the question. I don’t think anyone has tried what your attempting. I am certainly interested in seeing if it works out. If you have the stuff and the know how why not try it out.


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"Know"-how I wouldn't begin to claim. Done sort of similar things once or twice, and I think it might work, is probably closer. I'm probably going to give it a try in the next few days, the worst that can happen is needing to try and replace the ABS handguards, and ordering a pair after wasting my time . Hence the question.

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Honestly, I don't think it would work as well on the cheese grater, because the dimensions would be off on the inside due to the thickness of the return edges. For the Sandy, you would actually have to make a mold (which would be temptation towards the Dark side :) ). For the graters I'd cut 4 abs strips the thickness of the guards, tape the corners to make the rectangle. Place the rectangle on a piece of glass or ABS, and then cast a rectangle. After that, using your handguards as a guide trace out the pattern and cut it out.

Way more labor... I'm not next to my kit, but if the inner drop box and handguards were a similar dimension you might be able to pour your rectangle in it, then cut out the pattern... Didn't realize they had rubber cheese graters.

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I will wait for your findings I need to make a set for my sandie.


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I totally take back everything I just wrote... just looked at the guards...it might be possible.

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dd6e589e4bed70b2c9e8869234202a3a.jpg I’m going to make some molds from this material.


KBndUhO.jpg%5B
Make sure you wear a respirator when working with the Plaster of Paris. If you're going to make a bunch of guards, go for it. I'm going to pour in the ABS tomorrow if you want to wait a couple of days to see how it works for me. I'll even try it in the Sandy handguards. On second look I think it would work with them.

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I’m only making them for me and a friend so we can get PO ranking. Just made the clay mold going to try the plaster when the clay dries. Thanks for the tip about the plaster.


KBndUhO.jpg%5B

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It's really only when mixing it that a respirator absolutely necessary. I hate wearing them, but the dust is so fine you can literally be making concrete in your nasal passages and lungs.

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I decided to test out theories today, by using one of the cheese grater handguards. Just poured the raw latex in the back after spraying with the Zep. Now to wait.

When I do the TK guards, not only will I brush the latex in multiple coats, I'm also going to make white latex, by squirting in a good dose of white acrylic paint and stirring. Coloring the raw latex either prevents painting later, or cuts down on the number of coats you need.

In eagle eye hindsight, I probably should have overlooked to get something to grab so I can pull it out.

Of course the day I choose to do it is cold, and humid so it may be tomorrow before seeing results. The good news is, it doesn't seem like the mold release is eating my test piece of ABS.e5fc7feab675f2fa3392432f921e3403.jpg

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If it works, First thing I'd do different is not pour the whole thing at once, but do it in stages to let the latex cure and then add more, cure, add more till done. 6 hours later and there's a thin rubber skin on top, but it's still pretty liquid in the middle. It was twelve years ago that I did this type of stuff, and now I'm remembering we did have a closet set up with a space heater in it to help curing. Kept the area at about 120 F , but more importantly it killed the humidity.

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