exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

stephen_usher wrote: 15 Mar 2023 22:16 I guess you could try repeatedly dipping a steel ball in latex and then vulcanising it. I seem to remember that is how many of the original mouse balls were made.

I'll be honest, I have thought about doing that too, say with a 17mm or 18mm steel ball to allow for some depth in the latex coating.

I am also considering if it might be feasible to cast a 20mm resin ball with a 15mm ball bearing inside it.

Ok, so I got round to attempting the mould making this weekend!!!

I stood the ball on a small piece of plastic to make the 'sprue' where I can pour in the epoxy once the mould is ready:


Mixed up the RTV moulding goo:


Then combined the two:


This is a first attempt and I do have enough for probably 3 moulding attempts.

I'm going to allow 24hrs for it to cure, I'm confident I got the mix ratio correct, it's 100-2 ratio by weight and I weighed it on some digital scales before mixing.

I'll report back on the results. And yes, I know there were bubbles, I've done some tapping around the periphery and most seem to have gone now.

Progress!!

I gave the RTV about 60 hours to cure (Mostly because I forgot to check it :) ) and it's looking good now the original ball is removed:


Next up I need to try and pour some resin and see what's what :)

Great work so far. I love to see this kind of thing.

Nervously awaiting the next instalment! :)

BW

Badwolf wrote: 22 Mar 2023 09:31 Great work so far. I love to see this kind of thing.

Nervously awaiting the next instalment! :)

BW

Hopefully you won't have to wait long 😁

@Badwolf

You're in luck, I poured the resin just before 0900 this morning :)


It will be a gel in 6 hours and I should be able to de-mould in 12 hours, full hardness is in 24 hours. I'll probably just leave it until tomorrow morning which'll be this time tomorrow. How exciting!!

What did you do today, daddy? Well, I vicariously enjoyed a bloke on the internet making his ball harden over the course of a day.

:shock:

BW

Badwolf wrote: 23 Mar 2023 10:25 What did you do today, daddy? Well, I vicariously enjoyed a bloke on the internet making his ball harden over the course of a day.

:shock:

BW

Ooooer missus!!

rubber_jonnie wrote: 23 Mar 2023 10:17 full hardness is in 24 hours.

Could be quite misleading out of its context...

;)

HigashiJun wrote: 23 Mar 2023 10:36

rubber_jonnie wrote: 23 Mar 2023 10:17 full hardness is in 24 hours.

Could be quite misleading out of its context...

;)

Crikey, you lot are a bit naughty this morning!!!