Pruitt I didn't want to throw a lot of plaster dust all over the area (that's my excuse for not thinking of it at the time).
Sounds like a good reason to me. It will kick up lots of fine dust.
crossthedogWhat is that, like a one-handed Sawzall?
Not really. I think the common term for that tool is an "Oscillating Multi-Tool". It just vibrates the end back and forth about 1/16" or so, and can do all kinds of things.
I use mine for grout removal and flush-trimming of trim pieces. It also has a detail sander attachment, but mine is a bit heavy to use for sanding.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
crossthedog SeeYou190 You need one of these bad boys: -Photograph by Kevin Parson I can't imagine life without one. What is that, like a one-handed Sawzall?
SeeYou190 You need one of these bad boys: -Photograph by Kevin Parson I can't imagine life without one.
What is that, like a one-handed Sawzall?
Where have you been? That is one of the most important construction/remodeling advancements in the last 15 years.
This was the first one - now everybody makes them:
https://www.toolstoday.com/v-17616-72297261090.html?glCountry=US&glCurrency=USD&ne_ppc_id=10371521939&gclid=CjwKCAjw2f-VBhAsEiwAO4lNeMR4g1u-hipsxqB4gbdUha4B17IOJaPWrEb8VGwDP3rUG-uuaP-0tBoC5jwQAvD_BwE
It is not brutal like a sawzall, it is a tool that can to careful remodleing demo, or more demanding heavy work.
After having the original for years, i now perfer this one:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20-Volt-MAX-XR-Cordless-Brushless-3-Speed-Oscillating-Multi-Tool-Tool-Only-DCS356B/309250506?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=SHOPPING-RM-RMP-GGL-D25T-025_009_PORT_POWER-NA-DEWALT-NA-SMART-na-NA-MK57954-111111111-BT3-3359-NA-NA-NA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-RM-RMP-GGL-D25T-025_009_PORT_POWER-NA-DEWALT-NA-SMART-na-NA-MK57954-111111111-BT3-3359-NA-NA-NA-71700000096147030-58700007869563731-92700071440031932&gclid=CjwKCAjw2f-VBhAsEiwAO4lNeG6fvnoE21AnNorZLK5yx536SOIWY9nRB4SlTqF3lSI6ZwOo3qBYHBoCDg4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
As for hydrocal, we used it in the the 70's to make model layout scenery with very minimal support, no wire mesh, just a few wood uprights here and there, and attached to the roadbed of open grid construction.
Google "hard shell scenery"
Often people just balled up newspaper to support it, then pulled the newspaper out from underneath after it cured.
I plan to to use wire screen and Durabond 90 on my new layout, it dries slower and is easier to work with, but still really strong.
Sheldon
SeeYou190You need one of these bad boys: -Photograph by Kevin Parson I can't imagine life without one.
Returning to model railroading after 40 years and taking unconscionable liberties with the SP&S, Northern Pacific and Great Northern roads in the '40s and '50s.
SeeYou190 Pruitt I cut the top of this casting to reconfigure the wall above a bit. Took me half an hour to cut through a 1/4" thick casting! -Photograph by Kevin Parson I can't imagine life without one. -Kevin
Pruitt I cut the top of this casting to reconfigure the wall above a bit. Took me half an hour to cut through a 1/4" thick casting!
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
I can't imagine life without one.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
John-NYBW I've read that it is harder than Plaster of Paris but I've used both and haven't noticed much difference. Plaster of Paris is more readily available so that's what I go with.
I've read that it is harder than Plaster of Paris but I've used both and haven't noticed much difference. Plaster of Paris is more readily available so that's what I go with.
You need one of these bad boys:
I bought a cheap razor saw at Michaels. It has two blades. I save one for trimming plastic scratchbuilding parts, and the other is for Hydrocal. The razor saw works great on Hydrocal.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I'm using Hydrocal over plaster cloth and for rock molds in my version of the Wind River Canyon in Wyoming. Hydrocal is much stronger than Plaster of Paris, and is lighter. A thin layer has strengthened my canyon walls significantly ( the colored part is Hydrocal):
It also makes very strong molds. I cut the top of this casting to reconfigure the wall above a bit. Took me half an hour to cut through a 1/4" thick casting!
It holds mold detail very well, and is very resistant to chipping and flaking. I'm very pleased with it's physical properties.
Can not be beat for rock castings and if you do them thin with a backing the cracks you get are as relistic as you can get.
crossthedogBut I keep seeing products made of Hydrocal, like the Downtown Deco kits. So those kits are basically plaster castings? Wouldn't they be likely to chip and flake? The main reason I'm interested in this stuff is for structure kits.
I have built a handful of Downtown Deco kits. I love the way they take paint, and I have never had a problem with chipping or flaking.
For wargaming, we have built tons of plaster structures using hydrocal plaster and Hirst Arts molds. Hydrocal casts very easily and we have never had problems with durability.
Matt,
Opinion from someone who has used lots of hydrocal (many bags)....Yes, the castings can chip but I haven’t found it to be a big problem. Hydrocal is very strong and that is one of its advantages.
There are several kit makers using hydrocal/plaster castings. Yorke were/are the preferred plaster kits in my neck of the woods. There is very little chipping/flaking if you are reasonably careful with the assembly.
In general, I consider hydrocal to be one the Cadillacs of plasters. I love the creamy nature of hydrocal and I like the strength of the cured plaster. The only drawback, as Wayne states, is the speed of the set (can be too fast for some situations). I’m sure that casting plaster might work just as well but the hydrocal just has that certain richness to it.
FYI: “hydrocal light” is not the same as regular hydrocal
Opinions will vary,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Everyone so far has mentioned this as a medium that you can cast and mold with, the way I did with a big tub o' Plaster of Paris when I was a kid. But I keep seeing products made of Hydrocal, like the Downtown Deco kits. So those kits are basically plaster castings? Wouldn't they be likely to chip and flake? The main reason I'm interested in this stuff is for structure kits.
I experimented with Hydrocal when I built the Layout Test Segment section.
The only advantage I have found is that it can be ground with a coarse sander when it is fully dry. That is not much of an advantage.
I have used Plaster Of Paris on all previous layout with never any problems.
My intention is to use Plaster Of Paris on the next layout too. It is easy to get, and I know it works well.
I've used both Hydrocal and Dental plaster for casting, but both set too fast for my way of working.I switched to Durabond 90, a patching plaster which sets in about 90 minutes (there are other versions that set faster, also with relative numbers following the brand name). The setting will occur pretty-well, no matter how much (or how little) water is used, and once set, it's extremely strong and durable.
I use it over aluminum screen to create landforms...
...and in homemade moulds for casting the support piers for bridges...
...and it also works well for making "water"...
Wayne
It's a casting plaster, similar to Plaster of Paris. I think it's a bit finer scale and castings come out harder and a bit lighter in weight.
I've done a lot of Hydrocal casting over the years, mostly stone or rock walls. I have found that, by timing it carefully, I can actually bend a partially set casting to get a curved wall.
You can add dyes to the unset Hydrocal to color the casting, or you can paint it with a spray or wash to get the desired color.
I have used liquid latex rubber to create molds which I then use to "clone" stone items like tunnel portals or create concrete platforms for train stations.
This subway station was scratchbuilt usimg a lot of Hydrocal. The platforms were made from a styrene sheet, and the walls from a similar sheet with smaller squares. To get the curved columns, I covered the plaster part of the setting mold just before it solidiied and wrapped it around a piece of 1x2 wood.
This above-ground trolley station was made by using latex rubber to make a casting mold from a section of artificial honeycomb. I then filled the mold with Hydrocal.
Here is a section of cut stone wall fom a commercial mold. As it was setting, I curved it around a section of pink foam to get the curvature, then let it set.
The last one above is part of the turntable wall for my pit-bashed Atlas turntable which I sunk below the table.
I'm starting to see this word a lot. Hydrocal. Like in Downtown Deco's structure kits and other places I'm rummaging around in, and someone just mentioned modeling with it here in recent post.
I looked it up quickly and there's a photo on Amazon that looks like a pile of baking flour on a countertop. Not much of a clue there about what its advantages are, why I would want a model kit made out of it, or what the gotchas are.
Do you have any exerience with it? Or even an educated or uneducated opinion about it? What's it good fer? Why Hydrocal?
Thanks in advance.
-Matt