Russ Amott reviews J''s Work "Stone Pavement Mold."

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Russ- what size is the piece of pavement you get from this mould?

I like the product and the look of the moulded part, but I would not expect to see air bubbles in a purchased mould.

Pat, approx. sizes are 110mm x 80mm for the pavement and the brick casts are 110 x 32mm (real rough sizes). After I sent these out J's Work sent me a set to use so I've been having some fun with them. Plaster of Paris works great and cures fairly quick. I'm not easily amused but I have to admit these were a blast to use

Darren, I was concerned about that too, but the bubbles in the mold actually come out looking like bits of rubble, and if you don't want them they are easy to remove. I think the 'flaws' in the mold actually look good on the finished product. Getting the air bubbles out of the plaster is the important part...amazing how much surfaces by banging on the table. Even if they are present on the finished piece it's easy to fill them with a bit of plaster on a toothpick or old brush.

They looked so good, I had to order a set....

Thanks for that Russ.
For anyone interested there are some great step by steps and video guides to casting plaster on the Hirst Arts website

I got this one. I've made 4 or 5 pieces. It's really nice but (small buts). The surface is too uneven IMHO the level differences are quite big sometimes. I think some sending is necessary . Putting two or more together will be tricky as they don't fit very well (I tried all positions).

spit

This review is very timely. Just ordered a mold from LuckyModels and I'm just waiting for delivery now.

Cheers, John

Thanks for all the comments. Like James said, the small air bubble marks can be easily modified, along with the other stones, for indiviual nicks or marks on the stones. As Pawel has stated, there is a bit of a spacing issue when two segments are put together. I have sanded down the contact points and they have fit better. The mold is easy to use and you can make several sections very quickly.

Thanks Russ. I might a few of these molds up they're handy to have around to use up surplus plaster when filling bigger moulds.

Thanks for the review Russ. Ive had my eye on these for a while, and had one question for you, but Pawel answered it. Would love to see some images of the halves placed togther to see how close the fit is (unaltered), if you could find the time to do it?? Thanks.

I'll get some pictures done to show the fit.

Here are some images of two casts I recently made, showing fit on the sides. With some sanding and careful carving, they will line up better, but there is still somewhat of a gap. Depending on the material you use for casting, it can be sanded down easily but the gaps between some of the stones will have to be rescribed.

As my wife has recently become enamored with making stained glass mosaics, I can say that leftover grout will work well for filling those voids, or make thinned grout with the same plaster you cast the pieces with. By the way - Charcoal gout is great for making asphalt roadway.