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A stuck mold showed me draft angles matter more than I believed
I used to skip adding draft to basic patterns to save time. Last month, I poured a simple square block for a garden ornament. The mold locked up tight when I tried to remove it. I spent hours carefully prying it apart with a chisel. All that work ruined a good casting and wasted my afternoon. Now I always cut a slight taper, even on flat pieces. It makes everything come apart so much easier. What small step do you never skip anymore?
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the_leo7mo ago
You're really saying draft is that important for everything? Joseph Adams makes a good point about simple flat tiles working fine without it. Maybe your mold material or release agent was the real problem, not the lack of taper. It seems like overkill for basic shapes if you prepare the mold right.
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joseph_adams667mo ago
Actually found I can skip draft on super simple stuff like flat tiles. Just need really smooth mold walls and a sharp rap on the bench. Broke zero molds last year doing this, saved a ton of time on basic shapes.
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hannahreed7mo ago
Maybe your luck holds, but a sharp rap just sounds like a future broken tile to me.
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