So I decided to try my hand at casting some keycaps starting about a month ago. I'm getting better at it and have taken a few pictures along the way...
SkullcapWith an F4 key lent by a coworker as a base, modeling clay, oil, and some patience got us to here:
Thanks go to my wonderful fiancee for this design!
Setting the design into the mold box (yes Legos are great mold box material)
Didn't take any pictures of pouring the silicone but here's basically what that looked like:
So then after the silicone had set, I removed the piece and there was some clay still left!
To be expected, though. The first few casts got that right out!
And for what it's worth, here's a look at the 2nd part of the 2-part mold:
Here's the first of the post-clay casts that were made...
Here it is alongside some other keycaps I had previously cast to get some experience with the process
I've learned a lot since that one. Namely that the resin I was using is a bit too viscous and had such a quick pot time that I couldn't quite get the bubbles out properly. I tried a slow setting resin but due to the way that the cap is shaped, I kept snapping off portions when I attempted to remove the piece from the mold. Fortunately, I seem to have struck a good balance of viscosity and pot time...
Here are a few casts from this evening
The contrast is so blown out due to the fluorescence of the dye in the orange and pink caps. They look quite spectacular! Unfortunately, my phone's camera is not up to the task...
I'll probably post some more details on my build soon, but I kind of felt like sharing a bit. I've made several more to greater and lesser degrees of success but I have finally perfected my technique for bubble-free cherry mx stems and so failure rates due to poor stems has dropped to zero.
