The Play-Doh Original
The copy of the seal made out of Play-Doh seems to be working all right. It cracked a bit on the front and a lot on the back - shrinking as it dried. I think all the incised lines on the front helped reduce cracking there. I tested it in the Petrobond and it made a pretty good impression. Some of the finer lines on the letters got sand stuck in them, and I used files to try to widen them. Dry Play-Doh sort of files all right. I also filed the surface a little, taking off various petrified crumbs of Doh.
Making the Impression
I tried two ways of getting the impression in the Petrobond:
- As I saw on the Internet, put the original face-up on the bottom of the mold, put sand on top, press hard. Flip over, remove original.
- Place loose Petrobond into the mold, press original face-down into it. Press additional sand around edges. Remove original.
Both had similar problems: Sand sticking in the finer lines, and the edges crumbling as I tried to remove the original. It was slightly easier with Method 1 (because the edges were more firmly packed). So after several attempts, I got an impression that looked mostly okay.
Doing the Casting
I took my camp stove out back, placing the mold (on some scrap wood) next to it. I put on safety gear: jeans over my leggings, steel-toed boots, heavy leather work gloves, a wool coat, and safety goggles. Stove on, pan with ingot on stove. I held the heat at low to medium for a while, not wanting to over-heat the pewter. (The antimony separates out when you do that.) Nothing happened and nothing happened, so I turned up the heat. Instantly, the ingot began to melt. It happened pretty fast, actually, and then I poured the metal into the mold. I didn't use the casting ladel I bought - it was far too small. I overpoured - the surface tension kept the metal from running over the surface of the mold, but it's bubbled out the back. sigh. I didn't do any tapping or shaking of the mold, so hopefully the metal got into all the spots it needed to.
It's out back now, cooling.
Doubts
This was never going to be a 100% authentic piece, as lead-free pewter was never a thing. But now the entire process has become modern - Play-Doh, Petrobond. My seal is not, in the details, a good replica of an original - my letters, for instance, are 'Arial' sans serif linework, whereas the originals tended to have triangular cross-sections and serifs.
I mean, I'm glad I'm making it, because I think seals are cool. But is this a good Pentathalon entry?
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