Resin Phone Stand From My Hand

I needed a phone holder, so I came to the realization that the best phone holder is my own hand! I am not an expert on mold making so take what I do with a grain of salt. Learn from my mistakes so you don't make them.

Let's do it!

(Above is a video showing more detail about my process)

Resin (perrerafbly plaster) DO NOT USE RESIN WITH ALGINATE MOLD MATERIAL

Hot Glue gun

Sand Paper

Alginate mold material

Mounting plate

I started by making a box to pour the mold making material in. If you have a large enough bucket/ container that would be even better. I Chose to use alginate for many reasons; Its cheap, easy to work with, and sets up fast. I mixed a 1:1 ratio of mold mix to water in a bucket. Remember to mix more material then you think you will use. I had to pour my mold in layers which was a huge pain just because I didn't mix enough. After I had the mix poured in the container I sunk my hand in all the way up to my wrist. After waiting for 11 excruciating minutes staying as still as possible I took my hand out and was left with a decent void of where my hand was.

As a disclaimer resin will not work with this mold making material (alginate) because it is very wet. Resin does not react well with water so it will cause large voids and imperfections in the resin. Because I wanted the hand to have imprecations and look gross, I used resin knowing a reaction would take place. A better choice for a casting material to use with alginate is Plaster of Paris, Concrete, or gelatin. If you want to use resin I suggest using a mold material with a silicone base rather than a water base. Okay so to prep the mold I sprayed urethane mold release inside. I mixed the total boat resin and dyed it blue. I poured in about 1/4 of what I needed and rolled it around the entire mold in efforts to capture the detail inside. After that was done I poured in the remaining resin. If I wanted to remove the bubbles I could use a heat gun or my pressure pot but I wanted to retain my imperfections.

Alginate is more of a one-time use mold because it is so cheap. Therefore preservation of the mold is at a minimum. I used a razor blade to cut out the mold material to expose the hand. I was careful to remove the hand not to damage the casting.

After demolding there were some tag ends left on the cast along with some sharp corners and other imperfections. These were filed smooth and buffed back to a shine. Using my belt sander I flattened the bottom of the wrist so it would sit flush. I then started pouring multi-colored resin over the hand to give it another layer of detail. I also had to cut a chunk out of my finger so it would hold my phone.

Finally, I flame torched a piece of oak and screwed the hand to it finishing the sculpture. While it isn't perfect I love the way it came out!

Thank you for tagging along!

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