Repro Jet Hopper / Turbo Hopper Rear Tyres / Tires ?

[Live Steam Mad]

Hi, I was wondering if it is possible to reproduce the Jet Hopper / Turbo Hopper rear tyres at home ? I would like to make lots of sets of them, I have very close to perfect originals to mould from so I thought I might have a go. Does it damage the existing tyres? How do I go about doing it? What equipment and materials do I need. Any hints or tips? Anyone got any web links to such a thing ?

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad]

Well well, I found this and it looks to be easier than I thought ?!

http://www.smooth-on.com/gallery.php?galle...&cPath=1290

The tyre would be removed from the wheel and repro'd as-is, i.e. with proper thickness, and being hollow etc.

Anyone every tried this stuff or similar to do this kind of thing?

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad]

Oh hang on, the tyre has an internal surface. The mould cannot be removed because the internal 'plug' would prevent this.

Maybe Plaster of Paris or something which cured rigid could be used to make the negative mould and the tyre would be sealed flat across the opening on either side to prevent the internal plug being formed.

However this rigid or soft mould material could not be cut from the original tyre without damaging the tyre?

A.

[WillyChang]

haven't heard of anyone using DIY molding kits to make tyres... only repro'ing small non-structural parts

what resin will you be making tyres with?

always thought latex had to be vulcanised in the mold; and all that heat would require a metal form

[Live Steam Mad]

what resin will you be making tyres with?

always thought latex had to be vulcanised in the mold; and all that heat would require a metal form

In the example above it uses a Silicone Rubber mould and a casting resin. I plan on using the same idea of Silicone Rubber mould but then the tyres would have to be done in Silicone Rubber as well, so I don't know how the heck I am going to release the tyres from the mould. Also there is the problem of the tyres having internal space to them as well which the above example doesn't have. I have also been racking my brains on how the heck to be able to extract the original tyres from the mould once I create the mould? Apart from the idea of slitting the original tyres down the middle and moulding them in 2 halves. Infinite numbers of JH tyres could be generated if this works but it would destroy one of my originals. And since my shelf queen has 2 perfect almost gloss black tyres on it with zero spike wear, and since my only other 2 tyres are both NIP, this is a thing that I am quite reluctant to do LOL.

A guy that I am glad to think of as a friend sent me 2 NIP JH tyres today. Can you believe this?! I am so grateful I can't begin to say. Picture attached.

Any ideas on the tyre reproduction would be MOST welcome!

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad]

OK just had an idea. How about if I make up some Plaster of Paris, seal up the sides of the tyre, and then suspend the tyre into the liquid plaster half way (up to the line around the middle of the tyre). That would get me a rigid half tyre negative mould and I could extract it with relative ease as the rubber tyre is flexible...

2 halves like this and I would then have a complete negative mould but with no internal plug to create the tyre thickness, which would be the next problem to solve...

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad]

Another idea occurs ;- If I then get hold of a worn JH tyre and then fill the inside with liquid plaster of Paris and then sacrifice it (the only way of then getting the tyre off the rigid internal plug I think) then I would have a negative mould of the inside (a plug). Now I could put a dowel in the centre of the flat sections on either side and align that on a hole in each flat centre part on the outer negative moulds. Hard to describe, but I can just about picture it in my mind, and it would enable me to keep the spacing between the inner and outer moulds to create the correct tyre thickness. I could split the inner mould down the middle and mould each half separately in Silicone Rubber. Then IF I could manage to join them successfully I would have a complete NIP condition repro. JH tyre?!

I might give this a try. Wonder where you get high / good quality Plaster of Paris at a decent price locally in NW England?

Any other suggestions on how to do this repro. tyre stuff would be welcome!

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad]

I just learned that "Originals made of pliable materials such as plastic, rubber, silicone and plasticine do not normally need a release agent (e.g. vaseline), but heavily-detailed, rigid or shiny surfaces can be difficult to part - metal, glass and ceramics all require a release agent" so with the tyres I won't need a release agent apparently, which is useful to know.

http://www.maragon.co.uk/arts-and-crafts.html#Init

"Fine Casting or Artists' plaster is suitable for most work, but Herculite No.2 plaster can be used for moulds that will be used repeatedly; for maximum durability, however, use Crystacast. Setting time depends on the plaster used, but is usually under 30 minutes"

Cheers,

ARG.