{"id":1013,"date":"2012-12-03T18:28:20","date_gmt":"2012-12-03T23:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hackaweek.com\/hacks\/?p=1013"},"modified":"2012-12-03T18:33:18","modified_gmt":"2012-12-03T23:33:18","slug":"sand-casting-with-plaster-of-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hackaweek.com\/hacks\/sand-casting-with-plaster-of-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Sand Casting with Plaster of Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was on Bald Head Island over the Thanksgiving weekend and while I was there I did a bit of sand casting with Plaster of Paris. Plaster of Paris is easy to obtain and work with. It’s available at most hardware stores. All you need is water and a mixing bucket and you’re good to go! The mix ratio is one part water to two parts plaster. Here’s a bit about the chemistry of Plaster<\/a>, which comes from the cooking of Gypsum at 300 degrees F. This takes away some of the water and leaves a white powder. Adding water back to the powder re-hydrates it and it crystallizes into a solid again. <\/p>\n

I used some sea shells I found at the beach and pressed them into some moist sand. After removing them from the sand they left an impression which I then poured the mixed plaster into. After about an hour the plaster hardened and could be lifted from the sand. Below are some pictures of some of the castings and a how to video.<\/p>\n

This is a great project to do with kids at the beach! Have fun and…
\nkeep on hackin! <\/p>\n

Here’s a few sea shells and some driftwood.<\/strong>
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These are small sea bird tracks that were left in the sand.<\/strong>
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