5 Step MacGyver Altoids Key Mold
by Zanrick in Circuits > Tools
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5 Step MacGyver Altoids Key Mold
A cheep and easy way to recycle an old Altoids tin as well as duplicate any key. Note: This is not intended to be used for illegal any illegal activities, specifically ones seen in James Bond movies.
I made a key mold out of a 2 part chemical mix. I have a lot of this lying around because I had a friend who had a lot of miniatures and he let me make molds of them. It works like a normal mold. You poor your material through the opening at the "top", let it cool, open it up, and remove your key.
I made it In school using as a school project the steps shown in the instruct able file. We were told to use the materials we had to "make something". I worked alone, as the project required.
I made it in my schools engineering department. I chose this because I have made several molds before and I was confident that it would get me an A on the project.
My biggest challenge was suspending the key in the mold wile it was drying. I usually do this with play dough but i forgot to bring that to school so I had to make do with what i had. If i were to do this again i would remember the play dough and probably have the poor hole on the side of the altoids tin instead of on top.
I made a key mold out of a 2 part chemical mix. I have a lot of this lying around because I had a friend who had a lot of miniatures and he let me make molds of them. It works like a normal mold. You poor your material through the opening at the "top", let it cool, open it up, and remove your key.
I made it In school using as a school project the steps shown in the instruct able file. We were told to use the materials we had to "make something". I worked alone, as the project required.
I made it in my schools engineering department. I chose this because I have made several molds before and I was confident that it would get me an A on the project.
My biggest challenge was suspending the key in the mold wile it was drying. I usually do this with play dough but i forgot to bring that to school so I had to make do with what i had. If i were to do this again i would remember the play dough and probably have the poor hole on the side of the altoids tin instead of on top.
Gather Materials
You will need:
1 Altoids container
1 disposable cup
1 stirring rod (or any rod that you don't mind throwing away after use)
Parts A and B of a 2 part rubber resin mixture(found in any local hardware store)
1 Key (or other object of interest) that you intend to duplicate)
Mix It Up
Mix together parts A and B of your mold material (following the mixing instructions on the box/jar) inside of your disposable cup. If you want your material to dry faster, mix in an additional unite of part B(the smaller container)
Filling the Tin
Fill your Altoids tin halfway with your molding material, place the key on top of the molding material, and the full the tin the rest of the way up. Then let the material dry according to the instructions or mixing your specific components .
Extraction
Carefully cut open the mold and remove the key.
Finishing Touches
Finally, you will need to cut a funnel or hole leading from the outside of your mold, to the grip of your key. This hole should also be made to line up with a second hole in the Altoids tin.
WARNING: Altoids tin may become very hot depending on what your replica key is going to be made of