casting stone
Posted by Tony from Middlefield, CT, US on November 11, 2006
I’d like to know if you have any resources or know of any resources available that show you how to cast stone, using the wet method and dry methods and when you’d use one over the other. How do you get a wet concrete cast to look like limestone?? What ore the best ratio mixes to use, and are there any additives you can add to get a sharper detail during casting.
I know it’s a lot to ask but I’m trying to get into this field but have few start up funds.
Please if you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and Best regards
Tony Ciarleglio
Tony,
Sorry for the late reply. Our system wasn't working well and your question has been floating in cyberspace!
Cast stone is an emerging field--with some big corporations in the thick of it like OwensCorning, Headwaters, Oldcastle and others.
Most ulitize a latex liner that goes face down into a casting box about large enough for 4-6 stones. The stones are cast face down and pigments, paints, imperfections, etc. are brushed into the empty latex form randomly to give a natural effect.
Most make cast stones with the lightest possible weight aggregate available: pumice or even styrofoam pellets. Fly ash and slag are used in a mix that produces approximately 1,000 psi compressive strength. A high-shear mixer is used like a planetary vertical type, but just about any wet cast mixer can work.
This is a growing field, but the enemy is redundancy--don't make the stones look too uniform!
