6 ms·
I have a budding rose garden that I would like to adorn with statuary. One problem is that I have a tight budget. A second problem is that if you look at garden
by simonsarris 2y ago
I have a budding rose garden that I would like to adorn with statuary. One problem is that I have a tight budget. A second problem is that if you look at garden centers you will see its easy to find 9000 different cast stone frogs: frogs meditating, frogs reading books, frogs thinking, frogs with a purse and shopping bags, frogs in an Adirondack chair, frogs hugging, reclining frog, etc. It is surprisingly difficult, however, to find cast stone classical or ancient sculptures outside of a few pastiche renditions.
I find this extremely odd! I would think there would be a large market for beautiful cast stone things. Instead, there is (apparently) an extraordinary market for concrete frogs.
I figured that in the era of 3D printing and widespread 3D models[1], it might be fairly inexpensive to make my own mold and pour my own casts, even if I do destructive casting techniques. Here again I was disappointed: To order a 3D plastic print from a site like ShapeWays came out to over $1300 for something fairly small. So that's off the table, too.
I expected more democratization of ornament than there really has been, given the tech today. It's surprising to me that no one is trying to make silicone molds available of famous statues, generally, but I guess there's just no interest or no perceived demand. Or maybe there is a big market, and I've missed it, because I was not searching for silicone molds of frogs.
[1] For instance, The British Museum has a sketchfab with free models: https://sketchfab.com/britishmuseum https://sketchfab.com/britishmuseum
- treflop 2y agoSilicone is actually surprisingly expensive. I’ve done cast stone… poured into cast silicone… which was cast from 3D printer molds… which was printed from my own 3D models… and silicone was by far the most expensive part. It only made sense because I was casting a lot of stone molds.
- Spastche 2y agouse latex, and if it's big enough, back it with fiberglass. that seems to be the common way to make molds on youtube
- pvg 2y agoI like the idea that technology might eventually change or increase the variance of McMansion outdoor decor tastes. It seems reasonably within expectations that ornamental concrete frogs are a bigger market than ornamental naked dudes holding up a severed head, tough, no?
- nuancebydefault 2y agoI think the reason that large (cast) stone is very expensive is not the creative part or the molds. It is mostly the storing and transportation. Storing is hard because of the space it takes and manual labour to move the heavy item when reorganizing. Transportation is costly for the same reasons and additionally it can easily damage and any damage causes it to suddenly have virtually zero value.
- bccdee 2y agoWhy not cast on site? A silicone mould is light and durable, and while pouring concrete isn't easy, I don't think it's prohibitively challenging. You could ship the mould, cast on location, and return the mould for a refunded deposit.
- krisoft 2y agoBecause that won’t be cheaper. Yes shipping statues is expensive, but setting up an impromptu workshop in your garden then tearing it down only after one cast is going to cost even more.
- bccdee 2y agoI assume you wouldn't just cast one thing. Obviously it's not ideal if you just want one statue, but the concept scales well. You could get two moulds and do a dozen statues over a couple weeks.
- lostapathy 2y agoYou're going to have a hell of a time getting very many objects out of a mold meant to hold concrete for an interesting lawn ornament. Especially when in the hands of a renter who's probably by definition never used the process.
- bccdee 2y agoI dunno, some light searching reveals that they lots of latex moulds for lawn ornaments are for sale on Etsy. It seems like these things are out there.
- acomjean 2y agoIn somerville MA about 10 years ago someone was selling mini easter-island heads as lawn statues, which I though was a great idea.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Swizec 2y agoThere's a dude from Slovenia who makes cement casts of famous philosophers! Although I think they're more desk than garden sized. https://www.etsy.com/shop/jurgenstudio https://www.etsy.com/shop/jurgenstudio
- Animatronio 2y agoHe's also on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=jurgenwerk https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=jurgenwerk
- sdwr 2y agoI think it's about whether you see the work directly, or through a lens of status consciousness. You are saying: - classical statues are beautiful, I like beautiful things And they are saying: - classical statues belong in palaces, and I don't own a palace, or want people to think that I'm reaching above my status
- boustrophedon 2y agoThere are several sites with instant quotes that are cheaper than Shapeways. PCBWay and JLCPCB both offer similarly-priced very cheap 3d printing and CNC services out of China. Weerg in Italy also offers 3d printing and CNC services and I'm probably going to try them out for the next thing I need printed. The only non-marketplace service I've seen in the US that offers instant quotes is i-solids in Texas, but they have quite high startup costs and seem to be more geared towards small-medium production runs.
- adolph 2y agoThere’s always Lego for concrete casting: https://youtu.be/C3EcdyQECBY https://youtu.be/C3EcdyQECBY
- i1856511 2y agoWhen I looked myself in my local garden center, I actually found over 9,000!
- anon291 2y agoJust go to estate sales.
- jahewson 2y agoInstead of a plastic 3D print you might be able to get away with CNC milled foam.
- dyauspitr 2y agoFoam as a concrete mold? I don’t think it’s going to keep it shape and even if it did the surface and details are going to be terrible.
- krisoft 2y ago> To order a 3D plastic print from a site like ShapeWays came out to over $1300 for something fairly small. If you are on the DIY path could you possibly find a hackspace and print it for yourself?
- krisoft 2y agoFurther clarification: the reason I’m asking is because I’m a member of a hackspace in Oxford, and this is the kind of project we would both love to support a member with and have all the tools to help. Obviously i don’t imagine that you live close to us, but maybe you have other similar places near you?
- NegativeLatency 2y agoEver thought about taking up stone carving? The tools are surprisingly simple.
- KineticLensman 2y agoUK here. Our garden centres do have faux classical statues but then again we also have plastic garden gnomes. As in the film Gnomeo and Juliet but without the Elton John back catalogue.
- onthecanposting 2y agoBuy a quality printer for their asking price and make your own molds. If it's fairly large, you may want to put the mold in sand for support, or cast in sections. Just remember to leave yourself pick points for lifting, and use dowels to join your segments. Embed a little steel, like a mesh, if any parts may be in tension or subject to bending. You've discovered a market with unmet needs!
- kurthr 2y agoOne cheaper and easier thing to do is to shape foam which can be done with hot wire 3D cutters into fairly large sizes (like baby elephants) and then put mesh and concrete on the surface. They look heavy depending and can last outside for decades if done properly, but are much easier to move than concrete versions. When you see a lot of large commercial outdoor concrete or mosaic structures this is how they're made.