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Step 3Molding the Wax Intersect Cube
This is probably the hardest part of the whole project. The problem is that it is very hard to drill a hole precisely from one corner of a cube to the opposite corner. To get around that problem, we're going to "cast-in" the corner-to-corner hole using a metal tube.
1. The basic mold is constructed from a 10 oz waxed paper carton. I used the "Minute Maid" OJ container from Burger King - you'll need two cartons. Although the carton holds OJ just fine, it will leak when you pour hot wax in. To prevent this - smear Goop on the bottom of the carton, and then make a "diaper" using plastic wrap ( I used Reynolds Seal-Tight), use duct tape to hold the wrap to the outside of the carton. Cut off the very top of the container - you'll need maximum height to compensate for the sink-hole that forms as the wax cools, see additional comments below.
2. The container is too large at about 56 mm square, so you'll need to "pad " two of the inside walls with cardboard or foam board. I padded the walls to reduce the cube size to about 45 mm square, which fits inside a cylinder with 83mm inside diameter with OK clearance.
3. After you pad the two walls to reduce the size, line the padded walls with waxed paper cut from another carton. The basic idea is that all inside surfaces of the mold need to be waxed paper.
4. Cut the small metal tube (1/8 inch inside diameter) to a length about equal to the corner-to-corner distance and test it by positioning it diagonally inside the mold - this will create your corner-to-corner hole in the cube. Measure from the floor of the carton to the very top of metal tube, you want is dimension to to exactly equal to the cube side length, say 45 mm using the example given above. You'll probably need to cut and measure a few times to get it right.
5. After you have the tube length just right, glue the ends of the tube to the walls of the carton with Goop and let it cure overnight - you don't want it coming loose when you pour the hot wax..
6. Use a double pan arrangement to melt the wax, this means the pan with the wax sits in another pan of boiling water. You need to melt enough wax to fill the carton up to the very top because as the wax cools a deep sink-hole will form. After pouring the wax, let it sit overnight to be sure it cools completely.
7. Using a utility knife cut the carton away from the wax. Use a electric drill and a bit slightly smaller than the tube inside diameter to carefully clear out the wax that has accumulated inside the tube. Next use a hack saw to cut of the top portion where the sink hole formed. You can use a hot pan to melt away a bit of the wax cube sides to make minor corrections to the cube's shape - be carefully as it's very easy to melt away too much.
8. Finally using a knife, score a 4 by 4 grid on each cube side, this will create 16 little squares on each cube face. Set the cube aside for now, we'll attached it the the drive shaft a little bit later.
1. The basic mold is constructed from a 10 oz waxed paper carton. I used the "Minute Maid" OJ container from Burger King - you'll need two cartons. Although the carton holds OJ just fine, it will leak when you pour hot wax in. To prevent this - smear Goop on the bottom of the carton, and then make a "diaper" using plastic wrap ( I used Reynolds Seal-Tight), use duct tape to hold the wrap to the outside of the carton. Cut off the very top of the container - you'll need maximum height to compensate for the sink-hole that forms as the wax cools, see additional comments below.
2. The container is too large at about 56 mm square, so you'll need to "pad " two of the inside walls with cardboard or foam board. I padded the walls to reduce the cube size to about 45 mm square, which fits inside a cylinder with 83mm inside diameter with OK clearance.
3. After you pad the two walls to reduce the size, line the padded walls with waxed paper cut from another carton. The basic idea is that all inside surfaces of the mold need to be waxed paper.
4. Cut the small metal tube (1/8 inch inside diameter) to a length about equal to the corner-to-corner distance and test it by positioning it diagonally inside the mold - this will create your corner-to-corner hole in the cube. Measure from the floor of the carton to the very top of metal tube, you want is dimension to to exactly equal to the cube side length, say 45 mm using the example given above. You'll probably need to cut and measure a few times to get it right.
5. After you have the tube length just right, glue the ends of the tube to the walls of the carton with Goop and let it cure overnight - you don't want it coming loose when you pour the hot wax..
6. Use a double pan arrangement to melt the wax, this means the pan with the wax sits in another pan of boiling water. You need to melt enough wax to fill the carton up to the very top because as the wax cools a deep sink-hole will form. After pouring the wax, let it sit overnight to be sure it cools completely.
7. Using a utility knife cut the carton away from the wax. Use a electric drill and a bit slightly smaller than the tube inside diameter to carefully clear out the wax that has accumulated inside the tube. Next use a hack saw to cut of the top portion where the sink hole formed. You can use a hot pan to melt away a bit of the wax cube sides to make minor corrections to the cube's shape - be carefully as it's very easy to melt away too much.
8. Finally using a knife, score a 4 by 4 grid on each cube side, this will create 16 little squares on each cube face. Set the cube aside for now, we'll attached it the the drive shaft a little bit later.
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