Fun With Oogoo: Make a Folding Indoor Frisbee

Make a folding flexible Frisbee that fits in a pocket. It is thin and light and it collapses when it hits things so it can be used indoors fairly safely.

This instructable will also show how to make a mold using Oogoo and how to cast Oogoo in an Oogoo mold.

The short video shows the Frisbee flying and hitting glass.

Step 1: Materials

Corn starch-found in grocery store.

Linseed based oil paint from an art store

Naphtha solvent-found in hardware stores
Or Citrus Solvent from: http://www.dwellsmart.com/Products/Lumber-and-Wood-Products/Citrus-Solvent

Can of spray lacquer-found in hardware stores.

100% Silicone caulk- found at Walmart for about $3.

Caulk gun found at Walmart

Small paint brush

Plastic knife

Plastic mixing cup

Frisbee or pie tin or plate to use as a pattern for the mold.

Step 2: How It Works

Oogoo is an inexpensive, easy to use silicone clay that can be cast into a flexible Frisbee that is thin and light. As the step 2 pic shows, Oogoo has incredible shape memory and even when compressed will bounce back to its original form.

The cast Frisbee is thin and floppy, but when it is set to spinning in a toss, it regains the original shape of a Frisbee. It is a little trickier to throw, but it has similar flight characteristics to a regular Frisbee.

For more details on the uses of Oogoo see here: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/

Step 3: Make an Oogoo Mold of a Frisbee

Mix The Oogoo And Mold The Pattern
A mix of 1 part corn starch to 1 part silicone caulk is used to make the mold. Mix up about 8 tablespoons of silicone with an equal amount of corn starch.

Mix up a batch with the plastic spoon and then use it to coat the Frisbee with a thickness of around 3/16" to 1/4". As the Oogoo gives off acetic acid fumes, it is a good idea to do this outside or near a fan. Vinyl or nitrile gloves are recommended.

Finishing the Mold
After the Oogoo has set up for an hour or two, mix a small batch of fresh Oogoo and put enough on the bottom of the mold to support the bottom and sides. Flip it over Frisbee side up and put it on a piece of polyethylene plastic on a flat surface. Let this set up over night.

The thumbnail pic shows the finished Oogoo mold.

Step 4: Casting the Oogoo Frisbee

Spray Mold Release
A couple of thin coats of spray lacquer on the mold will keep the casting Oogoo from sticking to it. It dries fast, so you only have to wait about ten minutes before giving a second coat.

Mix Oogoo Gel
Mix up some Oogoo with a 2 silicone caulk to 1 corn starch ratio. I found about 4 tablespoons silicone to 2 tablespoons corn starch was enough to make the Frisbee. About the volume of 2 peas of linseed based oil paint were added to color the mix.

Add Naphtha solvent until you have the consistency of a gel. WARNING: the Naphtha has nasty fumes so this should be done outside with good ventilation while wearing vinyl or nitrile gloves. A less poisonous solvent like Citrus Solvent can be used instead, but it is more expensive and harder to obtain. It also takes longer to cure.

Coat the Mold
The gel consistency makes it easier to spread the Oogoo thinly in the mold.
Spread the Oogoo gel thinly in the middle ( about 1/32" to 1/16") and thicker ( about 1/8") on the circumference. A small paint brush can be used to smooth it out while still wet. The step 4 pic shows the coated mold.

Remove The Cast Frisbee
After the Oogoo has cured, carefully peal the Frisbee from the mold. Bits of lacquer flakes may be stuck on the surface. The sticky side of duct tape can be used to remove them. The step 4 thumbnail shows the finished Oogoo Frisbee.

Step 5: Other Possibilities

Paint A Frisbee
A thinner mix of Oogoo can be made using more solvent and painted into the mold. This will result in a much lighter and more flexible Frisbee which will probably be trickier to throw.

Extruding Oogoo
The step 5 pic shows a large wiffle ball made with extruded Oogoo. You can throw it at high speed and it flattens when it hits to distribute the force harmlessly. The Oogoo was extruded using a 50cc syringe. The lines were extruded on a plastic ball and then pealed off after the whole thing cured. Where the lines cross each other they tend to fuse together. All kinds of wiffle balls, juggling balls or lamp shades could be made using this technique.

3d Printing
The Oogoo extrudes so well I am working on making an automatic extruder that could be used in a 3d printer. I have also been experimenting with additives that vary the density of Oogoo from very hard to super flexible.