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Jawbone

Voyager sent me a delicious and delightful care package, including a piece of someone’s jaw to make a mold from.

It’s in the silicone now. When it comes out I’ll store it away carefully and pour wax into the silicone mold to make a model of the piece. Then I’ll sink that in some investment plaster and melt the wax out. Once that’s all done (assuming it survives those steps) I’ll pour molten silver into the hole left by the contact-point with the counter-top.

Coming Clean: Full Version Now Available! » « Before the Water Rose

Comments

  2. kestrel says

    @chigau, #1: happens. Well. Happens to those who live long enough anyway.

    Those missing teeth will present nice issues in casting, as the holes they leave make the molding and casting more interesting. Easy enough to fill though I suppose. You have some nice surfaces there and could do some really cool things.

  3. lochaber says

    it’s fairly common for those teeth to fall out, they are small and have simple roots.
    The molars have multiple roots per tooth, so they tend to stay in.
    The canines only have one root, but it’s big, so I’m guessing there is more friction to hold them in or something.
    the incisors tend to fall out a lot too. Unless it’s a rodent or lagomorph, then they tend to stay on longer, I’m also assuming that’s friction related because the teeth are so damned long…

    If the animal looses it’s teeth whilst still alive, and continues to live for a bit, the holes will fill in and leave a smooth section of mandible. If the hole is present, the tooth probably fell off after death/decomposition.

  4. says

    lochaber@#3:
    The canines only have one root, but it’s big, so I’m guessing there is more friction to hold them in or something.

    In this case, a little bit of epoxy, too. I don’t want the silicone to pull it out because digging it out would damage the mold.

  5. voyager says

    I always thought it was strange that there were no other bones near where we found it. We dug a big hole for our patio and that bone was all by itself. Weird, eh?
    It’s pretty cool to watch it being made into art.

  6. says

    voyager@#5:
    It’s pretty cool to watch it being made into art.

    Normally I don’t post “in progress” photos because of the risk of things going into the weeds. :)

  7. voyager says

    Marcus@6
    That risk helps add suspense and interest to the process for me. :)