24th: Well I waited a week before I took the camera out of its mold. Easy would not be a word that I would associate with this process. A full day of chisseling out little lumps of wood to get the channel sections out and I am still not finished. At least I can be certain that the camera is fairly solid as I accidently hit it a few times. Admittedly little chunks have come off but the concrete seems strong.
21st: So after faffing for I don't know how long with the original cast, I managed to make a new mold and recast the camera all within the space of a week. Fantastic. This time I stayed away from chipboard and used laminated pine boards. I made the channels smaller and of a far more sterner designer. All this means I can make the concrete thicker. Also I am going to resist that little urge of having a sneeky peeky into the oven. I am going to wait the full week before I even think about removing even a section of the mold.
Modem Watch - still waiting but am also without a phone which is just splendid.
14th:Hmm not a good day - Its back to the drawing - something just wasn't right in my concrete mix and the whole lot is slowly falling apart. With a little bit of encouragment chunks keep crumbling off the block of concrete. No use trying to treat it gently when you know its not going to withstand the slighttest knock.
I was going to go for a link with cameras and concrete riddled with bullets but I don't think any amount of waffle is going to mask the plain and simple fact the thing is falling apart. Oh well - at least I got my entry dates wrong for the PPC competition - its the 30th not the 23rd so I have an extra week to see if I can get something ready.
7th: Casting - today we finally begin/start the casting of the camera. After a month or so of faffing and general delaying the concrete has been pored into the mold and is hopefully begining to set. I went for a 1:2:1.25 ratio of cement, sand and gravel with a bit of black oxide powder to give a touch of colour. For a releasing agent I am using Vaseline. It looks alright and the mold seems to be holding out. No seams bursting just yet.
