Mould for making your own kerbstones? Mould Making Project

foamcutter · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 82

What is it that they say " Ingenuity is the mother of invention". Heath Robinson or McGuyver obviously had a hand in the design. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Robinson ).but l think B & Q will have some health & safety issues with your prototype. Shocked

Any chance of photos of the finished kerb stones? Just to prove that this table did create something Wink

You beat me to it .......
Those kerb stones are very impressive, the colour, texture and style are very original. Apologies for doubting you. the results are terrific.

Quincy · Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:57 pm Post subject:

Doubting me... tut tut...

I'll admit, the colour and texture of this one is 50% weathering. I settled for an even "all yellow" casting as I had uniformity problems when trying to inlay different tones (read... too much flipin trouble) A fresh casting will be brighter than this one but this 'stone' in the pic is one of the early ones and has darkened itself in all the right places after 4 months, as did the rest of them. There is also one design flaw with these 'stones'... if you have grass growing on one side of the kerbstone, it is near impossible to strim the grass that grows up through the grooves... slight observation, a pain in the butt.

The wife approved kerb stone is a plain straight kerbstone, small profile. Same as 90% of kerbstones available commercially. But she wants then the same yellow colour as my fancy ones so I'll keep my sand/water/cement/colouring ratios the same.

As for the health n safety... I wouldnt recommend anyone try this.... ever.

unless you have an rcd safety breaker in-line and NEVER hose down the table and drill with water during cleanup. Also, the potential for injury from the spinning off set weight is a possibility... as is the potential for splashing concrete in your eye from the bubbling cement mix in the mould... eye protection people...
You are absloutely right foamcutter, I should have highlighted the safety issues just in case someone should try this.... Wink

This redneck setup comes with a significant health warning.

foamcutter · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 82

Never mind ISO 9002, NSAI, BBA cert the hardest one to pass is the "The wife approved test", doesn't matter if it's a kerb stone or .......... whatever

Surprised after all your experimentation that you have to go with a plain kerb stone. Would it not be easier just to do the strimming instead of your wife Smile

Or have a new and improved flat backed design?

Quincy · Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 10:20 pm Post subject:

might be easier to divorce the wife.....lol

nah, "a happy wife makes for a peaceful life"..... my dad taught me that...

I tend to agree with her on this occasion though FC, the plain kerbs would look neater.

(remember... happy wife... peacful life....!!!)

Q

cooler · Silver Birch Tree Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 174

Ingenious set up there Quincy.
It harks back to my youth spent watching mcguyver or Mr T from the A-Team create something great from basic materials.
Love the galvoband around the drill. Very Happy

Sb · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 3:54 pm Post subject:

Sounds like a satisfying project. But where did the pics go Quincy?

foamcutter · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 82

I can still get them on the previous page SB

Quincy · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 8:59 pm Post subject:

Hi Sb,

Sorry you can't see them, Are you getting red X's where the pics should be? I can see them with no probs, maybe you're not giving them time to load?

Sb · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:39 pm Post subject:

I can see them in all their glory this evening now. Must have been my slow dialup internet connection. The kerbs turned out really well with no air bubbles to be seen. The vibro-drill did its work. Razz

foamcutter · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 82

Now Quincy.
There's your product name "Vibro-Drill".... setup a company called Acme Industries Inc. and finish your health & safety issues with your prototype. Then you will be on you way to B&Q and Kerbstone nirvana.

SB will deserve a royalty payment of course................

birdie · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:57 pm Post subject:

Quincy · Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 9:10 am Post subject:

foamcutter · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 82

Rockworld · Hazel Tree Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 8 Location: KILDARE

Quincy,
You certainly saved yourself some money. I've seen those exact kerbs in several garden centres including the one you wish top sell your device to. I think they are about €5 or €6 each. Did you get many bubbles in the finished kerbs?

Quincy · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:07 am Post subject:

hi Rockworld,

Thanks for your comments. We were only joking about selling them though, this was a redneck project just to keep me busy. There were still a few bubbles per stone but only tiny ones that you wouldnt see unless you were on your knees, inspecting them. The bubbles were the big problem, trying to get the mix consistant was the key as well as the drill platform I made, well that just sped things up. You could just hit the side of the mould with a hammer a lot and this will almost have the same effect.

My second run of the new shape kerbstone have proven a chore for me, I guess devoting the time to making the mix every other day is not as easy for me this time round with other commitments on the go. I've run out of enthusiasm for kerb stone production at the moment.

THE up side of my efforts though is the drill vibrator platform works, not just for kerbs but any mould you might be making. If you are interested in making one for your own projects its very simple to make.

q