I Hate Vacuum Forming

Today I had several issues with my mould for the silicone boarder of the chopping board, although the small scale version worked very well on the vacuum former there has been several issues when working in real size. I have to bring in the boarder several mm in order to get the mould to fit into the machine. The second major issue relates to the corners on the mould, after the pressure of the vacuum is released there the plastic wants to expand, was the plastic rises the corners crack and this is an issue both for the shape and the silicone that would escape through the hole. After several attempts with this mould I have had to sandwich the plastic between two planks of wood and clamp it down in order to stop the plastic moving and snapping.

On a brighter note I have managed to complete the first half of the knife handle and the second half is ready to go on Monday.