When the crank handle on [Eric Strebel]’s cheapo drill press broke in two, did he design and print a replacement? Nah. He kicked it old school and cast a new one in urethane resin.
In his newest video, [Eric] shows us his approach to molding and casting a handle that’s likely stronger than the original. The old crank handle attached to the shaft with a brass collar and a grub screw, so he planned around their reuse. After gluing the two pieces together and smoothing the joint with body filler, he packs the back of the handle with clay. This is a great idea. The original handle just has hollow ribbing, which is probably why it broke in the first place. It also simplifies the cast a great deal.
Here’s where things get really interesting. [Eric] planned to make a one-piece mold instead of two halves. At this point it becomes injection molding, so before he gets out the reusable molding box, he adds an injection sprue as an entry point for the resin, and a plug to support the sprue and the handle. Finally, [Eric] mixes up some nice bright Chevy orange resin and casts the new handle. A few hours later, he was back to drilling.
Crank past the break to watch [Eric]’s process, because it’s pretty fun to watch the resin rise in the clear silicone mold. If you want to take a deeper dive into injection molding, we can fill that need.
