Home made Lug nuts

[Doc Moddin']

I have an idea for home made lug nuts that I got from when I needed to make a replacement pawn for my chess set.

The tools:

- Silicone gasket maker from an auto parts store
- Resin (I use the kind with separate medium and activator, in case you know of another kind)
- Tooth pics, pins, anything with a smaller diameter than the XMOD chassis lug bolts.

1. Put a "blob" of blue silicone gasket maker on a surface you don't care about (wax paper, aluminum foil, anything that won't get mom P.O.'ed)

2. Push a Radio Shack plastic lug nut into the gasket maker, HOLE UP.

3. When dry, remove the lug nut...you now have a mold

4. Add resin to the "mold" and use a pin/toothpick/etc. to make a hole for the lug bolt to accept.

5. Let dry and repeat for other three lug bolts.

I know that some resins are brittle/too hard to grab onto the lug bolt, but there might be a resin out there that will work. Maybe two-phase epoxy glue? I'll let you guys experiment.

Plus, since many resins dry clear, a clear lug nut sounds pretty cool.

Let me know what you guys think.

--Doc

[Tmaxxn3]

or you could buy a pack of like 40 from RS for like 2 bucks and there metal and fit just fine..
but im not gonna lie thats a pretty sweet idea
i may just try it....

[xmodzracer]

there are also two beneath the spot where you screw in the motor wires on the evo board. just remove teh battery pack thing and there are two holes there. stick in a screw and wiggle it back and forth until they come out.

[TripleXmodder(akaXXX)]

Interesting if you could make strange nuts like tye-dye or somthing, but Ill stick with the RS 40 pack for 2$ or the locknuts from AM.

[Tmaxxn3]

but if i could do tie dye i would so bye them from some one

[ling427ttvette]

Originally Posted by TripleXmodder(akaXXX)

Interesting if you could make strange nuts like tye-dye or somthing, but Ill stick with the RS 40 pack for 2$ or the locknuts from AM.

Bought two of those 40 packs, don't think I'll ever have a need for a lug nut again.

Sounds like a really neat idea though, and if it could lead to odd colored lug nuts or clear ones that would be pretty cool.

But it seems like it's just a lot more work than absolutely necessary.

[Doc Moddin']

Thanks for the input, guys. All very good ideas.

I have the 40-pack for $2, too--and yes, they work great (for me). I was reluctant to buy them, at first, because they looked too big when I eye-balled them at the store. They hold great for standard XMODS. But I think if you do some serious modding, you'll need to do something like use tape inside the threads to keep 'em on. Not my idea, mind you, someone else posted that they come off without tape in another thread.

I think clear would look cool, but I think they're too small to notice if a tie-dye pattern or "peppermint swirl" pattern were infused in the plastic/resin. Someone could prove me wrong and try, of course.

Don't forget, many resins are brittle/too hard and this idea might not even work. It was just an idea.

--Doc

[bondo]

there are resins that are brittle and there are resins that are durable as hell.
just ask the manager/pwner of the downtown holiday inn.....
we dropped a 16lb rhino bowlingball from the 8th floor onto his pretty new sidewalk...........couple scratches on the ball but the 'crete was demolished.
what can i say? we were drunk,we wanted to see the inside of a bowling ball and thought this was the easiest way to accomplish it....we were wrong..

[greenday]

Originally Posted by xmodzracer

there are also two beneath the spot where you screw in the motor wires on the evo board. just remove teh battery pack thing and there are two holes there. stick in a screw and wiggle it back and forth until they come out.

I don't think those fit, I think there a smaller diameter. I like this idea, it just needs something to make the time of making the mold and making the nut worth it. I guess with some ink you could have any color nut you liked, that would be pretty sweet imo. Plus, the mold idea is a rather good one, provided it would work on bigger items. Why don't you try and replicate an XMODS chassis part? If you could do it it would be awesome, although I wonder about the durability of said part. Hmmm...

Great Tutorial Though!

EDIT:

I have had a few cras with bad axle threads, and they used to fling the nuts and wheels and tires ALL the time, which was really annoiyng. Full throttle on a ix cell can really send those things flying. I knew you had to say godbye to the nut, but the wheel and tire were what I was concerned about. Perhaps a resin nut would fix this?

[Doc Moddin']

Bondo, LMAO on that one! Reminds me of the Looney Tunes Cartoon where the chipmunk is trying to crack a coconut, only to find another shell inside the first shell.

Greenday, I like the idea of molded parts, but I think it would be limited to parts that don't accept any load or affect suspension/handling. Maybe for making duplicate hood scoops/side view mirrors, so you can practice painting, etc.?

I was just thinking that I should upload a pic of the Chess Pawn I duplicated to show how well the "silicone gasket mold" works. It wasn't just any old pawn, it looks like a soldier with armor and shield.

--Doc

[himynamebebrian]

that mold looks pretty sweet.

[Doc Moddin']

Thanks, Brian.

It is a mold for a 2 1/2 inch tall chess pawn in the shape of a foot soldier with a shield.

I forget if I used a "release material" to prevent the master chess piece from sticking to the mold. If anyone knows what works well to release the master from the mold when it hardens, please let me know.

As for pouring the resin and releasing it from the mold, I didn't need to coat the mold with anything before pouring. That's the beautiy of silicone...the same reason they make non-stick muffin molds out of silicone, I guess.

--Doc

[bondo]

Originally Posted by Doc Moddin'

Thanks, Brian.


I forget if I used a "release material" to prevent the master chess piece from sticking to the mold. If anyone knows what works well to release the master from the mold when it hardens, please let me know.



--Doc

vaseline is what's used for most latex,fiberglass and clay molds.
im sure it would work fine for silicone.

EDIT:
just out of curiosity, how the hell do you break a chess piece?

i've got a crystal set and a glass set aswell as a marble and pewter set.
i play atleast 4-5 times a week and i've been doin so for the last 16 years.
i have yet to see a broken chess piece
DEATH CHESS FTMFW!!!!......Queen to E9......STOMP!!!!!

[Doc Moddin']

Bondo,

Heheheheeh. No didn't break a chess piece,...bought a chess set at a swap meet that was missing one pawn. I figured, for 10 cents, I'll figure something else out later.

And then LATER, I got the idea from a friend to make a silicone mold out of silicone gasket maker from the auto parts store. I used less than one tube to make the mold, too.

Still, the idea of WWE chess internationals sounds pretty cool. I'd pay fifteen bucks to see a guy swing a folding chair at a guy dressed up as a Rook.

--Doc

p.s. thanks for the vaseline idea...you don't think that will "eat at" the silicone while it's drying?

[noturday]

Originally Posted by bondo

vaseline is what's used for most latex,fiberglass and clay molds.
im sure it would work fine for silicone.

EDIT:
just out of curiosity, how the hell do you break a chess piece?

i've got a crystal set and a glass set aswell as a marble and pewter set.
i play atleast 4-5 times a week and i've been doin so for the last 16 years.
i have yet to see a broken chess piece
DEATH CHESS FTMFW!!!!......Queen to E9......STOMP!!!!!

your little brother takes a bite out of it.....at least thats what happened to a pawn from the STONE chess set i got in Cancun. granted it is a tiny set, only about 10" by 10" but still, he bit through a rock...and he was only about 5 or 6 at the time haha

[TripleXmodder(akaXXX)]

Originally Posted by Doc Moddin'

Bondo, LMAO on that one! Reminds me of the Looney Tunes Cartoon where the chipmunk is trying to crack a coconut, only to find another shell inside the first shell.

Greenday, I like the idea of molded parts, but I think it would be limited to parts that don't accept any load or affect suspension/handling. Maybe for making duplicate hood scoops/side view mirrors, so you can practice painting, etc.?

I was just thinking that I should upload a pic of the Chess Pawn I duplicated to show how well the "silicone gasket mold" works. It wasn't just any old pawn, it looks like a soldier with armor and shield.

I read through but maybe I missed it. What product did you use to make that mold. And do you have a link.

[greenday]

He used silicone gasket maker. You can get permatex, silicones, and etc. at wal-mart, but true gasket makers are about $6-$7 at an auto parts store, but you have to have a gun to use any silicone, but once you buy these and some vasoline to slater the molds up with, you can make whatever you please.

[TripleXmodder(akaXXX)]

Originally Posted by greenday

He used silicone gasket maker. You can get permatex, silicones, and etc. at wal-mart, but true gasket makers are about $6-$7 at an auto parts store, but you have to have a gun to use any silicone, but once you buy these and some vasoline to slater the molds up with, you can make whatever you please.

I have like 3 caulk guns. Vaseline on the item getting molded right. I think that is much easier then how I was molding. Ill give it a try.

[Doc Moddin']

Now that I've thought about it, I suppose one could make silicone parts for the cars, too.

Anyone ever see the Cabs in NYC? They have these "bumper guards" to prevent scratches on them when they, "Get all 'New York' on your a$$". I bet you could make silicone bumpers for XMODS...should stick to the body, and protect the car from guardrails on a turn.

--Doc

p.s. Someone asked what I used for mold material. I used blue RTV silicone gasket maker from an auto parts store. Was $5 or $6 for a descent sized tube. And yes, it came in a tube...a metal toothpaste-type tube...no caulk gun required.