Casts 69 



chipped away areas in the back half of the mold, which accom- 

 modate the cast fins of the fish, may need additional chipping if 

 there are any irregularities that hinder a good fit of the two 

 sides of the mold (Figs. 42 and 43). 



Fig. 66. John Carmody, Yale student, holds a cast of a Pacific sailfish so 

 that the reinforcing structure can be shown. 



Securing the Halves 



Wire the ends of the mold so that they cannot be moved out 

 of position. With a narrow spatula spread the plastic mixture, 

 (formula No. 2 in Chapter 12) along the seams inside the cast 

 where the two halves meet. One application is sufficient to 

 bind the two sections of cast together strongly. In a fish longer 

 than about 30 inches, however, it is a good idea to place narrow 

 strips of woven glass cloth over the seams after the second appli- 

 cation of plastic and then spread more plastic over the glass 

 cloth (Fig. 57). 



Before putting the halves together, I like to attach a piece of 

 thin-wall conduit along the upper edge of the back side of the 



