So, since this is an upscale, there surely is not a commercially made canopy available! I've been wanting to join the ranks of Ted, Carl, Shrike, and others, so now was the time to set up my own vacuforming rig!
I got an unfinished jewelry box from Michaels and did the holes on the bottom, sealed shut the top (which is now the bottom). Mine's a
bit larger probably than others since this project called for a large canopy. I hope it won't prove to be too large later on for smaller
stuff!
Shown here is the box and the finished canopy mold made from the sculpy clay, baked, and sanded. Like Ted, I stole some of the kid's
legos for a temporary stand.
I'm using the standard (by now) clipboard plastic holder, and added some good strong clamps to the sides.
For now I've decided to go "old school" and used the stovetop / 2x4 stand method to melt the plastic and found it worked well.
It might be a function of the thicker (0.020") plastic I'm using, but I found the melt quite slow and controlled. I thought I was going to be
really rushed lest I melt the plastic to the stovetop if I didn't move quick enough!
One thing I noticed - as soon as you peel the protective film from the plastic it has a lot of static attraction for every mote of dust
in the room! I spent a lot of time getting it all off!
And here is my finished first attempt. It came out OK, but I'll probably do some more to try to get it better. Among other things, I
think I made the shoulders of the mold too pronounced where the canopy edges are to be and this made the bottom edge areas flare out too
much.
