plastic machine blog

Have you ever wanted to make plastic? There are good reasons for making your own, safely. This plastic-making instruction can be used for making crafts, a molded part, or children’s science experiments.

Step 1

Put the milk in a saucepan and warm the milk without boiling it.

Step 2

While the milk is simmering, add a tablespoon of vinegar. Stir with a spoon until the substance becomes rubbery.

Step 3

Create a strainer over a jar. Put the cotton cloth over the mouth of the jar and hold it in place by putting a rubber band around the jar with the cloth.

Step 4

Slowly pour the white rubbery substance you’ve created into the cloth. A white solid gel will collect on the cloth strainer while the excess liquid will collect in the jar. This white solid is called casein and it is basically milk curd.

Step 5

While the casein is still malleable, place it any mold you desire. The plastic you’ve created will dry in a few days. You can put it in a cookie cutter mold and paint it later. If you want to make a simple part for some broken machine you are trying to fix, a mold of the part can be made with hardening clay. Use the homemade plastic as material for the part.