Hi Mike

BTW, you have an exceptional web page.

I still lurk around here but lost interest in posting any of my opinions, views, or experiments awhile back.
If you email me at au4653-tufa@yahoo.com IÂll send you a word document file of a mold I made several years ago - maybe youÂll find something useful or adaptable.
Robert

Glad to see that you are still out there.
Appreciate your help.

Thanks - the blog is fun, just do not have much time to write lots of stuff
Mike

Hi Mike, Nice to find this forum is still a live!
For the inside of the lanterns we (hubby & I)made we used a piece of bendable aluminum? duct taped together for size, I think it's also called 'flashing' don't know for sure and DH isn't here for me to ask; also a smooth round plastic bottle filled with sand work good. For the windows a block of styrofoam works great, if you find this might move when packing in the mix you can screw the foam into the inner mold. Hope this helps! Wendy

Nice website.

i used different size pots , it's been so long, that i barely remember how i did it:-)
i used the top from one of those cheap plastic birdbath's from $ store for the top and pots for the other parts and just did a lot of carving and clean-up , while the tufa was still green.

Here is a link that might be useful: lantarn

Mike, How were you using the pink insulation, as a solid block? If so, use a razor knife to hollow out the inside and use a bag of sand inside the block for weight. Sometimes it creates a vacuum so you may need to use a spray release on the pink stuff or tape it up with dry cleaner bag. When you have to pull out a center mold like this it helps if you attach a strap made from duct tape. Give you something to pull on. Just wrap it completely around the block. Billie

LG great pictures - It really helps to see how you did it.

Billie - you are exactly right! I used solid pink 2" insulation. Wrapped it in a thin plastic bag and just positioned in place in the bucket as I built the lantern. I used a small plastic bucket for the form.
I like the idea of the sand and also the screws. And maybe a slightly larger container.
Thanks Mike