Industrial designer Eric Strebel got a super-cool commission from a client who restores vintage items like this soundboard:

What was needed were the clear plastic windows that cover the VU meters.

As these parts are no longer manufactured, Strebel was tasked with somehow replacing them in his shop.

Strebel figured he could use his ID know-how to create silicone molds from one of the surviving parts, then cast them in clear resin.

As he demonstrates the procedure below, he gives you plenty of useful tips along the way: Everything from how to restore and repair the master part before making the mold, to a cool trick for casting labeling information into the mold itself for future reference, to using a shop machine as an impromptu vibrating-bubble-getter-outer.

Here's how he did it all:

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Great results!