Ladrillos - making the mold

We spent a lot of time deciding what we wished to see on the floor.  In the end we chose a diamond shaped tile pattern that would give multiple 3 dimensional effects depending on the viewer's angle.  JD found a company in Granada who make cement tiles by hand.  Unfortunately, they did not have a  mold to make diamond shapes... but that did not stop JD. 
After studying the components of a metal mold from a video JD and I drew up the template on AutoCad and then took the drawings to a laser steel cutting company to cut all the pieces.  We asked our local artisan metal worker to weld the pieces together.  In the end, the welds did not provide for a perfect diamond fit so JD made a third stop at a computer milling machine to straighten up the edges and to make all the angles match.  The result...a unique and odd looking waffle maker.

JD and the waffle maker flew to Nicaragua.   Because the mold weighed so much JD decided to carry it in his knapsack and brought it on the plane as carry on.  En route through customs in Toronto he was almost not let on the plane.  The customs officials figured he could use it as a weapon.  But then the supervisor looked at JD and said he did not need the waffle maker as a weapon...he looked as JD's hands and said if he wished to hurt someone he could simply use his hands.  He waved him on and JD kept the mold at his feel, for fear of shifting in the overhead compartments. 

And here is the awesome result of such effort!