Need some information about resin for making pendants

Total newbie here.

I am going to try my hand at making some pendants as a side-business. What I
want to do is make something like a clear-domed keychain pendants, except I
would use round or rectangular sterling silver engravable blanks.

I thought about using some sort of epoxy like you buy at the hardware store, but
I'm sure there are better suited resins for this type of thing (which is why I
am asking here!)

Or maybe resins are not what I want? (again, total newbie at this)

So my needs are, in order of importance:

* will adhere to metal (silver), and would 'glue' anything I put on the pendant
and create a protective layer
* once cured it is durable and scratch resistent, so it could resist
wear-and-tear from daily use if it were part of a bracelet for example, or on a
keychain
* cures to be optically clear
* viscosity is thick enough to not run off the sides, but thin enough to let
gravity spread it into an even layer
* tintable (if possible?)
* doesn't require any special equipment to bake/cure

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Even fused (melted) glass would scratch in use as a charm/pendant from a
bracelet. All resins would be softer than glass.

You might experiment with the Hughes brand epoxies. They have one for
lapidary use that is clear.

Also, photo/UV cured resins are convenient to use and can be had in many
viscosities (thickness).

If any items to be placed under thsi dome are flat, using an epoxiy or
resin to to attach a qurtz or sapphire cap (as is used in opal triplets)
would likely give you the best results for long term durability. At one
time, there was an opal dealer in Spencer utah selling finished quartz
caps. Or, you could join a Gem & Minerla club and possibly learn to make
your own.

try using google for some of the items mentioned. Also, try asking this
on a lapidary website or subscribe to a lapidary/rockhound newsletter.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan


Brandon wrote:
Total newbie here.

I am going to try my hand at making some pendants as a side-business. What I
want to do is make something like a clear-domed keychain pendants, except I
would use round or rectangular sterling silver engravable blanks.

I thought about using some sort of epoxy like you buy at the hardware store, but
I'm sure there are better suited resins for this type of thing (which is why I
am asking here!)

Or maybe resins are not what I want? (again, total newbie at this)

So my needs are, in order of importance:

* will adhere to metal (silver), and would 'glue' anything I put on the pendant
and create a protective layer
* once cured it is durable and scratch resistent, so it could resist
wear-and-tear from daily use if it were part of a bracelet for example, or on a
keychain
* cures to be optically clear
* viscosity is thick enough to not run off the sides, but thin enough to let
gravity spread it into an even layer
* tintable (if possible?)
* doesn't require any special equipment to bake/cure

Any information is greatly appreciated.




--
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

Carl 1 Lucky Texan wrote in
:

At one
time, there was an opal dealer in Spencer utah selling finished quartz
caps.

Spencer, Idaho, I thik you mean.

--
Saint Séimí mac Liam
Carriagemaker to the court of Queen Maeve
Prophet of The Great Tagger
Canonized December '99

Yes, sorry. There was company there that sold quarz caps - perhaps they=20
still will.
yes, I found this in my old bookmarks!
http://www.tetongems.com/quartzcaps.htm.html

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

S=E9im=ED mac Liam wrote:
Carl 1 Lucky Texan wrote in=20
:
=20
=20
At one=20
time, there was an opal dealer in Spencer utah selling finished quartz=20
caps.=20
=20
=20
Spencer, Idaho, I thik you mean.
=20

--=20
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

Carl 1 Lucky Texan wrote in
:

Yes, sorry. There was company there that sold quarz caps - perhaps they=
20
still will.
yes, I found this in my old bookmarks!
http://www.tetongems.com/quartzcaps.htm.html

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

S=E9im=ED mac Liam wrote:
Carl 1 Lucky Texan wrote in=20
:
=20
=20
At one=20
time, there was an opal dealer in Spencer utah selling finished quartz=
20
caps.=20
=20
=20
Spencer, Idaho, I thik you mean.
=20

--=20
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)


Thanks for the link, though Riggins is a fair bit from Spencer.
Here's a link to the mine itself, IIRC, they also would sell quartz caps
seperate from the doublets and triplets.
www.SpencerOpalMines.com
--
Saint Séimí mac Liam
Carriagemaker to the court of Queen Maeve
Prophet of The Great Tagger
Canonized December '99