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#1
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Fixing crystals to wood...
Hi there, looking for some help. I am wondering if anyone knows of a
good way to fix Swarovski crystals in wood. I have a wooden jewellery box that I would like to put pink initials with Swarovski crystals on the top. At the moment it is a high shine lacquer finish. Any help would be great. I don't really want to set the crystals in metal then fix the setting to the wood. I am looking for something like a glue, I guess, but my wife has the idea to sew the crystals to fabric then glue the fabric. Anyway, please help! |
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#2
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On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 15:09:26 GMT, VinceF wrote:
Hi there, looking for some help. I am wondering if anyone knows of a good way to fix Swarovski crystals in wood. I have a wooden jewellery box that I would like to put pink initials with Swarovski crystals on the top. At the moment it is a high shine lacquer finish. Any help would be great. I don't really want to set the crystals in metal then fix the setting to the wood. I am looking for something like a glue, I guess, but my wife has the idea to sew the crystals to fabric then glue the fabric. Anyway, please help! Get the flat back crystals and glue them on. -- Marilee J. Layman |
#3
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VinceF wrote:
Hi there, looking for some help. I am wondering if anyone knows of a good way to fix Swarovski crystals in wood. I have a wooden jewellery box that I would like to put pink initials with Swarovski crystals on the top. At the moment it is a high shine lacquer finish. Any help would be great. You can set enamels and some larger stones mechanically in wood. You use two layers of wood, one as a backing, the second has holes with walls that narrow toward the outside. (Rather like band-saw box technique.) The layers are glued together, trapping the stone or enamel. The technique works best if a band saw is used to saw a piece of wood into two layers, then the two pieces are put back together after holes have been made in one of the pieces. The joint is hard to see. I don't really want to set the crystals in metal then fix the setting to the wood. Too bad. I think it can be more effective than the previous method. You can use the connectors as decorative elements. -- mbstevens |
#4
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If you have a drill press, you could set chaton style crystals by using
a stone setting bur to drill the setting, then just epoxy the crystal in place. This would be more durable than gluing flat-backs to the surface of the lacquered wood. |
#5
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Marilee J. Layman wrote:
On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 15:09:26 GMT, VinceF wrote: Hi there, looking for some help. I am wondering if anyone knows of a good way to fix Swarovski crystals in wood. I have a wooden jewellery box that I would like to put pink initials with Swarovski crystals on the top. At the moment it is a high shine lacquer finish. Any help would be great. I don't really want to set the crystals in metal then fix the setting to the wood. I am looking for something like a glue, I guess, but my wife has the idea to sew the crystals to fabric then glue the fabric. Anyway, please help! Get the flat back crystals and glue them on. What is the best kind of glue? I want something strong and reliable, but as clear and 'invisible' as possible. |
#6
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On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:52:07 -0700, in Tõ VinceF wrote:
What is the best kind of glue? I want something strong and reliable, but as clear and 'invisible' as possible. For gluing glass or metallic (such as the mirrored backings on the flat crystals you might be using) to something porous, like wood, probably your best bet will be any decent epoxy. The trick to invisible is simply don't use more than needed. It doesn't need to squeeze out from behind the crystal. Hot melt glues (glue gun type) is also reasonably good, but tends to be messy to use really cleanly. Some super glues, the gel types, are fine on wood, but I generally prefer epoxies, especially if the wood is one of the more exotic oily types. And the E-6000 craft glues, a somewhat rubbery tough evaporation drying glue is also remarkably strong for this type of joint. "Goop" is another glue that's essentially similar to the E-6000, which you might find in your hardware store in one of several "flavors", sold for automotive trim repairs, shoe repairs, or others. If using epoxy, be sure you've got the two componants measures so they're as close to being the same amount of each resin as possible. And the longer setting versions, two hour and up, tend to be stronger and perhaps easier to use for multiple glue joints, than the quick 5 minute types. Hughes company makes a couple epoxies especially for jewelry use, Epoxy 330 and Epoxy 220, that are both excellent. The first is more colorless, the second somewhat amber in color, but a stronger joint and slightly slower setting. Either would work very well. But even hardware store brands like Devcon 2-ton, or others, should work just fine too, for this use. Whichever glue you use, be sure surfaces are clean, or you're only bonding to the layer of dirt or grease, etc. Also, with various crystal types, if you want bright reflectivity, you'll want a type that has a mirrored backing on the crystal. Flat ones or facet cut types are available like this, sometimes called "foilbacks". The reason is that glue changes the optics of the back glass surfaces if they're not backed like that, and pretty much destroys the ability of back surfaces of the crystal to reflect light back to the viewer. So the foil backed types avoid this problem, and remain fully bright and reflective, if this is the effect you want. HTH Peter Rowe |
#7
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VinceF wrote:
Hi there, looking for some help. I am wondering if anyone knows of a good way to fix Swarovski crystals in wood. I have a wooden jewellery box that I would like to put pink initials with Swarovski crystals on the top. At the moment it is a high shine lacquer finish. Any help would be great. I don't really want to set the crystals in metal then fix the setting to the wood. I am looking for something like a glue, I guess, but my wife has the idea to sew the crystals to fabric then glue the fabric. Anyway, please help! Clear epoxy, but you may need to prepare the contact areas between the crystals and the box by scuffing them first. There are some more demanding methods like insetting the crystals in the wood, but they typically still involve some kind of adhesive. --RC |
#8
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Everyone has already given you great advice. I'll add 2 small things.
You could try silicone sealer. Like the type used for aquariums. Somewhat flexible yet tough bond that is clear in small (thin) amounts. Why not get 2-3 glues, some scrap glass or porcelain pieces and do your own test on some scrap wood? See what you like to work with and which is most pleasing to look at. Carl Rick Cook wrote: VinceF wrote: Hi there, looking for some help. I am wondering if anyone knows of a good way to fix Swarovski crystals in wood. I have a wooden jewellery box that I would like to put pink initials with Swarovski crystals on the top. At the moment it is a high shine lacquer finish. Any help would be great. I don't really want to set the crystals in metal then fix the setting to the wood. I am looking for something like a glue, I guess, but my wife has the idea to sew the crystals to fabric then glue the fabric. Anyway, please help! Clear epoxy, but you may need to prepare the contact areas between the crystals and the box by scuffing them first. There are some more demanding methods like insetting the crystals in the wood, but they typically still involve some kind of adhesive. --RC -- to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net) |
#9
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If you want to use E6000 instead of epoxy, I would strongly recommend
that you get the one-ounce size tubes *and* some nozzles (which can be used with either the one-ounce tubes or the larger 3.7 oz tubes). The small tubes are *much* easier to hold and manipulate when gluing many small objects. Similarly, the nozzles make an enormous difference when attempting to place very small dabs of glue. You can get both the small tubes and the nozzles from www.firemountaingems.com, stock numbers H142080TL and H141582TL. Something to be aware of is that certain adhesives will attack the metal foil on foil-back crystals, therefore it would be very wise to experiment first. Epoxies and E6000 are safe to use. Another reason for using the drill press and stone setting bur method is that you can use a computer and appropriate software (I use Microsoft Publisher for this purpose) to lay out the design of the initials perfectly, with black dots overlaid on the initials to show where you'll be drilling each setting. Then print out the design and lay it onto the box to check how it'll look and fit before drilling. This method allows you to do the initials in fancy script or any other type face too. When you're ready, temporarily fix the paper in place on top of the box with rubber cement (experimenting first on a tiny area on the bottom to be sure the rubber cement doesn't harm the lacquer) and start drilling the settings. Note that if you precisely control the size of the black dots, it gives you an exact indication of how deep to drill the settings; stop just at the point where the bur drills away the black dot. And putting a tiny white dot in the center of each black dot gives you the precise location to start the bur. If you don't have a drill press, Sears sells a really nice 9" model for only about a hundred bucks. If you do this kind of thing even occasionally, a drill press is a very good investment. |
#10
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hi;
i'm a woodworking machinist, i also make polished gems. what i would do is compress the wood, with a a piece of wood. and use crazy glue. take care, andy "VinceF" wrote in message ... Hi there, looking for some help. I am wondering if anyone knows of a good way to fix Swarovski crystals in wood. I have a wooden jewellery box that I would like to put pink initials with Swarovski crystals on the top. At the moment it is a high shine lacquer finish. Any help would be great. I don't really want to set the crystals in metal then fix the setting to the wood. I am looking for something like a glue, I guess, but my wife has the idea to sew the crystals to fabric then glue the fabric. Anyway, please help! |
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