[Jewelry making - Article 00993] - Re: [Orchid] Epoxy resin problems

[linlahlum]

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    I have always mixed epoxy (and for years used a great deal of the
    stuff) on a sheet of aluminum foil, wrapped around and taped to a
    flat surface ( in my case, an old cassette box or a cottage cheese
    lid) . I used the "high-tech" measuring system mentioned earlier:
    squeezing out a circle of resin and hardener of equal sizes. Very
    easy to mark circles on aluminum foil. Then since viscosity may
    differ in resin and hardener, holding it up to eye level and
    compensating by a drop or two when one "circle" was higher than the
    other (usually the hardener was thicker and therefore higher: so
    adding the "drop" to the resin).  I think I started out using
    aluminum foil because I could mix the epoxy with a palette knife,
    which I still think is the absolute best way, at least for me. Over
    the years I have probably used gallons of epoxy, and the only times
    it failed to set were when I knew I had been sloppy in my
    proportions. A little heat when curing is always good: I use a
    swing-arm lamp with a 60 watt bulb, pulled down to about 8 inches
    above the pieces setting. (away from flammable papers and objects,
    obviously). 

    I would think the wax could too easily scrape off a wax cup, and
    many plastics could potentially be partly soluble in the resin, thus
    contaminating it. Though there are plastic cups sold specifically
    for mixing epoxy, and epoxy often comes in plastic bottles, I don't
    know what kind of plastic they are made from. 

    Epoxy 330 and Epoxy 220, made by Hughes, are old reliables, and
    designed specifically for jewelry. Why not use them? 330 is the
    clearest. 220 is amber colored but is stronger than 330. Both are
    much better than the hardware store variety, and are available from
    every jewelry supply house. They come in both small tubes for
    occasional users and in bottles of various sizes. They also have a
    very good shelf life. Rings and Things (mnetioned on Orchid before)
    also makes up their own epoxy for bulk users, at lower cost. It is
    very strong, is somewhat amber in color, and has a slower set time,
    which is very handy if you are setting up lots of pieces. Generally
    the slower the set. the stronger the epoxy. It is not as liquid as
    the Hughes epoxy, therefore a little harder to measure. Have to
    scoop it out (with a palette knife!) onto the aluminum foil, then it
    fills the circles as usual. Shorter shelf life, about a year.


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