Frit-Happens !

Jewellery => Jewellery tips, techniques and information => Topic started by: sparrow on April 28, 2008, 08:17:41 AM

Title: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: sparrow on April 28, 2008, 08:17:41 AM
I know, I know, all you jewellery people, you just laugh...but I went through two years of silversmithing evening classes with a tutor who banned glue (and jumprings!!) to connect stuff together.......so I've never had to glue silver & glass. Well, now I do........help?

And also, while I'm at it, is anybody using that clever stretchy wire webbing stuff to thread things, because I'm wondering whether I need to glue the ends before attaching a flat crimp clasp................

Full of questions, as always - thanks guys!!
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: julieHB on April 28, 2008, 08:32:39 AM
Hi Sabine,
Difficult, difficult! I have tried the most expensive and the cheapest, and none is 100% (that is after sever quality testing  ;D).  I have concluded that the Araldite crystal clear formulation for ceramic, glass, metal, jewellery is as good as any two-component glue, and by far the cheapest.  You get it at any hardware store, I think.

A big point when using two-component glue is that you must not be too tight with the amount you mix up even if you don't need much(much easier when the tubes cost £1.5 rather than &20..).  Also, make sure you mix the components for the time specified on the packet....

A lot of people swear by the one-component E6000, but I am not totally convinced about that one still.  It needs a lot longer to cure.  There is a thread on here somewhere about glue.

Needless to say, the areas to be glued need to be clean and it also helps to rub them a bit.

good luck!!


Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: Zeldazog on April 28, 2008, 10:05:15 AM
Blimey, don't get me started on glueing silver bails onto glass......

STILL no absolute success with E6000, despite following all careful advice (And being told in one thread that if I did this and that it absolutely wouldn't fail - well it DID!)

There's a thread on US Warm Glass site, well there's lots, and someone there uses "household silicone" - not tried that!

As Julie said, doesn't seem to be much difference between the top and the cheapest - I know some swear by the £23 a go scotch 3M stuff (sold on Warm Glass UK) but I am not prepared to fork out that much money - SO many people swear by E6000, but me and Tan CANNOT get it to work for us (ask Tan about BLuetak.....) - I *nearly* got it to work - I had one bail that I had to tug really hard before it came off, but that's not good enough for me - perhaps if I leave it to cure for six months it might work....

I've some good sucess with a 2 part glue that mixes in the nozzle (the name escapes me right now, I will update post when I remember!) - that is VERY good, trouble is, it sets in about 5 to 10 minutes, and you only get 2 nozzles - so once you've use them up, you're stuffed!  And I contacted the manufacturer, to see if they sold spare nozzles, they kindly sent me a few, but no offer to sell me a truck load

Oh, and I recently found a couple of pendants taht I had glued a few months ago  (late last summer) that were stuck on really really well at the time, and passed the tug test, and they came off without too much trying recently - now that does worry me.....



Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: sparrow on April 30, 2008, 02:08:18 PM
Hmmmm...thanks Julie & Dawn - it's so much easier if there is a 'proper' answer, isn't it. Guess I'll have to run my own trials...  ??? ::) Thanks for all your help!
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: ♥♥Tan♥♥ on April 30, 2008, 02:26:28 PM
E6000 dont fricking go near that product of the devil, nothing works, its evil stuff, designed to hold just enough until its sold then it will FALL APART and laugh while ti does it, oh yes it willl

DO NOT TRUST IT, IT IS THE SPAWN OF SATANS ANAL OFFERINGS, IT WILL LULL YOU AND LURE YOU AND WILL NEVER NEVER HOLD ANYTHING EVER
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: sparrow on April 30, 2008, 02:52:04 PM
Errrrrrrrrrr...................E6000, spawn of evil. Got it!  ;D
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: ♥♥Tan♥♥ on April 30, 2008, 05:33:43 PM
PHew, I'm just relieved that I manged to get my point across in a calm yet subtle manner
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: sparrow on April 30, 2008, 05:36:24 PM
LOL :D :D
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: Carol on April 30, 2008, 06:53:03 PM
Soooooo......are you saying that we ought not try E6000 then Tan?  :D
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: Vicki on April 30, 2008, 07:15:35 PM
Quote from: tanok on April 30, 2008, 02:26:28 PM
E6000 dont fricking go near that product of the devil, nothing works, its evil stuff, designed to hold just enough until its sold then it will FALL APART and laugh while ti does it, oh yes it willl

DO NOT TRUST IT, IT IS THE SPAWN OF SATANS ANAL OFFERINGS, IT WILL LULL YOU AND LURE YOU AND WILL NEVER NEVER HOLD ANYTHING EVER

so your not keen then Tan :D
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: fionaess on May 21, 2008, 12:55:31 PM
I have a friend who does a ton of dichroic jewellery, I was talking to him on Saturday and he was telling me he uses a glue that costs around £30 a pot, takes around 5 days to cure, but really works... Do you want me to find out which one he uses, I wasn't interested because of the cost.
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: julieHB on May 21, 2008, 01:48:02 PM
Definetely, Fiona, that would be great!!  :)
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: fionaess on May 21, 2008, 02:14:28 PM
Ok, will do, he's on holiday atm, but I'll give him a ring when he gets back... just hope I remember.. If I don't could you remind me please Julie.
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: julieHB on May 21, 2008, 02:35:32 PM
Will do, and Thanks  :-*
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: Funky Cow on May 21, 2008, 03:01:09 PM
Buy a glass drill, make 'oles in 'em, firepolish 'em and wire 'em up! NOTHING has passed the Cathryn wrench test. So I've given up on glue  >:(
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: Maikki on May 26, 2008, 03:23:14 PM
I read somewhere they are actually glueing aeroplanes together and then they are making fake nails (or whatever they are screws) that people trust to fly. So there are some hi tech glue that stands hot, cold, wet and pressure, I guess... maybe not E6000 anyway.
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: HedgelandsGlassLas on May 28, 2008, 07:31:27 AM
I'll chip in here - I use Scotchweld 3M which is a two part epoxy. It cost £23 when I started nearly 3 years ago when I first started with dichroic pendants. It is very good. I've had one thing come back to me after a year of hard use (bag/key ring) that was bounced on the floor. Cab was fine. I re glued it.

It takes a while to cure but you can speed that by putting in a cold oven and heating it to 150deg C for a half hour or so. I've tested some bails so hard they have bent and glue has still stuck - just try getting the blighters off when they've dried wonky!

Anyway - tips - (many of these already mentioned)
- mix bigger amounts than you need so you get the proper proportions of the two epoxies
- mix well and then mix again
- limit the numbers of things you are glueing to what you can do in 15 minutes
- don't put too much glue on the bail surface a thin layer will do
- rough up the cab and the bail and clean with rubbing alcohol after

-put in the oven to cure after the bail has stopped moving! I put one lot in early and they shifted

Now I am always looking for alternative glues so I can understand that you might not want to spend £23+ on it. I don't know how many cabs you are planning to do but I've done hundreds and I'm only half way through the tube despite having that sinking feeling when I have to wipe away the stuff I don't use. I only once mixed the exact amount of glue I needed but it was a bigger lot than I normally glue in one go.

You have to be prepared for failures. I had one whole tray bounce on the carpet once and most of the bails popped off! This was before a show - I was glad it happened when I still had them. I knew why it had happened too. I'd got lax in my methods (was an old hand already!) so I am extra careful all the time now.

Hey - wake up you guys!
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: fionaess on June 08, 2008, 12:19:19 PM
I spoke to my friend and he uses the same glue  Scotchweld 3M - so now you have 2 recommendations :)
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: sparrow on June 08, 2008, 12:25:52 PM
Well, I bit the bullet and bought a two-part epoxy thing (not scotchweld, though, I think). I glued my sisters birthday present and cabs to clip-on earrings for a friend - both are under strict instructions to tell me if anything goes wrong.
Title: Re: Glue to bond silver & glass
Post by: jazzylily on June 17, 2008, 01:15:34 PM
I use Aradite (two part and clear) never had a problem and is easlily avilable and cheap!
Tip when using - I mix the two part of glue with a cocktail stick on a sheet of glass
then use the cocktail stick to apply the glue to the silver findings.

Good luck