# Found some bling at the craft store



## chartle (Dec 30, 2015)

They actually called this Bling.

Its a sheet of sequins about the thickness of a penny on a black mesh.

I'll have to see how well it wraps around a black seirra tube. I'll them cast in PR.


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## skiprat (Dec 30, 2015)

OK, this may be a really stupid question, but if you cast them in clear resin, will you see them afterwards?:biggrin:


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## Terredax (Dec 30, 2015)

Wouldn't you end up cutting into them when you turn down the blank? Seems like they will protrude too far and get cut off.


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## chartle (Dec 30, 2015)

skiprat said:


> OK, this may be a really stupid question, but if you cast them in clear resin, will you see them afterwards?:biggrin:



I'll have to see if I wasted $2.95.


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## skiprat (Dec 30, 2015)

Cliff, sure they were cheap...but to prevent wasting your resin, a tube and your time, can you put them in a glass of water? if you can see them ok, then cool, go ahead and cast them. Either way, have some fun. :biggrin:


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## PR_Princess (Dec 30, 2015)

Ha! Cliff, I see that you have been bitten by the bug. Everything that you see, you'll now wonder how it will look as a pen!

I have never tried casting crystals before. But, as a guess I would think that you will be able to see them in the blank OK, just that they will loose a lot of their "bling". The resin will most likely alter the index of refraction; the light waves will still enter, they just won't bounce around all that much... But this is a guess!!!

I would suggest using a Sierra Vista as a kit though. It will give you a bit more more thickness to make sure that you won't hit the glass when you turn down the blank.

Most importantly of all, as Skip said.... have fun!!


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## Brian G (Dec 30, 2015)

I cast some faux bling and foil that I haven't turned.  Might be a good project for me to finish tomorrow! 

Dawn is correct to suggest the Sierra Vista for the component set.  I measured the thickness of a penny as 0.055" and the diameter of a Sierra tube at 0.409".  A full wrap of your bling will add 0.110" to the diameter of the tube, which means that the pre-casted blank will _start_ at about 0.519".  That's larger than the typical diameter of a Sierra component set.

The lower diameter for a Sierra Vista component is about 0.524".  As long as you don't cover the entire length of the tube with the bling, you _might_ have enough coverage of the PR so that you don't cut into the bling.


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## magpens (Dec 31, 2015)

Yep ! As Dawn said, whatever I see I imagine it turned into a pen !!! Seems you and I are in the same mode, Cliff.

Anyway, I was going to suggest using a Sierra Vista kit also, but that has already been suggested.

Have fun and be sure to show us the result, please !!!

BTW, it sounds like Dawn knows some Physics !!!! :wink:


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## magpens (Dec 31, 2015)

skiprat said:


> OK, this may be a really stupid question, but if you cast them in clear resin, will you see them afterwards?





skiprat said:


> Cliff, sure they were cheap...but to prevent wasting your resin, a tube and your time, can you put them in a glass of water? if you can see them ok, then cool, go ahead and cast them.





PR_Princess said:


> I have never tried casting crystals before. But, as a guess I would think that you will be able to see them in the blank OK, just that they will loose a lot of their "bling". The resin will most likely alter the index of refraction; the light waves will still enter, they just won't bounce around all that much... But this is a guess!!!



These posts raise a very good point. . Those "sequins" look to be made of glass. . They may have a "silver"-coated back, but apart from that they are transparent. . For glass to be visible when immersed in a transparent medium, there must be a significant difference in the refractive indexes of the glass and the medium. . Glass has a refractive index of about 1.5, while water has a refractive index of about 1.33. . So the glass "sequin" will almost certainly be visible when immersed in water. . But when immersed in clear acrylic, which also has a refractive index of about 1.5, the glass "sequin" may not be very visible. . It depends on how different the indexes of refraction are. . I read an article that states that if the indexes of refraction differ by more than 0.04 the transparent object will be (barely) visible in the surrounding transparent medium.

I also read that the index of refraction of the resin depends on how the resin is mixed. . So, you may or may not see your "sequins" after they are cast in resin. . I think you probably will but perhaps only barely.

You're on the brink of discovery, Cliff ! . Do the experiment and publish a paper in the Journal of Optics !!

(But you probably should use the word "indices" rather than "indexes" when you write your paper !)

OK, I am finished being pedantic ... back to making pens ! . I'll be interested in the results of your research, Cliff.


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## chartle (Dec 31, 2015)

Well not sure right now what they are made of but will check in a few minutes once a can get to the basement. Also I'll mix up an oz of PR and see what it looks like before I attach it to a tube.


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## chartle (Dec 31, 2015)

*Update*

Ok tried to figure out what these are made of. Squeezed one with some pliers and nothing. It just kind of squished.

Not plastic not glass, concave plastic sequins pushed into a black cup.

I see two problems, first it's all plastic so may melt and I see those cups just trapping tons of bubbles since I don't use pressure or vacuum.


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## Brian G (Dec 31, 2015)

I think refraction will be the least of your worries.

I used the following faux bling in some castings.  It's a resin affixed to an adhesive backing.  



The thickness of the "bling" is about 0.07", so doubling it added 0.14" onto the diameter of the Sierra tube.

I used HVAC foil, painted with Testor's model paint, and cast in PR to make these:



Here's a closer look at the blue version:



I chose to use the Sierra Vista component, hoping that I could keep a nice barrel shape without cutting into the resin bling.

Fail:



I figured that I would try again, thinking that if I tried keeping the barrel a little larger, I would have success

Fail:



You can see where the resin bling is starting to peek through.

Unless you choose an overly large barrel, you'll likely run into the same problem.  This could result in a heavy pen that might not appeal to those that  like bling-y pens.  Furthermore, the thinness of the PR covering the bling will be fragile and likely crack.  I was able to push the pin into the bling and wreck the blank without much effort.

My experience has convinced me to abandon this idea, but you might have better luck.


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## plantman (Dec 31, 2015)

Cliff; I have made quite a few pens with crystals added to them without problems. Two main items to consider. 1 Use only quality   ( Swarovski ) flat back crystals that need to be glued on. 2 After gluing the crystals to your tube, take measurements with a calipers and write them down. This will let you know how far you can turn down the blank after casting. Or, you could just by colored crystals. Or, you could use alcohol ink/dye to color the crystals you have. I have looked at these bling crystals at the craft store several times before, and shied away from them, think the cheaper backing would peal off or the plastic would melt or deform if any type of heat were applied. I would test them by coating them with a good covering of thin CA and adding accelerator to see what happens to them.    Jim  S


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## chartle (Dec 31, 2015)

plantman said:


> Cliff; I have made quite a few pens with crystals added to them without problems. Two main items to consider. 1 Use only quality   ( Swarovski ) flat back crystals that need to be glued on. 2 After gluing the crystals to your tube, take measurements with a calipers and write them down. This will let you know how far you can turn down the blank after casting. Or, you could just by colored crystals. Or, you could use alcohol ink/dye to color the crystals you have. I have looked at these bling crystals at the craft store several times before, and shied away from them, think the cheaper backing would peal off or the plastic would melt or deform if any type of heat were applied. I would test them by coating them with a good covering of thin CA and adding accelerator to see what happens to them.    Jim  S



Did you see my post above? They are not crystals.


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## plantman (Dec 31, 2015)

chartle said:


> plantman said:
> 
> 
> > Cliff; I have made quite a few pens with crystals added to them without problems. Two main items to consider. 1 Use only quality   ( Swarovski ) flat back crystals that need to be glued on. 2 After gluing the crystals to your tube, take measurements with a calipers and write them down. This will let you know how far you can turn down the blank after casting. Or, you could just by colored crystals. Or, you could use alcohol ink/dye to color the crystals you have. I have looked at these bling crystals at the craft store several times before, and shied away from them, think the cheaper backing would peal off or the plastic would melt or deform if any type of heat were applied. I would test them by coating them with a good covering of thin CA and adding accelerator to see what happens to them.    Jim  S
> ...



Yes I saw the post above. That's why I said to use quality crystals, and test the ones you have now before wasting a lot of time with them.  Jim  S


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## chartle (Jan 30, 2016)

Just remembered I never came back here.

I mixed up some Silmar (?) and poured some over a small piece and ....

major fail :frown:

Looked like nothing. I guess it didn't help that they really were not crystals but small sequins.


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