Has anyone out there had much experience with the 3M super-adhesive
foam tape (sold by Rio Grande) which can be used instead of solder
for fastening pin-backs and other findings to jewelry? Does it work
well? Judy Bjorkman
Has anyone out there had much experience with the 3M super-adhesive foam tape (sold by Rio Grande) which can be used instead of solder for fastening pin-backs and other findings to jewelry? Does it work well? Judy Bjorkman
Judy, I’ve used it to put a pin back on a pewter ornament so it
could be used as a pin. The pin device was one that had a flat
rectangular base with the pin stem on one end and the catch at the
other. I used the 3m adhesive that was cut in little strips. It
worked very well. Annette
3M Tape, this brings up an interesting question, at least to me.
How does tape work? I know what it does but how does it do it?
James
Annette, did it look like it would hold up over the years? My
thought on it would be that while the adhesive might be permanent, as
they say; “foam” materials generally tend to decompose pretty
quickly. Or is this some different sort of “foam” material?
Margaret
Margaret, there are foams, and then there are foams. The consumer
stuff in the hardware store used to put up posters is cheap with a
short life. 3M also produces some which give a bond that’s truely
amazing. Some of these products have pretty much replaced rivits in
aircraft manufacturing, for doing things like attaching the aluminum
skins of the wings and body to the underlying structures. Stronger
than rivits, vibration resistant, and don’t cause stress cracks at
rivit holes. I’m told the foam tapes of this type can have a longer
life expectancy than the whole rest of the airframe, which can fail
from eventual metal fatigue well before the foams do. I tried a
small sample of one once. Amazing stuff. The bond to clean metal
was instant, and once applied, I could not get it off no matter what
I did, without going to extremes that was going to destroy the metal
too. Only real way to get it off was strong heating. there may have
been solvents that would do it, but nothing I had would touch the
stuff. I seem to recall reading that the insulating tiles on the
space shuttle are also affixed with such things…
Peter
3M also produces some which give a bond that's truly amazing. I tried a small sample of one once. Amazing stuff. I seem to recall reading that the insulating tiles on the space shuttle are also affixed with such things.
That application would certainly test the temperature extremes: the
deep cold of space and the unbelievable heat of atmosphere re-entry
on shuttle’s return to earth!
Do you think 3M might make samples or small quantities available to
jewelers? What is the name of the stuff?
Pam Chott
songofthephoenix@pobox.com
www.songofthephoenix.com
That application would certainly test the temperature extremes: the deep cold of space and the unbelievable heat of atmosphere re-entry on shuttle's return to earth!
Cold, yes perhaps, but less than you’d think. The shuttle body
itself is radiating internal heat (why they need those door open to
get rid of excess heat). Vacuum itself is neither hot nor cold.
space itself doesn’t have a temperature. The inner surface of the
tiles is extraordinarily well insulated, and will retain some of the
heat from the shuttle body quite well. And the tape side of the
tiles doesn’t get that warm during reentry. These tiles are amazing
things. pull one from the furnace at a bright glow, wait for the
outer surface to chill for a moment, and though the interior is still
glowing brightly, you can pick it up with your fingers. it’s THAT
good an insulator.
Do you think 3M might make samples or small quantities available to jewelers? What is the name of the stuff?
Don’t know. A fellow I worked with, a former senior exec at Kodak,
had gotton some to play with. He had the pull to get samples.
Whether an ordinary jeweler could do it, I don’t know. But 3M is
courting jewelers these days, so who knows. A warning: As I recall,
this stuff was VERY expensive, and you couldn’t buy only small
quantities.
Peter
A while ago on Orchid someone mentioned that if you go to Boeing’s
site where they sell surplus items, sometimes they have surplus
pieces of the tile material. Makes a wonderful soldering block, I
understand.
Janet Kofoed
Dear Janet, I don’t recall how this string went from double stick
tape to soldering board…what a wicked web we weave ! Nonetheless
, your reference to soldering boards caused me to share something
that I just recently discovered.
Last week the owner of my building had the exterior recovered with a
new product called Harde board ( don’t trust the spelling ) The
stuff comes in long strips and is about 3/8" thick by 8" wide. It is
applied horizontally using the shiplap method. It is completely
impervious to water AND is also highly resistant to heat. I have
been using it as a soldering board and wonder how I ever got along
without it ! I think the stuff is also sold in something like three
by five foot sheets where it may be used as a wall heat shield or as
a waterproof backing for shower and bath applications. Needless to
say I glombed onto a ton of the stuff. ( I picked up all the scraps
) Home depot sells it. It is quite reasonable. Ron at Mills Gem, Los Osos, CA
Approximately 20 years ago while living in the San Francisco area a
fellow jeweler showed me what was purported to be tile material from
a space shuttle. He used it as a soldering block. One could solder
on this material which was of a consistancy that you could use pins
to hold what was to be soldered and yet hold the block in your hand
at the same time. We thought this would be a wonderful tool for
jewelers. This was at a time when the govt was touting all the new
product development that the space program was producing and the
govt wanted individuals to bring these into the marketplace as a
general public benefit. I called NASA and they treated me as though
I were a spy after top secret stuff. Never the less I was very
impressed by this material. And if someone knows where it can be
purchased I would like to know. KPK