Hi,
regarding the use ofthermoplastic to hold a bezel while setting a 6mm faceted ethiopian welo opal…
i would need to heat the thermoplastic to release the bezel, after setting…
would this be unwise?
any suggestions on hot to apply heat safely…warm water?…heat gun far away?…
julie
I use warm water with mine.
Back into the same water that you softened it in and heat it up just until you can remove the thermoloc. I find that, once it is soft, you pick out what you can and then wait a bit and it will peel off in larger pieces. Use a large pin to get it out of tight spaces…Rob
Hi,
ok…i remembered the saran wrap technique…
where i wrapped 2 small cubes in saran wrap, and tgen sandwiched the bezel in between while moderately soft
then i put this unit into my ball vice, not too tightly, and waited for it to harden, where a 2 piece fixture resulted…conforms to bezel, without embedding bezel…
julie
I always release opal pieces from the thermoplastic with water from an InSinkErator instant hot water dispenser. That water is at 170°F.
Hi Gary,
ok, thank you. I was worried hot hot water might damage the opal.
julir
I’ve got to try this Saran Wrap trick! Thanks for the tip!!
Jeff
A story…
I mount small opal preforms on brass rods with superglue when cutting. When finished, I heat the brass rods with a butane torch about 15mm below the opal. After maybe 10 seconds or so I grab the opal with my free hand and pull it off. It’s just a little warm at that point.
However one day, while releasing a white base opal from the rod, I must have been daydreaming. I grabbed it and yelled as it came off — Ouch!! — dropping it immediately. I had a 2nd degree burn on my left index finger. That meant that the opal was close to 212°F or possibly higher. And the opal was just fine.
Fantastic idea!
