Push the ring into Blu-tac at the bottom of one of the domes in
a brass doming block. Just add water. You need to use a high heat
torch, which I don’t have, by the way 8-(
OK, Brian, for those of us in the U.S., what is Blu-tac and what
is its purpose? Is there an acceptable substitute we can use?
K.P.
Oops, sorry. I thought this was an American invention! It’s a
blue gummy goo re-useable adhesive that is partly moldable with
your fingers (like, er, chewing gum?) into a ball or strip and
used to stick things like posters on the wall, etc. Will hold
light articles in position. Photographers use it. You can
sometimes see the Blu-tac, under the jewellery holding the piece
at a favourable angle, in artist’s photos of their own work. Can
be peeled off the wall and mixed together and re-used. It leaves
an oily residue on porous surfaces.
Maybe it called something different. Brian
– B r i a n =A0 A d a m J e w e l l e r y E y e w e a r =A0
@Brian_Adam1 ph/fx +64 9 817 6816 NEW ZEALAND
http://www.adam.co.nz/workshop/brochu.htm brochure
Kathy,
I think what he meant was any one of the sticky gums that can be
used to mount lightweight objects to walls. It’s marketed in
stationery stores (or in the supermarket on the stationery aisle)
under various names: FunTak, StickTac, Blu-Tac (these are from
memory, and not necessarily the actual tradename). It feels like
a tackier version of a kneadable eraser. Usually there is a white
version, which is less sticky than the blue version. The blue
version is supposedly “heavy-duty” and can pull the paint off
walls. I used it in college to put posters up in lieu of tacks
or nails.
Some jewelers use it to mount jewelry for display, or to anchor
stones to a benchtop, since it leaves less residue than beeswax.
Hope that helps.
Kat Tanaka
@Katherine_Tanaka
I’m not brian, of course, but I can help you with U.S. sources.
Try almost any office supply store, and many drug stores as well,
in with the pens, pencils, tapes, and specifically, the area
where they have the sort of products people use to put posters on
the wall without damaging the landlords paint job. The blue tac
is a material that looks like gummy blue clay, it’s labeled blu
tac, just as brian says, it’s it’s generally sold to put posters
on the wall or anywhere else such a temporaty tacky adhesive is
of use. I use it as a stone pick up tool, seems to stay a little
cleaner on my bench than a bit of sticky wax does, and it’s color
makes it quicker to find too. It’s also useful in photo work, as
a tiny bit under the bottom of the shank of a ring can stand the
ring up nicely erect on your background surface without showing
a visible means of support in the photo. (Another interesting
method to do this is to solder an earring post, tie tac, or
similar bit of wire on the bottom of the ring shank. Lets you
just stick the ring into cork or sand, or through cardboard etc,
for the photo setup, and it’s easy enough to cut off afterward.)
Peter Rowe
Orchid Digest Post:
Re: Blu-tacFrom: Amery Elizabeth Carriere carriere@almaak.usc.edu
Brian, you are not mistaken, it is an American invention. My mom
gave it to me and my sister when we were kids to hang stuff on
the walls instead of tape, which peels off paint and tacks. -amery
From: “David D. Arens” gemstonesetc@gci-net.com
Check at craft stores or some flower shops. It’s available all
over the US, wouln’t suprise me to find it in a hardware store
too. Dave
From: Jan MacLellan jmaclellan@intergate.bc.ca
We call it mineral tack. It’s similar to silly putty and is
also available from places that sell picture hangers in another
colour (beige?) and is called something else.