Mixing dental compounds

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi Folks, Somewhere along the lines I picked up some instructions
from a fellow named Derek Levin, describing the use of alginate and
Van-Rock, two dental materials, to create forms for making settings
for unusually shaped faceted stones. I was able to purchase some of
each from a local dental supply house, but the Van-Rock did not come
with mixing instructions. I could probably come up with a good
proportion through trial and error, but can anyone actually advise
me? And a follow up question… is tap water okay, or is this a good
time to use distilled? You out there, Skip Meister?

Thanks in advance,
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans’ Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com
http://www.CarolinaArtisans.com

2 
   the Van-Rock did not come with mixing instructions. I could
probably come up with a good proportion through trial and error, but
can anyone actually advise me? And a follow up question... is tap
water okay, or is this a good time to use distilled? You out there,
Skip Meister?

Hi Dave, At your service Sahib! I have never heard of Van-Rock, but
I am assuming, with a name like that, that it is some sort of dental
stone… I just spent 2 hrs. searching and here is what I found:
Van R Dental | 600 E. Hueneme Rd., Oxnard, CA 93033 | 800/833-8267 or
805/488-1122 | Fax: 805/488-2266 Call them and ask away. I’m sure
that they will be glad to help you in any way that they can. Ask
them about tap vs. distilled water. I hope that this helps.

Warmest Regards,
Skip

3 
is tap water okay, or is this a good time to use distilled? You out
there, Skip Meister?

Dear Dave, I’m not Skip, just a retired dentist who loves
silversmithing and jewelry making. So I thought I’d add my two cents
to this. I have always used plain tap water for mixing dental
“stone”, but depending upon the hardness of your water, you might
find it necessary to use distilled. Try it without and the results
will guide you. My guess is that tap water should work. I would, at
the beginning of my career, measure everything and weigh the powder,
but after a while one develops a feel for the proper consistency,
and mixing the stuff to a heavy sour cream consistency would give
comparable results.

As to the use of Alginate impression material; there are many more
impression materials having greater accuracy’s and less sensitive to
time between impression taking and model pouring. These are
generically the polyurethane’s, silicones, rubbers, etc. Things
similar to RTV’s used in the casting process.

HTH Joe Dule (retired DDS)

4

Thanks Joe, and Skip!

Sorry to have you chasing your tail, Skip! If I had known you’d
spend a couple hours searching the 'net, I’d have swallowed my pride
and called the supplier back for directions! :slight_smile: Knowing your dental
background, I just assumed you’d be familiar with the stuff. Good to
know you’re still with us! :slight_smile:

The “sour cream” consistency is a perfect guide for me… I know
just what you mean, Joe! Thanks for the guidance!

All the best,

Dave

Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans’ Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com

5

Dave, It was my pleasure. There isn’t much that I can do these days
anyway. It needs to be a bit thicker than sour cream, more like
jello instant pudding. Remember to get the maximum strength, the
stone should cure for 24 hrs in most cases.

Skip