Using plumber's putty for hollow beads

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi,

I would like to make some hollow silver beads. I read that, after I
solder two half domes, I need to fill the bead with a substance known
as plumber’s putty., to prevent the bead from collapsing. Can anyone
tell me exactly what this is - and can anyone in Israel give me the
Hebrew name for it? Or, can I use another substance?

Thanx and keep shining,

Devora

2

Devora, I make hollow silver beads of many different sizes using
silver as thin as 30 gauge for the smaller ones and 28gauge for the
larger ones. I have never had any collapse, so I am puzzled as to
why your believe your beads need to be filled with putty or any other
substance.

Alma

3

I have never heard of this. It sounds as if they have been using
sheet that is too thin. Plumber’s putty sounds as if it would never
get hard.

marilyn

4

I haven’t heard of using it inside beads, either. Marilyn is right –
it doesn’t ever fully harden. It’s the stuff you use to seat faucets
and the like. It seems almost oily to me. Definitely not something
I’d use inside jewelry components.

Jennie

5

Perhaps Ronda Coryell could chime in on this. When I took her
granulation class at Revere, she showed us some hollow pieces that
were filled with plumber’s putty. If I remember correctly, there
were granulated and/or chased, so were probably done with fairly thin
metal.

Bonnie Cooper

6

I’ve been taught by two different teachers (Lynn Hull and Virginia
Causey) to make hollow beads, and neither one said anything about
filling them with anything.

Have you had any issues with your beads collapsing? I’m a firm
believer in “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”. :slight_smile:

7

Is this plumber’s putty or water putty? Plumber’s putty doesn’t ever
harden completely, but water putty, such as Durham’s Rock Hard, does
harden. It it also used by plumbers and such, but for different
jobs. It’s available at hardware stores, easy to mix and easy to use.
Kinda heavy, though.

RC

8 
Is this plumber's putty or water putty? Plumber's putty doesn't
ever harden completely, but water putty, such as Durham's Rock
Hard, does harden. It it also used by plumbers and such, but for
different jobs. It's available at hardware stores, easy to mix and
easy to use. Kinda heavy, though.

I have used Man-in-a-Can also known as Rock Hard Water Putty by
Durham for forming and making hollow ware moulds, bead cores, etc.
The trick is to lighten it with the addition of gypsum available at a
painters supply. It is a sparkely looking flake that is added to
plaster to lighten it, and works similarly with Rock Hard putty. The
putty sets quite fast though and use only the minimum necessary in a
batch. You may add a bit of vinegar to it to slow down the hardening
time but too much and it can leave air pockets if poured. Buy the
finest grit gypsum flake you can find if you want to go that route.