Question: Norland 61 - advice and methodology?

Hi -
I am about to finish a project I am working on and will be getting to the stage of needing to set the trits in place.
I have made a ring of titanium with fins that have a 1.5mm gap between them. (E.g. F-F-F where F=Fin and -=Gap)

I have some questions about trit vial durability and suggestions on installing these. There will be 12 or so trits installed horizontally to the fins (holes drilled through the fins thus surrounding the vial in each of the fins) and the vial will be approximately 0.5 to 1.0mm from the outer edge of the fin (so not very deep)

1. Do you think the vial needs to be surrounded by Norland to properly protect it during daily use? (on finger, in pocket, on keychain)
2. If "No" to #1 then would I just use enough Norland to coat the ends of the vials?
3. If "Yes" to #1 then how do you suggest going about filling these channels on a cylindrical object?
4. Lastly - Is it possible to sand down and polish Norland without losing it's optical qualities? (i.e. overfilling and then using a polishing wheel to smooth to the metal and polish out)

Thanks very much in advance for any thoughts you have.
I plan on using a couple of black lights to do the curing, though could order something specific if I need to set things quicker than the BL would allow.

Best,
Todd

Bump - advice please?

sionnach said:

Hi -
I am about to finish a project I am working on and will be getting to the stage of needing to set the trits in place.
I have made a ring of titanium with fins that have a 1.5mm gap between them. (E.g. F-F-F where F=Fin and -=Gap)

I have some questions about trit vial durability and suggestions on installing these. There will be 12 or so trits installed horizontally to the fins (holes drilled through the fins thus surrounding the vial in each of the fins) and the vial will be approximately 0.5 to 1.0mm from the outer edge of the fin (so not very deep)

1. Do you think the vial needs to be surrounded by Norland to properly protect it during daily use? (on finger, in pocket, on keychain)
2. If "No" to #1 then would I just use enough Norland to coat the ends of the vials?
3. If "Yes" to #1 then how do you suggest going about filling these channels on a cylindrical object?
4. Lastly - Is it possible to sand down and polish Norland without losing it's optical qualities? (i.e. overfilling and then using a polishing wheel to smooth to the metal and polish out)

Thanks very much in advance for any thoughts you have.
I plan on using a couple of black lights to do the curing, though could order something specific if I need to set things quicker than the BL would allow.

Best,
Todd

Click to expand...

Hi Sionnach,

1. If you surround the trits entirely (eg. drown them in NOA61) they will appear smaller due to the refraction that occurs, but it will give much better protection as the walls of the trits are usually thin and can easily fracture if they drop or hit something that could make contact with them (though the chance may be remote).
If you plan on carrying this around daily and there's a chance it could drop, then I would drown them in the NOA but its really just personal preference.

3. Using a syringe or pippette works well. You can probably get either from a chemist/drug store.
In case the syringe is not thin enough, you can use a thin straw or plastic tube that usually comes with a small can of spray-on lubricant like WD 40, etc... and use the NOA to seal it onto the syringe.

4. If you sand down the NOA, you will most likely destroy the finish and optical clarity.
It may be possible in theory to get the clear finish back but practically speaking, you may as well just call it impossible.

In case you need any more help, photo's etc, feel free to ask.

Tgwnn