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attaching hangers to christmas ornaments

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 8:10 pm
by joan
I previously posted the following under another topic:
I've been doing a lot of Christmas ornaments, but I'm not sure about the best way to hang them. I am only using single thickness glass with design elements because I want to make them as simple as possible so I can sell them at a reasonable price. Some of the things I've tried for hanging the ornaments were to fuse some nichrome wire for hangers. This worked well, but I had to use a second layer of glass. Then I tried glueing the hooks on with E6000. This didn't work, I was able to pull the hooks off with little effort. I also tried glueing with silicone glue, and this seemed to work best, but is messy. I've drilled holes in the tops. This also works well but is really time consuming. Does anyone have a better method for applying hangers to single thickness ornaments?
Thanks Tony for your suggestion of using copper wire and a small piece of glass on top of the wire. I'll try it.
Just wondering if there are other suggestions.
Joan

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 8:33 pm
by Nancy
try cutting a tiny piece of fiber paper and leaning a small strip of clear glass on it like a see-saw. use a tiny bit of glue. after fusing you will have a little bridge of clear glass attached to the top of the ornament face. just pull out the fiber paper and thread the "hole" under the bridge with ribbon. maybe that will work?

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 10:46 pm
by Bob
Joan,

Try placing a "U" shaped hanger made by bending wire directly on the shelf. Put your single piece of glass directly on top with a small opening in the "U" not covered by glass. Take to full fuse. The glass should stick to the metal... it has for the hundreds on ornaments I made for my Christmas tree.

Cheers,

Bob

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 8:45 pm
by Hugo Gavarini
For Christmas ornaments would it be sensible to use 1/32 of an inch diameter nichrome or copper wire for the U shaped hanger?. Do someone have any suggestion?.

Thank you,

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 9:05 pm
by Brad Walker
Hugo Gavarini wrote:For Christmas ornaments would it be sensible to use 1/32 of an inch diameter nichrome or copper wire for the U shaped hanger
Nichrome, not copper.

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 9:59 pm
by Bob
Hi Hugo,

I have used copper wire but it oxidizes and becomes brittle. They are more prone to breaking off. If you do use copper I think something thicker that 1/32" would be necessary. I used copper wire (on a spool) that I bought in a craft store. I works most of the time.

If the piece has any weight to it I would use nichrome as Brad suggests (ain't he always right!) and I would make certain the wire was firmly bonded to the glass... might need a thin glass cover.

Cheers,

Bob

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 10:52 pm
by Hugo Gavarini
Thank you friends