<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Here's a reply I got from a friend who uses embedded insects in her jewelry designs:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><div>Here’s a few things that might be helpful to this team.</div><div><br></div><div>-make
certain the insects are fully dried before embedding. I used to air
dry them for a few weeks to make sure they were free of moisture. This
will be difficult with soft bodied insects of course but in that case I
would keep them in an alcohol solution and then dry them out on a paper
towel right before embedding.</div><div><br></div><div>-I used
polyester resin. The upside of this is that you can shape and sand the
material to a high polish. This type of resin is better for large pours
as you can control the amount of catalyst and resulting heat. The
downside is it’s toxicity and trickiness to work with (amounts of
catalyst are very important-if you cure too quickly you can get cracking
and air bubbles). I would pour a catalyzed layer of resin in the
bottom of a container, wait for the resin to get to a gel state, place
my insect on that layer and wait for it to cure for about an hour. Once
the insect was stuck in that layer I would pour the top layer so there
were no concerns about the insect floating away. I’d wait 24hrs for the
resin to fully cure and then draw a shape out, grind and sand the
piece. I ground on a disc grinder, then used various layers of
sandpaper by hand and finally <span class="" style="" id=":13d.1" tabindex="-1">Brasso</span> (brass polish) to achieve a high
polish on the final piece. </div><div><br></div><div>-a vacuum chamber
set up is ideal for removing any air bubbles from the resin/insect. I
used a more <span class="" style="" id=":13d.2" tabindex="-1">diy</span> method and just tapped and the container so that the air
bubbles would rise to the surface. This is sort of a gamble though and
air bubbles may end up in the finished product. </div><div><br></div><div>I
hope this helps. If they have any further questions, don’t hesitate to
contact me and I’ll try to help. It’s been years and years since I’ve
done this so my memory might not be the best;)</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div>Mikel</div><div class="gmail-yj6qo gmail-ajU"><div id="gmail-:uo" class="gmail-ajR" tabindex="0"><img class="gmail-ajT" src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif"></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Steve <span class="" style="" id=":13d.3" tabindex="-1">Halford</span> (<a href="mailto:halford@sfu.ca" target="_blank"><span class="" style="" id=":13d.4" tabindex="-1">halford</span>@<span class="" style="" id=":13d.5" tabindex="-1">sfu</span>.ca</a>)<br>Museum Technician (Retired) <br>Department of Biological Sciences<br>Simon Fraser University<br><br></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 4, 2017 at 10:17 AM, Lena Hernandez <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:LHernandez@themosh.org" target="_blank"><span class="" style="" id=":13d.6" tabindex="-1">LHernandez</span>@<span class="" style="" id=":13d.7" tabindex="-1">themosh</span>.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hi all, <u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I had a question come in from our education folks. They would like use some of those insects preserved in clear acrylic for a program. The issue is they are having difficulty finding the exact species they need, so they decided to try making
their own with the help of our exhibits team. Has anyone done this before? The few instructions that they have found online did not result in the nicest looking finished product.
<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If anyone has any pointers or links to references on how to make these, it would be most appreciated!<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lena<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lena Hernandez<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Collections Manager & Registrar<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Museum of Science & History<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1025 Museum Circle<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jacksonville, FL 32207<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="tel:(904)%20396-6674" value="+19043966674" target="_blank">(904)396-6674 x212</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:lhernandez@themosh.org" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext">lhernandez@themosh.org</span></a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
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<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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