The most common material used to make beads is thermoplastic transparent plastic, colloquially called plexiglass. The popularity of this material is most likely due to its availability. In addition, it is quite easy to make something from plexiglass.
How to make a plexiglass rosary
To make a rosary from plexiglass, you need a minimum of tools: a hacksaw for metal or a jigsaw. The most convenient size for each link is 1 cm wide and 2 cm long. The extreme links, if you want to make a rosary, should be heavier than the rest.
Through holes are drilled from each edge in the links, retreating approximately 2 mm from the edge. In the future, a thread will be passed through them. In the extreme links, the hole must be made not along, but across. We make two more along the already drilled holes. The rosary is collected by threading the thread through all the holes. It is most convenient to use a nylon thread threaded into a needle.
How to draw inside the rosary links
Usually, to give different colors to the plexiglass links, they are painted with brilliant green, iodine, potassium permanganate and other simple dyes that are always at hand. If you have enough experience or dexterity, the links can be made different in shape. Inside the rosary itself, inserts of various configurations can be placed.
To do this, the desired pattern or pattern is cut out in the links. After that, the surface around such patterns is polished and paint of the desired color is poured into them. Then the two links are glued to each other, and the resulting rosary links are connected together using the same nylon thread. It is best to glue the elements of the rosary with dichloroethane. However, this chemical compound must be handled with care due to its increased volatility.
The ornament on the surface of the rosary links is usually engraved. This is most often done with a rotating steel cutter or bur, attached to the end of a small motor. The number of teeth in such a cutter should be 10-36, and the rotation speed should be 2200 rpm. It will also be useful to stock up on a set of drills in the amount of 6-8 pieces. Often, a counter-relief is cut from the reverse side. As a result, the drawing looks three-dimensional.
Methods for staining plexiglass
There are many ways to paint plexiglass. For example, using aniline dye and soluble alcohol. The first, in an amount of 0.5 grams, is dissolved in alcohol, and then poured into an enamel bath. The dishes are placed in boiling water. Because the boiling point of alcohol is 70 ° C, the solution will heat up rather quickly. The elements of the plexiglass product are preheated in boiling water. Then it is dipped into a bath with a dye, which penetrates so deep into the glass that it does not lend itself to washing out.
