Has anyone ever turned a charm into a concho?

[JerseyFirefighter]

I'm curious to see if anyone has ever turned a necklace charm into a concho. My particular curiosity stems from these two dog collars I am donating to a local PD's K-9s. They have these little badge charms that were given to the officers that had asked if they can be incorporated into the collar. I assume maybe a jewelry repair place might be a good place to look into. Just thinking out loud and wondering if anyone has ever added a screwback onto something similar. Thank you in advance. 

[TLP]

What kind of metal are the charms?  anything other then silver, stainless steel or regular steel will be difficult.  with the mentioned metals they can be silver soldered to a back pin of some kind and instant concho.  with pot metals not so easy,  the pot metal will melt before the solder.  you may be able of epoxy a post to the charm, but it is almost certain to pop off. you might also try to solder to charms to a post with stabrite solder,  a low temp solder for things like pot metal,  but would be iffy in that you still might melt the charms first, but it is probably your best and strongest option.

[JerseyFirefighter]

Thank you for your response. I cant be certain what type of metal it is. Id venture to say its a gold plated steel. I dont suppose its a big deal to omit them from the design, however if it were possible I would have loved to include it. I think its a cool idea to convert certain charms into conchos, but seeing how it isnt so common there is likely a reason for it. Im guessing your answer would be one of the main culprits. 

Edited April 8, 2017 by JerseyFirefighter

[RockyAussie]

19 hours ago, JerseyFirefighter said:

I'm curious to see if anyone has ever turned a necklace charm into a concho. My particular curiosity stems from these two dog collars I am donating to a local PD's K-9s. They have these little badge charms that were given to the officers that had asked if they can be incorporated into the collar. I assume maybe a jewelry repair place might be a good place to look into. Just thinking out loud and wondering if anyone has ever added a screwback onto something similar. Thank you in advance. 

I have had badges made with screw backs and also the 2 piece speedy rivets but the base metal was brass. The speedy rivet ones first time made got soldered on and the solder filled up the stem. They would not compress down together and most got thrown out.Second time on they were careful not to let the solder go up the stem and they worked alright.

[JerseyFirefighter]

On 4/8/2017 at 5:53 AM, RockyAussie said:

I have had badges made with screw backs and also the 2 piece speedy rivets but the base metal was brass. The speedy rivet ones first time made got soldered on and the solder filled up the stem. They would not compress down together and most got thrown out.Second time on they were careful not to let the solder go up the stem and they worked alright.

Thanks. Could you elaborate on who "they" were by chance. 

[RockyAussie]

9 hours ago, JerseyFirefighter said:

Thanks. Could you elaborate on who "they" were by chance. 

The screw posts I did myself but the rivet badges I had made up by M&L badges as in this link.http://www.mandl.com.au/

Based in Western Australia.

[JerseyFirefighter]

That's pretty cool. Im sure I can find a US variant, but I always wanted to a extra custom project like that. Thank you. 

[gainesvilleman]

I have used Chicago screws, and metal weld ( you knead the two eliments together) let sit for a few days and it worked well for me...

[MelissaBekkum]

No to interrupt, but JB Weld and a chicago screw would work to make a brass pendant a concho? How sturdy would it be? You might have just made my week!  TIA!

Melissa

[TLP]

did you ever check to see if the charms were magnetic?  if so could silver solder.  if brass bronze or copper also could silver solder,  anything else would not try to solder.  And not to be negative but epoxies like jb weld will not hold up over the long run. (My old jewelry teachers would have  fit if I suggested its use) the only sure connection is to use solder or a mechanical connection  (ie rivet)

 

 

[Chief Filipino]

I have experimented with making conchos out of quarters. I used "Alpha fry" non electrical repair solder and flux kit. I domed the quarters, brushed flux on it, cut off a tiny bit of the solder into the quarter, torched it, let it melt, then stuck the chicago screw in. It seems fairly sturdy though I haven't had a project to put it on as of yet. I may just try to tear it apart and see how much force it takes. I'm definitely not an expert though. 

[JerseyFirefighter]

 

I have experimented with making conchos out of quarters. I used "Alpha fry" non electrical repair solder and flux kit. I domed the quarters, brushed flux on it, cut off a tiny bit of the solder into the quarter, torched it, let it melt, then stuck the chicago screw in. It seems fairly sturdy though I haven't had a project to put it on as of yet. I may just try to tear it apart and see how much force it takes. I'm definitely not an expert though. 

That's a pretty cool idea. Let me know how it works out.