Uses
The hard transparent resins, such as the copals, dammars, mastic and sandarac, are principally used for varnishes and adhesives, while the softer odoriferous oleo-resins (frankincense, elemi, turpentine, copaiba) and gum resins containing essential oils (ammoniacum, asafoetida, gamboge, myrrh, and scammony) are more largely used for therapeutic purposes and incense.
Resin in the form of rosin is applied to the bows of string instruments (e.g. violin, rebec, erhu, sarangi), because of its ability to add friction to the hair to increase sound quality. Ballet dancers may apply crushed rosin to their shoes to increase grip on a slippery floor.
Resin has also been used as a medium for sculpture by artists such as Eva Hesse, and in other types of artwork.
In the early 1990s, most ten-pin bowling ball manufacturers started adding resin particles to the covers of bowling balls. Resin makes a bowling ball tackier than it would otherwise be, increasing its ability to hook into the pins at an angle and (with correct technique) making strikes easier to achieve.
Resin is also used in stereolithography.
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