I want to try!

[Potter Doodle Doo]

Ok, I bought some glass from my ceramic supplier about 6 months ago ... and yes it's another thing that got put in the cupboard and never surfaced again. I bought it because I'd seen so many beautiful pendants made from glass and would like to make a few different ones for myself that I can change depending upon what I'm wearing.

Now I really want to have a go, but I have a few questions first and was wondering if one of you wonderful glass workers could help me.

Bat Wash - I have bat wash on my shelves that I use for ceramics, is this the same as the bat wash that is used for glass as I have a small amount of this too. If it is different, what do I do with it?

Does the glass need sanding / smoothing afterwards - if so what is best to use for this?

Do you place a loop in the middle of the glass for hanging or glue one on afterwards. Any ideas where I can get some fireable ones?

Do you use spe******t glass or could I use any coloured glass?

Any other helps / tips / suggestions greatly appreciated.

[Different_Glass]

Bat Wash - I have bat wash on my shelves that I use for ceramics, is this the same as the bat wash that is used for glass as I have a small amount of this too. If it is different, what do I do with it?
Does the glass need sanding / smoothing afterwards - if so what is best to use for this?
Do you place a loop in the middle of the glass for hanging or glue one on afterwards. Any ideas where I can get some fireable ones?
Do you use spe******t glass or could I use any coloured glass?
Any other helps / tips / suggestions greatly appreciated.

Not sure I am really qualified to give much advice after my kiln-based trauma today - but here goes anyway!

Glass to use: As far as I know you can put any sort of glass in a kiln (ooh no, maybe not pyrex type stuff) and it will melt. But to get it to fuse together it has to be of same (or similar +/- 1 or 2) COE - Co-Efficient of Expansion. Basically this means the rate at which at expands and contracts when heated. If your glass is not compatible it will not fuse properly and will fracture. All glass has a COE - you'll need to find out which type you have bought. Normal window glass is called 'float' glass and you can buy 'float compatible' art glass that will fuse with it (I think it has a COE of 82). I use float and float compatible, but I mainly use a glass called Bullseye (COE of 90) which produces really lovely results - with great colours - there are also some other COE 90 glasses available, which will fuse with it.

Findings - You can fire pure silver wire in the kiln with your glass - making a loop and 'sandwiching' it between glass layers. It has to have a higher percentage of silver than Sterling though. It's quite cheap to buy.
You can also buy loops(bails) which can be glued on afterwards. The ones that most people seem to use are Aanraku silver or gold plated bails. But on ebay you'll also find suppliers of hand-made sterling bails, which are pretty reasonable.

Sanding/Smoothing - Fusing glass in the kiln does round off the edges nicely - but I also use a chisel sharpening stone to finish any rough bits - and you can also put your pendants back in again at a lower temperature (say 1300 degrees) to 'kiln-polish' them. I've got a glass grinder too - because I make stained glass stuff - but they are expensive.

Bat Wash - Sorry, I dont know about wash - I always use kiln fibre paper to line my shelves - it fires a couple of times if I'm lucky and then gets thrown away.

Hope all that helps. Warm Glass is a good supplier with a very useful website full of info.

Good Luck!

Michelle

[dhumphreysd]

Hi There

As an alternative to kiln fusing there is the option of copper foil and solder (don't know if this is what you had in mind.

I can give you a general run down on what to do but you will need to get hold of a bit of kit

Soldering Iron - 65W minimum (this is a lot bigger than the ones they use for soldering in electronics)
Copper Tape, flux and lead free solder (I can supply a small quantity of this for you to try
Glass cutter - When the glass is cut the edges need to be 'roughed up a bit' to get the tape to adhere properly. For small quantities a small diamond file from B&Q will probably do.

Sounds a lot but isn't really - the soldering iron will be the most expensive at around £35

The ring to hang the pendant on will be soldered on at the end.

Let me know if this is what you had in mind or if you want to take it any further

Cheers

[Potter Doodle Doo]

Michelle ... many thanks for the info, I've got a fair this weekend but I think I'm going to give it a go after I get back. I've been wanting to do it for a while, but one of those things that just got stuck in the cupboard.

dhumphreysd ... thank you for your response regarding an alternative. This was something that I just wanted to try out, so I don't really want to go into the expense of purchasing additional equipment. However, if I get hooked, I will have a think about it.

I'll post my first creations when I've done it ... that's if it's not a complete disaster lol

[glowingsunsets]

Hiya
Just thought I'd add a couple of things, normal coloured glass doesn't fire very well, it gets a dull wrinkled skin on it.Ebay usually has offcuts of Bullseye glass pretty cheap and is perfect for pendants, offcuts of dichroic glass can also be found on there too.
You could also put a thin layer of dry plaster of paris on a shelf to fire on too, but be sure to fire once on it's own to make sure there's no moisture in it. You can make small swirls in the plaster of paris and the glass will slump into it if you like.
For a different effect at little outlay you can carefully smash up the Bullseye glass and sprinkle it on, it saves buying frits first time round. So long as it's all the same coe you can make different coloured home made frits and mix them together. Baking powder sieved with a tea strainer can also be put in between layers of glass to make tiny bubbles( use sparingly ) Also tin foil can be included this goes any colour between silver thru to black when fired, fine copper wire can be used to make little swirls in between layers of glass too. Hope thats some help... have fun

[Potter Doodle Doo]

Hi Glowingsunsets, thanks for your suggestions. In the pack I bought, I have some of the copper wire, but didn't have a clue what to do with it lmao ... but now I do . I did have a bit of a 'play' with glass last night and managed to get tiny little bits stuck in my fingers .. now I know what the pack of plasters was in there for roflmao. I like your suggestion about smashing up a little of the glass instead of using frits. I only have 2 colours of frit at the moment but really really wanted black. so I used the tiny little shards that came off when cutting it.

I'm like a big kid, or a waiting for a baby to arrive lol. I can't wait to get them all fired (I made 6 last night) they'll probably be a complete mess when they come out of the kiln, but at least I can say I've had a go.

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding suppliers of glass? I had a look around last night but the majority seemed to be in the US and I guess shipping on glass products will be expensive due to the weights. I did also have a look on eBay but didn't come up with much, I may have been putting in the wrong keywords so will have another go this morning.