Harrach Glass

Creative Paradise Glass Fusing Texture Molds and those pesty unwanted bubbles

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 22:54:00 +0000

This post is for anyone who has Creative Paradise glass fusing molds, and are having trouble getting a bubble free slump. After wasting a couple of pieces of glass, both 90 COE and System 96, I wondered why I wasn't able to get a good fuse without creating some big bubbles.

To begin with, I use ZYP or MR-97 as a kiln release on these types of texture molds so that I can get a lot of texture in the completed firing. I wondered whether it could be my kiln release that was causing this condition. It's not often that I create unintentional, large bubbles in my fused glass pieces, so that's why I decided that it was not from my kiln release, since I use it often without any issues. A lot of time I fuse two sheets of glass together at the same time that the glass is slumping on a texture mold to save a step.

The Solution

1. First fire together the two layers of glass that you want to use.

2. To prep the mold, drill about four holes with a small drill bit to allow trapped air to escape from under the glass when fusing. When drilling, drill from the front of the mold just in case some of the mold chips off when the bit exits the mold. If the back of the mold is slightly chipped, there is no harm done to the texture on the front side of the mold.

3. Place your mold on kiln shelf posts to elevate it to allow for more even heating from underneath.

4. Finally place your pre-fired and fused glass blank on top of the texture mold (prepped and set up) in your kiln. It will greatly reduce your bubbles. Be sure to add a bubble squeeze in your kiln schedule both when you fuse the two layers together and for the second step when you fuse the double layer thick glass blank on the textured tile mold.

How to make your own glass frit (and frit combinations) using any COE glass.

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 19:38:00 +0000

1. To make sure your glass is all the same COE, use a Fuse It Test Card.

A convenient and money-saving device that tests the compatibility of glass. Cut a 1 1/2" section of clear glass (of a known COE) and a 3/4" square of the glass you wish to test and fuse together. Sandwich the fused glass piece between the two layers of film above a bright light. If there is no halo around the glass, the two glasses are compatible. If a light halo is seen around the glass, this signals stress within the glass and incompatibility.

Use this test card when you are not sure of your glass compatibility. Now you can fuse bottle glass, including wine bottle glass and recycled glass easily with this card! Create imaginative recycled glass art by using this test card. An excellent tool for multiple melted bottles to shape and use in glass molds. If you have fusible glass laying around (or you were given fusible glass), but forgot which COE it is, you can easily test it's compatibility with this cost efficient tool.

Watch the video to see how it is used: Fuse It Test Card How-To Video.

2. use an Aanraku Frit Maker

All steel glass crushing frit maker.
Includes instructions and rare earth magnet.
Overall height: 11-inches.
Piston diameter: 3-inches.
Chamber depth: approx 5-inches.
Weight: 7.2 lbs
Welded steel
Use for making your own lampworking glass frit and also fusing frit. Create your own color combinations and sizes.

We know that this is not a new tool, but it is a must have for lampworkers and fusers! Use your lampwork rod pieces and shorts and other rods (maybe ones that are shocky or too thick to use easily), to create your own glass frit and glass frit combinations. It's just another great way to use up those rods that are just too short to hold anymore. You can do the same thing with glass fusing. Take those smaller pieces of fusible glass and make some of your own frit. Be sure to always use the same COE glass when creating frit and using it.

3. Finally, use a set of Frit Sorters to sort your hand-made frit.
Includes 4 galvanized nesting steel cups with stainless steel sorting screens.

Bottom cup 0.20mm, fine mesh Stainless steel
2nd cup + 0.20mm 1.20mm, mesh Stainless steel
3rd cup + 1.20mm 2.70mm, mesh Stainless steel
Upper cup + 2.70mm 5.20mm, mesh Stainless steel

Cups size: 6" diameter, 4" deep.

Use these different sized sorters to allow for you to use powdered frit for delicate fusing and lampworking to large chunky frit for a different effect.

Make Custom Ceramic Texture Molds For Fused Glass Art, by bgartman

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 18:35:00 +0000

This tutorial was written by bgartman and found here. Sometimes some posts disappear as time goes by and this is such a great tutorial that I didn't want to lose it!

This tutorial will explain how I make custom ceramic texture molds to create fused glass art.
Items used in this tutorial:

1) Firing the clay, and glass:
Kiln: I use a Paragon Janus 23 multi-purpose kiln (capable of firing glass or ceramics with the flip of a switch!)
kiln shelves
kiln shelf wash: Hotline Primo Primer Kiln Shelf Wash
plastic lidded container to mix and store shelf wash in
paintbrush to paint shelf wash onto shelves & molds (I use inexpensive Chinese brushes that are often used for glazing ceramics as shown in the photo)

2) Clay: MCS Porcelain P'Clay Cone 6 available at Baileypottery.com
https://www.baileypottery.com/clay/tuckers-pclay.h...

3) Glass:
Bullseye coe90 glass available at Bullseyeglass.com and other retailers
glass marbles such as Panacea Marble Accents often available at craft stores such as JoAnn Fabrics & Michael's
recycled Glass such as wine bottles, window glass, etc.

4) Items for creating texture in clay:
leaves
clay carving tools
textured objects to press into the clay including commercial stamps, found objects, buttons, etc.

5) Items for rolling out the clay:
rolling pin
rubber rib for smoothing clay
two 1/4" or 3/8" thick strips of wood
plastic backed fabric drop cloth, or regular drop cloth
cornstarch- I keep mine in a sugar shaker to make it easy to powder the surface of my clay
paper towels

Step 1:

1. Creating the Clay Texture Mold

I've chosen a cone 6 porcelain paper clay as my ceramic medium for making texture molds because it has a very smooth surface that captures texture in great detail. The clay dries quickly, and creates lightweight molds, which is great for loading fused glass projects into the kiln and also great for storing your molds once they've been bisque fired. Most companies ship clay in 25lb blocks with a 50lb minimum. Please note that paper clays are prone to mold if not used quickly, which doesn't affect the quality of your ceramic piece, but may cause problems for people who are sensitive to mold. Most websites selling ceramic paper clay explain the pro's and con's of their products, along with firing instructions.
Decide what texture and design you're going to create. I've created wonderful texture molds from items found in my yard: lotus leaves, lily pad leaves, tree leaves. I've also hand-carved textures to create specific designs. Once you have your design in mind you're ready to start.

1. Work Surface:
Cover your work table with a drop cloth. I love using a plastic-backed fabric drop cloth because it protects my wooden work surface from the damp clay.

2. Clay:
Open your bag of clay. Use your wire tool to cut the amount of clay you need to roll out for your project. For instance, to create the large texture mold of of the lotus leaf takes a greater amount of clay than to create a small soap dish mold.

3. Rolling & smoothing the clay:
For most of my texture molds I roll the clay out to around 1/4" thick. If you're creating a deeply textured fused glass piece like a hand-carved pattern, you'll want to roll the clay to around 3/8" thick.
Follow basic clay techniques for rolling clay by using your rolling pin to work the clay slowly into a flat consistent thickness: Roll, flip the clay over, roll, flip the clay in a new direction, roll again until you have the desired thickness and size for your mold. I try to make mine molds 1/2" to 1" larger than the finished textured design in case the glass flows beyond my design in firing.
If you come across any bubbles in your clay surface while rolling the clay, poke them with a pencil tip or clay knife tip to make sure that they're gone before you proceed with smoothing and texturing the clay.
Take your rubber rib and smooth the surface of your clay, stroking across the entire surface of the clay with the rib horizontally, then vertically. Flip the clay over and do the same procedure again, smoothing the surface of the clay with the rubber rib by stroking across both horizontally and vertically until smooth. Now you should have a beautifully smooth piece of clay, ready to decorate with your textural design.

4. Texture the clay:
Sprinkle the surface of the clay lightly with cornstarch to keep your tools and leaves from sticking. Keep in mind that you do NOT want to press or cut your design completely THROUGH the the clay. Be careful to leave at least 1/8" thickness of clay in the thinnest areas or your mold may be more prone to breaking. As you create your texture, the hollows/deeper impressions in your mold will be the raised areas on your glass surface, and the raised areas on your mold will be the hollows/impressions on your glass surface.
A) If you're pressing leaves into the surface, arrange the leaves on the surface into the pattern you desire, then roll over the surface with even pressure with a rolling pin. I then like to take my fingers and press the leaves more deeply into the surface of the clay to make a deeper impression.
B) Add carved details, rubber stamps, press in objects as desired
C) It's a good idea to create a rim to contain the melted glass by slightly raising the edges of your clay from your table.

IMPORTANT MOLD DESIGN RULES:
-Make sure that your design does not include "under-cuts", or places where the surface of the clay mold juts out over carved hollowed-out areas. The glass will melt into these areas and get stuck.
-If you want to create a thicker piece of fused glass, you'll need to create a rim to contain the glass in your mold. If you do create a rim, be sure that it gently slopes OUTWARD so that the glass will release easily out of the mold.
-The smoother your mold, the smoother the glass. I like to make sure that all of the edges of my textured pattern feel smooth, and that there are no areas in my design that could create a jagged or sharp glass surface.

5. Dry your mold:
Follow the clay manufacturer's instructions. Paper clay is very forgiving, though all clay is prone to warping if dried to quickly. I like to leave my mold on my work table for a few hours covered loosely with a layer of paper towels. Once it is firmly leather hard I carefully move it to a kiln shelf in my garage and wait until the ceramic mold is completely bone dry. During the colder winter months I dry the molds indoors rather than in the garage.

Colour de Verre Cabbage Leaf Mold Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 16:11:00 +0000

Colour de Verre has a lot of really nice molds for glass fusing. One of our favorite molds is their cabbage leaf mold. Click on the link below, found on the Colour de Verre website, to learn how to fill this mold with frit and fuse. Use the leaves to create beautiful bowls and plates by layering multiple leaves.

Click here to view the Cabbage Leaf Mold tutorial.

Slumpy's Bubble Technique Video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 15:17:00 +0000

This is a great video to watch, it not only shows how to create purposely planned bubbles in fused glass art, but it also shows new glass fusers how to cut glass to fit their fusing molds!

This is how Slumpy's described their video:
Learn how to create a one of a kind glass piece with bubble accents. Use clear glass stringers to create floating bubbles or contrasting stringer to create a grid bubble effect. Turn your glass 90 degrees to create a crisscrossed grid effect or 45 degrees to create a diamond grid effect. The possibilities are endless!

Watch the video here!

Screen Printing with Bullseye Glass Powders - video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 23:11:00 +0000

This is a nice video made by Warm Glass UK, explaining how to screen print with dry glass powder. And it looks fairly easy. Just remember to use a good respirator if you are going to try this method.

Click here to watch the video

Vitrigel Glass Medium

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 16:21:00 +0000

I just found this new product being offered for sale by my glass distributor. You mix Vitrigel with powdered glass frit and fire it to get three dimensional glass pieces and more!

Create lines, texture and 3-D elements with glass... It's quick and easy! Mix Vitrigel with powdered glass frit: use in squeeze bottles or pastry applicators to create lines, or tool it to do custom textures, unusual shapes and sculptural elements to fire on their own or add them to other kiln formed work.

Cost effective-1 lb makes 20 or more Quarts! Comes in reusable jar with mixing instructions and suggested creative uses.

And now you can click here to purchase: Harrach Glass on Etsy

ArtGlass Clay looks amazing!

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 23:07:00 +0000

I'm not sure if the new, premixed ArtGlass Clay has been around for a long time, but I just discovered it. And I'm super excited about it. I can't wait to buy some and try it out. Check out this link, ArtGlass Clay, and read up about it.

If anyone has used it, or tries it sometime soon, let us know what you think of it.

Working with Powders on Sheet Glass Video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 19:58:00 +0000

This video made by Bullseye Glass Co. has a lot of information and is excellent! They have a lot of great ideas, too.

Click here to watch the video.

How to cut wine and beer bottles, video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Wed, 06 May 2015 20:46:00 +0000

This video shows how you can easily cut bottles with the Creator's Premium Bottle Cutter to make a variety of items. We really like this video because it also shows how to use hot and cold water to easily separate the cut sections from the bottles after scored with the glass cutter!

Click here to watch the video!

Click here

to buy the Creator's Premium Bottle Cutter from Harrach Glass

at a very affordable price!

Etsy Card Readers issue

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Tue, 05 May 2015 17:12:00 +0000

I ran across some very important information in the Etsy forums today that I really want to share with my readers, especially Etsy shop owners. This is for anyone who has an Etsy card reader and plan on using it any time soon. A lot of artists use these card readers at craft fairs and other "outside" Etsy venues to accept credit card payments. People with Etsy shops think that by using these Etsy card readers that they will be able to keep their sales records all on Etsy and track their sales in one place, all through their Etsy shops. It sounds perfect, right! Wrong!

It now appears that there is a glitch with their card readers making swiped credit cards unable to fully process. That means that people are losing not only those swiped payments, but the merchandise they sold as well. After the transaction sits around not fully processed for seven (7) days, that money is redeposited back to the credit card account.

So until Etsy fixes this serious problem I recommend using a different card reader!

Click on this link here to read one internet article on the Etsy card readers.

Here is another article about the Etsy card readers.

Cut glass bottles with a bandsaw- video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Mon, 04 May 2015 16:33:00 +0000

Cut glass bottles with a Gryphon C-40 Bandsaw, video made by Delphi Glass. It shows just another easy way for you to cut glass bottles! Click on this link here to view the video!

Video showing how to make a plaster mold

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 18:08:00 +0000

This video isn't made for glass fusing, but it really shows how to make molds and if you use the correct glass mold making materials, you can easily create glass fusing molds this way!

Click here to watch this mold making video.

CBS Dichroic Extract with Kate MacLeod - Video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 16:24:00 +0000

Dichroic Extract (a fine Dichroic coating powder) is a fairly new product available from CBS and it looks amazing, especially when you see Kate MacLeod using it. Dichroic Extract has no COE which enables glass artists to use it on any type of glass.

Click here to view this video!

Pattern Bar, Segment Slab Video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 19:03:00 +0000

Learn how to make beautiful yet easy to create pattern bar designs for fusing in your kiln. Use this information to develop your own unique glass art. This is one of our favorite videos! Made and uploaded by Bullseye Glass Co.

Watch the video here!

How NOT to make recycled bottle glass art, Video.

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 18:03:00 +0000

So, today I ran across this video on YouTube and I really wanted to share it with everyone. Now the reason why I am sharing this video is because this is a what NOT to do video!

As I watched, I noticed that neither Michael nor the interviewer ever wore a face mask during all of the different types of grinding he was doing on a wine bottle. It is fine to cut a bottle without wearing a mask since there won't be glass powder floating around in the air which could be inhaled, but it is NOT okay to grind glass without some sort of mask! Breathing in fine glass powder will result in
silicosis.

(Keep in mind that crystalline silica can cause silicosis only when we breathe it into our lungs as dust or a fine powder. Here's what happens: The silica particles become trapped in the lungs and damage the tissue. As a result, the lung tissue scars and forms small, rounded masses called nodules.)

I always teach my students (and do this myself) to use water when grinding glass. I guess some people might consider that to be a nuisance since it can be messy, but the reason why water is used is to keep any glass dust from becoming airborne. I was actually shocked to see Michael Fernandez using his grinders without water and without a particle mask. I did see that he was grinding outside, but in my opinion that is still not at all safe. At least he wore glasses.

This is especially important for new glass artists that want to recycle bottles since it is really becoming popular again. Please use wet belt sanders or something like a Glastar disc grinder and if that is not possible, wear an appropriate mask to protect yourself. Then if you do grind glass dry, you must also clean all glass particles off of your clothes, skin and hair, since that powder can still become airborne.

Here is the video: Michael Fernandez demonstrates how he cuts and finishes his recycled bottle art. Please don't do what he did.

Click on the video here!

Video for Creating a plaster mold for Pate De Verre

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 14:36:00 +0000

Hi readers, are you wondering how to make easy plaster molds for Pate De Verre? Watch this YouTube video to see a very simple, yet effective way to quickly make your own plaster molds!
This video was made by Bobby Wadey.

Click here to watch the video!

Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls in Pâte de Verre VIDEO

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 15:41:00 +0000

Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls in Pâte de Verre

This is an excellent video to watch (and take notes on) for anyone who wants to make kiln glass frit casts with molds. It lists all of the necessary materials needed to use and shows how to, in detail! Made by Bullseye Glass Company.

Watch the video here!

Hot Head Torches and using Mapp gas canisters in Europe

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 18:01:00 +0000

This isn't a new issue, but I just discovered it a few weeks ago. Mapp gas canisters that are sold in Europe are not the same design as in the USA. So it makes it impossible to attach the Hot Head Torch to the European Mapp gas canisters, because the hole where the torch attaches is not the same size. So European Hot Head users that want to use Mapp gas canisters need to buy an attachment, somewhere (if there is any attachment available) or find someplace that sells American Mapp gas canisters. It would be nice for Hot Head to just make a special adapter for this very problem.

Weave molds - YouTube video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 13:40:00 +0000

Want to learn how to use fused glass weave molds? Watch this excellent YouTube video made by Glass Campus to learn the basics!

Check out the video here, click here to view the video.

Devitrification on glass when doing pot melts into small molds

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 17:04:00 +0000

I have been experimenting with pot melts into some small molds that I have, but I always seem to have devit on the top side! I have been looking online for an answer to what I'm doing wrong, but as of yet I haven't been able to figure out why this is happening.

I found this post here:

"Paradoxically, aperture pours (pot melts) and high fire slabs, which are often fired above 1600F and held there for long periods of time, usually resist devitrification. This is because the glass is continuously moving, flowing, and presenting new surfaces during the period of time the temperature is very high."

I'm thinking that the artist above is making larger pot melts or has a better kiln schedule!

So I discovered so far that it doesn't matter what type of glass I'm using, I always end up with devitrification. I changed my kiln schedule so that I would quickly heat up the kiln to a slightly higher temperature than my original kiln schedule, that way I wouldn't have to hold it there as long, yet I still ended up with devit. So right now the only solution I know of is to use a lap sander on my pieces, or sandblast the devitrification off.

I am planning on manually venting my kiln down to the annealing temperature next go around to see if it makes a difference.

If anyone has any suggestions, please comment below! Thanks

Scrap Master, Cast-A-Cab molds

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 00:08:00 +0000

If you have a kiln and have a lot of scrap glass, then this is a great way to use that scrap glass to create really lovely creative fused glass pendants and more. The shapes available are heart, circle, square and tear drop.

Use with transparent and opaque glass to make your own unique glass pieces. These molds are for pot melts, yet small enough to fit in smaller sized kilns! Use MR97 Boron Nitride spray on all molds.

Fill the Mini Scrap Master with the glass scraps with the weights of glass listed below, then place the Scrap Master on top of the Cast-A-Cab mold in your kiln.

LF124 Hearts = 1.1 oz - 1.3 oz/heart,
LF125 Circles = 1.2 oz - 1.4 oz/circle,
LF126 Squares = 1.3 oz - 1.5 oz/square
LF127 Tears = 1.1 oz - 1.3 oz /tear

Use this Scrap Master suggested kiln schedule:

450 degrees per hr to 1660 degrees, hold 60 minutes
9999 degrees per hr to 1500 degrees, hold 30 minutes
9999 degrees per hr to 960 degrees, hold 90 minutes
100 degrees per hr to 825 degrees, hold 10 minutes
100 degrees per hr to 550 degrees, hold 5 minutes

Mini Scrap Master

Kiln - Formed Glass / Beyond the Basics, book by Brenda Griffith

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 15:31:00 +0000

This is a 224 page indispensable fused glass instructional book. A must have reference book for any glass studio! If you have a kiln or just want to find out more about glass fusing, this is the book to get. You will learn techniques, studio practices, and learn how to make projects.

Our glass studio recently purchased a copy and are really enjoying going through the book and looking at the techniques offered. It also has information on repairing a kiln.

New bottle neck glass cutter, video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 21:32:00 +0000

This new glass cutting tool from Creator's Stained Glass, Inc. looks great for anyone wanting to cut multiple bottle neck rings! Harrach Glass on Etsy will start selling these cutters soon. Here is a video to get an idea of how the cutter works. It looks a lot easier than using a tile saw! Click here to view the video.

Easy way to know the COE of glass, video

noreply@blogger.com (harrach glass) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:22:00 +0000

We saw this video today, uploaded by D & L Art Glass, and thought glass fusers would find this really helpful. It shows an excellent product, called a COE Testing Card being used.

Click on this link to view the video.