Table of Content
You don’t need to wait for the lines to dry before starting to paint in colors. The type of paint to pick depends on how opaque you’d like your design to be, as well as how easily you’d like to apply the paint. When you’re sure it’s all clear, put the tip of the pipe into the glory hole furnace to heat it. Sometimes, a blow torch is also used to heat the glass.
Glass Cutter - these also come in a variety of styles. Here you see a tungsten carbide wheel cutter which has an oil reservoir in the handle. I also like using a pistol-grip style cutter with the same features, but in a more ergonomic design. There's a broad range of really fun materials involved in stained glass. You can always add to your collection as you go along (and trust me, it's hard not to!) It's best to find a specialist stained glass supplier for these materials.
Introduction: How To: Stained Glass
Keep all your tools, glasses, and chemicals in specific allotted places and return each article to its particular place after use. When working, always wear gloves to protect your hands and goggles or a protective face cover to protect your eyes. You don’t want to chance getting glass into your eyes. Always lift a glass sheet vertically holding the upper and lower edges. Never shift your hand along the edge unless you want to risk a cut or two. When your glass is molten, very carefully use metal implements to remove and shape it.
Glasses with different COE’s will crack during the cooling process. This will give you better reach by utilizing your shoulder and upper body in the scoring motion. For small scores, make sure that you stay seated so you can concentrate on following the marker score line. Opalescent glass incorporates white, or opal glass, into the color mix. An opalescent blue is blue glass that is not entirely transparent, for example. Opalescent glass tends to require more pressure to cut through, because the opal of the glass creates a higher density than Cathedral glass.
Types of Glass
Keep in mind that two layers are best, and design something to suit. If you love stained glass objects, you could have a go at making them yourself. The craft of stained glass is not difficult to learn, as long as you follow the instructions, take all proper precautions, and put in enough practice.
If you smudge the outline, dip a cotton swab in either isopropyl alcohol or nail polish remover and gently clean up the smudge. Tape the image to the glass to prevent shifting as you trace. Choose oil paint for an opaque option that allows some room for error. Since oil paint takes anywhere from 24 hours to several days to dry, you'll have a chance to fix any mistakes. 9 Hold your painting up to the light before the paint dries. 5 Tape the image to the glass to prevent shifting as you trace.
What is glass fusing?
Make sure that you center your glass correctly on the tape and press it securely along all the cut edges. Copper foil comes in a variety of widths depending on the width of your glass. This is used to hold the glass pieces together through the adhesive on the one side. If you're using Cathedral glass the backing will be visible so make sure you're using the right color for your piece.
Basically, hot glass working involves molten glass with a temperature around 2000° degrees. This hot viscous glass can be used in glass blowing, sculpting, and casting into molds. Take the term ‘glass blowing’ for instance… Sometimes people think of ‘glass blowing’ as something done using long blow pipes with molten glass from a furnace. Other times, they may refer to ‘flame working’ as glass blowing.
It has to be glass that won’t break when it’s heated up and cooled down in the kiln. The practice of making stained glass has been around for quite a long time. Stained glass windows and churches seem to go hand-in-hand, and you will find some of the earliest samples of stained glass artwork in churches on the European continent. In order to make glass, sand must be heated at an extremely high temperature.
I like the versatility of being able to utilize it on a table top or on a stand, which is perfect for those who may have some back issues. The owners manual states it can hold up to 25lbs of clay but I beg to differ, I wouldn’t go past 15lbs. Shipping was fast, the customer service at Soul Ceramics was phenomenal and I’m having tons of fun with my new home wheel. In order to be successful with glass fusing at home, whether for a fledgling business or simply as a hobby, the kiln is going to be your most important piece of equipment. In order to form a smooth coaster , it’s a good idea to lay your pattern of shapes underneath a complete top layer to ensure that you achieve a flat surface.
After you have scored the glass, break the pieces carefully with your hands or with the help of glass pliers and arrange them together on your work board. Use push pins to make sure that the glass pieces don’t shift around. Then choose a pattern, nothing too intricate if it is your first project. Make 2 tracings of the pattern and number each part of the pattern.
Slumping – Typically involves heating flat plate or sheet glass to a temperature between 1250° – 1400° degrees. This is just hot enough for the glass to bend or move with gravity. Generally the glass is placed onto a mold and is formed during the ‘slumping’ process.
When you have a lot of similar pieces, it helps to number them so you remember where each of them goes. You can see how I did this with the clear squares of glass in the last picture. Safety Glasses - any type will do as long as they completely protect your eyes. When you're cutting and grinding glass, little flecks of it will be flying everywhere! For this reason, I also recommend long sleeves when using an electric grinder.
Then, remove the glass periodically and mix it to remove bubbles. You can also pour your molten glass into a mold to shape it. Finally, when you're ready, cool your glass in your kiln, which is known as annealing.
No comments:
Post a Comment