Yes, I’m using COE96 glass in this fused glass tutorial. Helen Gloggner from Beachside Glass has kindly sent me some of her murrine and some sheet glass to try in a project. So this video is of me trying COE96 glass, some murrine, and trying to make a nice dish.
My goal was to make the video without there being a major failure, and it all went well, sort of.
The video tutorial includes the design, materials, and equipment information, as well as the cutting of glass, firing, and slumping.
Project Information
In the YouTube video, you will find links to related videos, a chapter list with time stamps, and links to more resources.
Don’t forget, the glass I normally use is Bullseye 90 COE, but in this video, it’s 96 COE. I use Thinfire fiber paper on the shelf, but when fire polishing on my shelf, and slumping in moulds, I spray with boron nitride mould release.
This project will require you to have diamond drills as shown in the video. Obviously, you’ll need a mould to suit. Of course, you can make this any size and use any mould you wish.
The original Idea I had was to use black glass and some murrine in a tack fuse to create a shape inspired by flowers. This would mean the black glass would be shaped using my ring saw. The murrine would then be placed at suitable places around the glass and tack fused together.
However, things changed and I decided to create pockets within the glass that would be filled with murrine, effectively creating little floral islands. The top would be black, the bottom clear. I intended to drill holes in the black but not in the clear. Murrine would be placed in the holes in the black and would sit on the clear base.
The final shape was inspired by finding a mould I had never used. I didn’t want anything too large, mainly because I have limited 96 glass, and would like to do another project later.
The dimensions of the final piece are 14 cm square, set by the mould I was using. Cutting the glass to suit was straightforward.
Drilling holes into the black sheet glass became an issue. There is a moral here. Always check, and recheck. In the video, you will see that the drilling didn’t go easy. I won’t explain. Watch and you may get a good laugh.
Once that was done, I then filled the holes with murrine, guessing the amount required to fill the hole when fully fused. I placed a single piece of leaf-style murrine, along with multiple floral pieces.
This was all fully fused together. Once that was done it was slumped into the mould.
I think it worked out nicely, but please comment on what you think.
If you have any questions please ask in the comments section on YouTube.
Full Fuse Firing Schedule
Remember, these schedules are for COE 96 glass, not COE 90.
- #1 – 140 C (284 F) up to 575 C (1067 F), hold 30 minutes
- #2 – 200 C (392 F) up to 675 C (1247 F), hold 20 minutes
- #3 – 500 C (932 F) up to 795 C (1463 F), hold 20 minutes
- #4 – Full down to 515 C (959 F), hold 60 minutes
- #5 – 95 C (203 F) down to 425 C (797 F), hold 10 minutes
- #6 – 200 C (392 F) down to 150 C (302 F), no hold
Slump Firing Schedule
- #1 – 140 C (284 F) up to 120 C (248 F), hold 15 minutes
- #2 – 140 C (284 F) up to 535 C (995 F), hold 30 minutes
- #3 – 83 C (181 F) up to 660 C (1220 F), hold 10 minutes
- #4 – Full down to 515 C (959 F), hold 60 minutes
- #5 – 95 C (203 F) down to 425 C (797 F), hold 10 minutes
- #6 – 200 C (392 F) down to 150 C (302 F), no hold