In this fused glass project, I’ll have a go at a small paperweight. It will be made using a found mould.
The mould was found at a op shop so it may not work, but checkout the video to see the result.
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 use is Bullseye 90 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 mould, which is something I purchased at an op shop some time ago, is a little strange in shape. It could be deeper for a paperweight, but I think it is enough.
The mould is quite heavy and thick. I don’t know its intended use so let me know in the video comments if you have some idea.
I intend to just fill it with scrap glass and fuse it into a single piece.
To prepare the mould I first sandblasted off the glaze on the inside, then applied 2 coats of boron nitride spray.
Not knowing exactly how much glass I would need, I took an educated guess. Was that correct? You’ll see it in the video.
I should have fired the mould to processing temperature to simulate the process, just to see if it survived the heat stresses, but I forgot. Did it survive with all that glass? That’s another question that’s answered in the video.
It was taken to a high full fuse and given a long anneal time. The full schedule is below.
If you have any questions please ask in the comments section on YouTube.
Full Fuse Firing Schedule
- #1 – 222 C (432 F) up to 535 C (995 F), hold 45 minutes
- #2 – 333 C (632 F) up to 670 C (1238 F), hold 30 minutes
- #3 – 333 C (632 F) up to 805 C (F1481), hold 25 minutes
- #4 – Full down to 482 C (900 F), hold 120 minutes
- #5 – 65 C ( 149 F) down to 425 C (797 F), no hold
- #6 – 132 C ( 270 F) down to 371 C (700 F), no hold
I have a feeling the dish was originally used for olive oil for dipping bread. Very similar to these by Mary Judge. https://theolivetable.com/product/olive-oil-dipping-plates/