Quite often I have random thoughts about trying different things when fusing glass just to see what happens. These little tests often produce results that are interesting and can be duplicated for a project. In this video, I try 3 tests, but these will become fused glass coasters.
Continue reading What Would Happen If You Did This – Fused Glass Project
In an earlier post this month I talked about a set of coasters we tried that were deliberately made thin to see how the glass behaved. The project was 2 layers, the base 3mm and the top 2mm made it under 6mm and hence subject to surface tension stress to conform to the 6mm rule.
After firing, the sides of the coasters did pull in as expected, but worse, the iridised glass unexpectedly resulted in rough edges.
In this firing we decided to try to rescue the coasters, as well as fire polish a few jewellery sets we made from a fused glass slab.
Continue reading Rescue Fire Polish of Coasters
In our current stock of glass we have a lot of 2mm Bullseye fusible 90 COE glass. This is fine for some projects, but for others there is the problem of not enough glass volume.
If you are not aware, surface tension tends to try and make glass conform to a thickness of 6mm. For example, if you full fuse a 10mm piece of glass for long enough it will flow out and form a larger piece just 6mm thick. Alternatively, if the piece is less than 6mm it will try to pull in on the sides to reach that 6mm thickness.
So if you start with 3mm clear as a base and then add a 2mm layer, a total of 5mm, a full fuse will probably result in the sides of the piece pulling in. To see if we could make a piece with a 3mm base and a deco layer just 2mm we decided to make some coasters like this as a test.
Continue reading Coaster 2mm Fusible Glass Test
My son recently purchased and moved into a new apartment, his first, so thoughts turned to an ‘apartment warming’ gift. I thought about making a clock to match his décor, but the last clock I made didn’t work that well so I decided not to test my luck.
After a little thought and discussion with Ann a set of coasters seemed a good idea. I had made a set previously and they worked okay, so I felt confident.
His décor is basically black and white, with a few blue highlights. So I decided to try and do something similar. Not knowing the exact colour of blue meant a bit of a guesswork was needed.
I decided on a design that is a little geometric to also match what I think is his style, plus it wasn’t to challenging.
But, as usual, it didn’t all go as planned.
Continue reading Fused Glass Coasters for My Son