Hot Head Torches and using Mapp gas canisters in Europe

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.

Using brass frit when making lampwork beads, tutorial

We found this tutorial for using brass frit when making lampwork beads on the Lampworketc web page, written by Mustang Dawn. 

Brass Frit Tutorial

Supplies needed

• Brass Frit
• Marver with brass spread out on it. I use my razor tool to move the brass around.
• Opaque glass.
• Clear glass.
• Razor tool.

Caution: Be careful when using brass frit. It is sharp and can cause injury.
Use Brass Frit only under a ventilation system.

Note: I used very little brass frit in these beads. Place the brass frit on your marver before starting your bead. Spread it very thin on the marver with your razor tool.

1. Make a tube bead of opaque glass and marver it into the length you want to your final bead to be.

2. Heat the surface of the glass until glowing and roll it in the brass frit. Then, marver the frit into the base glass.

3. Next, keep the bead below the flame and encase it in clear covering all the brass frit. I like a heavy encasement of clear because it adds a lot of depth to the bead.Do not place frit directly into the flame. It will spark and burn off the bead. 

4. Heat the encased bead until glowing. You will see the gold bubbles form. Don’t heat your bead too long because it will bring bubbles to the surface of your bead. Once you start to see the bubbles form, pull the bead out of the flame. If you need more bubbles, reheat.

5. Finish decorating your bead and place it into the kiln.

Have fun and I would love to see what you create!

How to clean the mandrel hole in your lampwork beads

When our studio first started making lampwork beads we broke a lot when we were cleaning them!  We bought little brushes from our wholesaler out of desperation, but they didn't work well.  Most information that we read kept saying to use a Dremel but when we tried our electric Dremel we ended up breaking our beads too.  Finally we found out that a Dremel is the correct tool for the job!  So what were we doing wrong to break so many beads with our's?  We were using our Dremel on a high speed and that seemed to break the beads.  We ended up buying a battery powered Dremel and that is what we've used ever since with rarely any beads breaking.  The battery powered Dremel is also much safer to use around water since the bead should be cleaned in water to keep the Dremel's diamond tip in good condition.

Yes, you can make lampwork beads from glass bottles!

The other day I found this thread on the site, Lampwork Etc., discussing how glass artists are making lampwork beads with recycled bottle glass, click here to view the thread.  It is full of interesting information, pictures and other links.  You might have to become a member of the forum to read the thread, but it is highly recommended since Lampwork Etc. is excellent for all glass artists.

I see that some people use chunks of broken bottles to create their beads by using them as glass rod.  You need to hold the piece of glass with something like a punty or other tool.  I also think that people with access to a tile saw can slice bottles lengthwise and then into thin strips and use those strips just like glass rod.

There is still a compatibility issue when using recycled glass bottles, sometimes bottles used by one company may still have different COE's.  For that reason it is best not to mix the glass with other glass, although if used sparingly, it is possible to add dots and decorations to the beads without them breaking.  A small amount of frit and powders can also be used to color the bottle glass beads as well, but keep in mind the fact that you will be mixing COE's and the beads may break.  It would be easier to make single color beads when using recycled glass from one bottle when lampworking (or fusing), but it is always fun to experiment.  You might discover that you can do some mixing without any breakage.

How to make glass Frit

Originally posted on WarmGlass.com (one of our favorite webpages) this information is excellent for many glass arts such as furnace glass, fused glass and lampworking.

Frit is nothing more than small pieces of glass. Generally, they are sorted by size and used in a variety of ways, the most common of which are kiln casting, pate de verre, or as a design element on sheet glass.

The easiest way to obtain your own frit is to buy it. Tested compatible frit is available from both Bullseye and Uroboros. It comes in a number of different sizes, ranging from powder to chunks as large as 1/4" (6 mm).

If you want to make your own frit, there are a number of techniques. Several are described below.

• Using a hammer

For this approach, place the glass to be used between several pieces of newspaper and strike with a hammer until the pieces reach the desired size. This method is crude but effective. Make sure you wear eye protection. Wear a mask if significant dust is produced.

• Tack fusing

Place the glass in the kiln. One arrangement that works well is to heap smaller chips of glass on a larger sheet. Heat until the glass tack fuses — around 1400 degrees F. Once the glass has fused, turn off the kiln, remove the glass (use gloves and tongs — steel fireplace tongs work well), and drop immediately into a bucket about 2/3 full of cold water. The shock will crack the glass into many small pieces. Glass broken this way will be in relatively large chunks. If you want finer pieces, you can use the hammer technique described above to break it down some more.

• Melting in a crucible

This technique requires more caution than the first two. Place the glass in a crucible, a ceramic container made for withstanding the heat of the kiln. Heat it to around 1700 degrees and soak to allow the glass to melt.

Then turn off the kiln and use tongs to remove the crucible. (Wear gloves and eye protection and take special care.) Slowly pour the molten glass into a bucket of cold water. The glass will break into finer particles than in the tack fuse approach discusses above. Make sure you return the crucible to the kiln and let it cool slowly to prevent thermal shock.

• Pipe-crushing

Obtain two hollow pipes, one slightly larger in diameter than the other so that one pipe fits inside the other. Close off one end of the smaller pipe, fill it with rocks or similar heavy items, then close off the other end.

Now place the larger pipe upright on a hard surface like cement and fill it part of the way with the glass you want to break. Slide the smaller, heavy pipe into the larger one, letting it drop full force onto the glass. (You will probably need a second person to help you hold the larger pipe.) Raise the smaller pipe and drop again and again until you are satisfied with the size of the particles. If you use this technique, wear eye protection and a mask or respirator to protect you from the silica dust. Also, you may want to use a magnet to extract any metal chips that may be caught in the frit.

• Frit-making machines

It is possible to buy frit-making machines, called "glass crushers." Alternatively, you can rig up your own machine using a garbage disposal, heavy duty blender, or similar item. Boyce Lundstrom's Advanced Fusing Techniques describes a crusher built from an old garbage disposal and a large steel drum. Kervin and Fenton'sPate de Verre and Kiln Casting of Glass also has information about building your own frit machine.

If you make your own frit, you will probably want to separate it into sizes and store it in jars or plastic bags until needed. You can separate the glass manually or you can use wire mesh screens, which are available from ceramic supply stores.

Glass bead making video (which is called lampworking)

Kristina Logan

We ran across this wonderful lampwork video on You Tube.

In this video, Kristina demonstrates her process of beadmaking at the torch, finishing the glass by cold working, and incorporating both her glass and silverwork into completed pieces of jewelry. She also discusses the history of glass beads and shares the philosophy of her work.

Click here to see video  Kristina Logan

Lampworking video by Kimberly Jae

Have you ever wondered what lampworking looks like?  This is an excellent video showing Kimberly Jae making a glass flower bead. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMhe0gaALHE


The description on the video states:  This demonstration / tutorial shows how one of my signature Funky Flower beads is created. I'm using Moretti (Effetre) glass in this demo on a Bobcat torch. Please visit my sites for more photos and online purchases.
www.kimberlyjae.com

Picture Party :-)

I saw you taking pictures yesterday,  little Missy!  Would you please show us what you were doing?  It looked interesting.  And thanks for letting me hang out with you in your studio.  I always love doing that.

Well, yesterday I thought I'd take some pictures to show what mandrels look like.  I ended up taking a bunch of other pictures too.  Once I get started, its hard to stop.  I love my camera, its a Nikon D40x, and it is excellent for taking close up bead pictures, not to mention taking pictures of anything imaginable.  It has a superior macro lens for close up photography.  I also have photoshop and I think that everyone knows that it is totally amazing!  When taking pictures of beads, especially if they are to be sold online, it is important to take the best pictures possible with the best lighting too.  People want to see striking photos of artwork online.  They tend to buy lampwork beads and other art that is well represented by photos.

When looking at pictures of my torch, when its lit, some people might notice one flame that is longer than the others coming out of it's tip.  I screwed up once and got a glass bead too close to the tip of my torch and got glass on it.  The molten glass then clogged one of the flame "jets".  Luckily only one jet got glass on it!  And since that time, I've just gotten used to using my torch the way it is.  

Above is a picture of a bead I just finished making.  Its still on the mandrel and ready to go into the kiln to be annealed.  The "thing" it is on, is the mandrel.  The gray looking part is the bead release that is coated on the end of the mandrel.  I'm right handed so I hold the mandrel in my left hand and the glass rod in my right hand.

Now the picture above is showing some of my mandrels.  I have them in this plastic bucket with some rice in the bottom that helps hold the mandrels upright and not touching each other.  I put the mandrels right into the container after I coat them with bead release, to dry.  

The glass jar on the right side of the bucket is my bead release jar.  Keep the lid screwed on tightly so it doesn't dry out and it will last a long time!  Also, in the mandrel container you can see some curved mandrels (I use to make beads with curved center holes) and large mandrels (I use to make beads with very large center holes).