julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 714
|
Post by julieooly on Jan 12, 2019 14:18:56 GMT -5
A friend asked me if I could cab some glass for her. That's a thing right? Another friend has a piece of jewelry with a cab made of a blue mason jar, so I figured it's possible. Any experience or suggestion of where to find colored glass besides my recycle bin would be awesome.
|
|
|
Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 12, 2019 14:54:15 GMT -5
Glass can be cabbed without too much concern. It cabs about the same as obsidian. I usually do mine on the genie up to the 280 or 600 soft wheel then toss them in the vibe tumbler with load ob obsidian. Scratches on glass can be a pain so the vibe tumbler is my secret weapon against those. Finding glass thick enough and flat enough to cab can be tricky.
Chuck
|
|
julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 714
|
Post by julieooly on Jan 12, 2019 18:51:57 GMT -5
Glass can be cabbed without too much concern. It cabs about the same as obsidian. I usually do mine on the genie up to the 280 or 600 soft wheel then toss them in the vibe tumbler with load ob obsidian. Scratches on glass can be a pain so the vibe tumbler is my secret weapon against those. Finding glass thick enough and flat enough to cab can be tricky. Chuck Thanks Chuck, I figured it would be easy but would hate to make a stupid mistake and damage my equipment. Sometimes bottles have thicker bottoms, I'll start looking around. Maybe the antique places too.
|
|
|
Post by vegasjames on Jan 13, 2019 0:35:43 GMT -5
I fire these I would fire them too. Does not look like they are up to the job.
|
|
|
Post by taylor on Jan 13, 2019 13:13:01 GMT -5
Look for slag glass or cullet glass. Both are available online and at gem shows. Some is modern. Some is old...for example Leland Blue and Frankfort Green are from iron smelters in Michigan that shut down prior to 1900. The is also some on the market from a 700 year old Copper mine in Siebertal, Germany.
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on Jan 13, 2019 14:49:09 GMT -5
jamesp cabs lots of glass. Sells the cabs for a great price. His are done in a Vibe. Has perfected the process for not only polishing glass, but also fusing it. Hopefully he will chime in here.
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on Jan 13, 2019 14:50:06 GMT -5
I fire these I would fire them too. Does not look like they are up to the job. Lol. Fire vs fire. Good one.
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
|
Post by jamesp on Jan 13, 2019 15:04:19 GMT -5
|
|
julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 714
|
Post by julieooly on Jan 13, 2019 15:47:05 GMT -5
Is this for sale or just to make me drool? And definitely fire those bottles for laying down on the job!!
|
|
julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 714
|
Post by julieooly on Jan 13, 2019 15:57:14 GMT -5
Look for slag glass or cullet glass. Both are available online and at gem shows. Some is modern. Some is old...for example Leland Blue and Frankfort Green are from iron smelters in Michigan that shut down prior to 1900. The is also some on the market from a 700 year old Copper mine in Siebertal, Germany. I have some tidbits of that, it's super easy to work with! Thanks for the pic of the huge pieces for cheap. I know not to overpay if I buy it again, what I have came in a big lot of tumbling mix
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
|
Post by jamesp on Jan 13, 2019 16:56:26 GMT -5
I sent you a PM Julie. Welcome to the forum.
|
|
|
Post by grumpybill on Jan 19, 2019 10:11:27 GMT -5
Look for slag glass or cullet glass. I have access to (literally) mountains of slag and cullet from an old plate glass plant and have experimented with it. In my experience, slag is difficult to work with. It often has bubbles that detract from the finished appearance and/or it can have layers that come apart while you're working with it. It's best for "free form" cabs. The local cullet, however, is a very hard glass and is easy to shape and polish.
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
|
Post by jamesp on Jan 19, 2019 11:16:11 GMT -5
Bubbles are part of the glass fusing process. Especially when doing more complex mixes and melts. Mechanically laying the glass in vertically and breaking it to smaller pieces allows bubbles to escape.
Holding temperature for a longer duration helps give time to allow bubbles to float to the top is the most common approach. Additives can be added to the melt to help 'slip' the bubbles.
Bubbles can be captured by some of the darnedest causes like melting smooth plates of glass verses rough surfaced plates of glass. Bubbles have a way of attaching to rough surfaced glass.
Compounds are often added to the bottom of a stack of mixed color glass being melted to create bubbles allowing the bubbles to rise thru various colors and 'pull' the different colors up thru the melt for effects. Bubbles are often intentionally trapped in the center layer of a vase as it is being blown for effect.
Unfortunately melt mixing rogue slag glass usually results in serious cracks because they have various expansion rates as they cool. Another whole issue.
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
|
Post by jamesp on Jan 19, 2019 11:17:24 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by grumpybill on Jan 19, 2019 11:56:01 GMT -5
Thanks, James. The free form shape was necessitated by that slag being almost impossible to shape. Just slicing it results in over 50% waste. I like that some it has somewhat of a landscape/seascape look.
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
|
Post by jamesp on Jan 19, 2019 13:29:15 GMT -5
Thanks, James. The free form shape was necessitated by that slag being almost impossible to shape. Just slicing it results in over 50% waste. I like that some it has somewhat of a landscape/seascape look. I would love to go stomping around with you at that slag yard. Gotta get you a small glass kiln, you'd have a lot of fun.
|
|
|
Post by grumpybill on Jan 19, 2019 14:01:51 GMT -5
I would love to go stomping around with you at that slag yard. C'mon up in a few months...after the snow melts, but before the underbrush makes the best pile difficult to get to. Been thinking about getting or building one to also try heat treating stones.
|
|