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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 10, 2019 6:45:16 GMT -5
I just found this the other day. It's still dirty, sorry. Anyway... I stuck it somewhere at least 20 years ago, after soaking in etching paste, and forgot about it. It is still stable. It was supposed to get a body. LOL!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Dec 10, 2019 6:58:36 GMT -5
I remember this was a job and not so much a hobby. I believe you were expected to do production work under pressure. That's how it started. I did piece work and rocked it! Made a fortune since I could bust all the quotas, but then I was shifted to repairing glass. More difficult and I had to know how to do everything in order to repair everything. That was hourly, but really grueling with all the oven work. My shoulder still hurts.
I have used an etching paste on boro and we used to sandblast pieces. The only real problem is that each (and tumbling) will introduce microfractures and weaken the glass. It's mostly stable, but I've heard where they can spontaneously explode. Each micro fracture has the potential to "run" into a crack. It was 95% ok, though.
eta- after my actual job, I did my own work and used a lot of color. The company did not.
Stable is a big issue with glass. I can only imagine with glass that is heated with a torch as opposed to a controlled kiln. Unknown COE's is yet another issue. And micro-fractures. I was fortunate that this big load of unknown China made fusible glass I picked up so cheap was able to be cast into 15 pound bricks yet maintain it's stability. There were about 3 of 40 colors that would make a brick near explode or blow apart after cooling so I know what you were faced with. Many are not aware of how glass can weaken by a mere scratch. It is usually fickle to work with in many ways.
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 10, 2019 7:11:14 GMT -5
That's how it started. I did piece work and rocked it! Made a fortune since I could bust all the quotas, but then I was shifted to repairing glass. More difficult and I had to know how to do everything in order to repair everything. That was hourly, but really grueling with all the oven work. My shoulder still hurts.
I have used an etching paste on boro and we used to sandblast pieces. The only real problem is that each (and tumbling) will introduce microfractures and weaken the glass. It's mostly stable, but I've heard where they can spontaneously explode. Each micro fracture has the potential to "run" into a crack. It was 95% ok, though.
eta- after my actual job, I did my own work and used a lot of color. The company did not.
Stable is a big issue with glass. I can only imagine with glass that is heated with a torch as opposed to a controlled kiln. Unknown COE's is yet another issue. And micro-fractures. I was fortunate that this big load of unknown China made fusible glass I picked up so cheap was able to be cast into 15 pound bricks yet maintain it's stability. There were about 3 of 40 colors that would make a brick near explode or blow apart after cooling so I know what you were faced with. Many are not aware of how glass can weaken by a mere scratch. It is usually fickle to work with in many ways.
You are a mad scientist! What I did was easy. One COE, basically. Some colors had minute differences, but they were all generally compatible. What you do blows my mind. Great kiln work! That soft glass is tricky to say the least.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Dec 10, 2019 7:45:30 GMT -5
Thanks rockjunquie The China made glass and the big pile of scraps from the glass blower made it easy because they had fixed COE's. Oddly, the glass artist bunch were surprised to see me cast large bricks(with the China made glass) with a 12 hour anneal. The US brands(Spectrum and Bullseye)does not cast well in thick bricks unless you annealed it for like 5 days and it was still a bit unstable. The US brands fuse polish beautifully but the China glass did not which led to it's failure in the US. No need for a fuse polish when tumble polishing it ! Stable castability was most important and the China glass excelled at that. It is the chemical additives that dictate these properties.
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 10, 2019 7:54:10 GMT -5
Thanks rockjunquie The China made glass and the big pile of scraps from the glass blower made it easy because they had fixed COE's. Oddly, the glass artist bunch were surprised to see me cast large bricks(with the China made glass) with a 12 hour anneal. The US brands(Spectrum and Bullseye)does not cast well in thick bricks unless you annealed it for like 5 days and it was still a bit unstable. The US brands fuse polish beautifully but the China glass did not which led to it's failure in the US. No need for a fuse polish when tumble polishing it ! Stable castability was most important and the China glass excelled at that. It is the chemical additives that dictate these properties. I suppose you must keep meticulous notes.
BTW- I noticed in your avatar you still have a snowball to throw from last year. LOL!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Dec 10, 2019 8:55:53 GMT -5
Erg, record keeping rockjunquie. So I need to hurl that snowball at someone, amazing it did not melt.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Dec 10, 2019 9:48:14 GMT -5
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 10, 2019 12:17:32 GMT -5
LOL! I didn't have a big enough torch tip.
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Post by RocksInNJ on Dec 10, 2019 12:46:35 GMT -5
LOL! I didn't have a big enough torch tip. Oh my!!! Yea, I’m not gonna take that route. Lol
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 316
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Post by whyofquartz on Dec 10, 2019 16:27:05 GMT -5
jamesp and rockjunquie i have some glass(probably from bottles) that somehow found its way into my charcoal forge a few years ago. I am planning on tumbling it in the future should i run it by itself or would soft stone be ok? will it permanently contaminate my Lortone barrel? you two seem like the folks who would know
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 10, 2019 17:16:25 GMT -5
jamesp and rockjunquie i have some glass(probably from bottles) that somehow found its way into my charcoal forge a few years ago. I am planning on tumbling it in the future should i run it by itself or would soft stone be ok? will it permanently contaminate my Lortone barrel? you two seem like the folks who would know Thanks for the vote of confidence, but James is the Man of tumbling glass.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Dec 10, 2019 20:37:24 GMT -5
You can roll glass in a rotary with agate and hard rocks. Normal treatment. Best to polish it in a Lot-O(again with agate and hard rocks). It may take longer than hard rocks in the vibe to polish.
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peterboyle1990
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2019
Posts: 3
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Post by peterboyle1990 on Dec 11, 2019 10:00:54 GMT -5
Thank you for the kind words rockjunquie! I enjoy your female figures. I have some pieces going to jJmes. Looking forward to seeing what we can come up with!
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