Glass saga 2020, 2 new bricks February 26

The science has you down to an art!

Yowza!  That is definitely tribal in the biggest way.  I do believe jamesp that once you set your mind to figuring out how to do something with this glass that there is no stopping you.

Kinda forgot how to do this again.
I know I made gaps in sequence with small opaque teal shards to allow fill spaces for those opaque pink dancing demons to fill into.
Done it before with different colors.
Need to record this stuff(the dimensions and the gaps and the # of sequences(boring keeping records). Free handing is funner.

A "staging box" for two newly welded 10 1/2 inch wide stainless steel molds. One mold load at top, and one at bottom.
Sequences added till 12 pounds of glass is weighed for each mold for a total of 24 pounds of glass in staging box to get a needed 1 3/4" tall brick after melt.
Pattern is altered by simply cutting plates to various heights. and of course color variations of plates.
I could hire labor to do the glass cutting since the recipe is easy to describe on a note card.

So a whole bunch of stock 30" x 32" plate colors can be cut into 10 wide plates, then 10 inch wide plates cut to various heights typically 2-2.5-3-3.5-4-4.5-5 inches tall.
I should get 22 to 24 six inch slabs from each brick, 1/3/4 tall and 5/16 thick.
More say 8-9 sequences using lower 2-2.5 inch plates will give vertical stripes by filling form full width preventing any flow.
Less say 5-6 sequences of taller plates will leave a void in one side of the mold and a 'collapse and fill' will occur as the void in the mold is filled like a lava flow creating distortion and waves.

Guessing I do 20 or 30 of these melts using this method and 'IF' I can predict end results I am seriously considering a small book on glass brick making.
Or do classes. No one does bricks but many want to.

This is the staging box with two 12 pound stacks, note the tall glass is black and will be the main(matrix ?) color, the shorter plates are green/yellow which will be the 'features'.



So the above melts have black matrix with yellow/green features. The inverse would be green/yellow matrix with black features(stripes).
This is the inverse before melting(except the features are cobalt



And this is the inverse result with green yellow matrix(cobalt blue turned the matrix more yellow looking in photo). My goal is to repeat this pattern exactly but using several different colors. Will see.



A barrage of different patterns and color blends can be contrived using this method.
Basically the Z direction is kept constant and you are only making changes in X and Y if the language of geometry floats your boat.

Matrix is the correct word for this application:



So you divide your brain into the 'matrix' and building the features within. MUST SIMPLIFY, or else mass confusion occurs.

Many folks don't think well in 3 dimensions. And those that do have to keep their wits about themselves when creating in 3.
So if complete simplification of one of the dimensions can be accomplished it allows them to work in 2 dimensions their brain is much more effective.

1dave thinks in 5 dimensions, his brain throbs with seismic force

OK kids, this Tribal stuff has lead to an obvious undertaking.
Replace the gray with black. The burgundy and champaign with yellow-orange-red...
might be one of the finest glass flame replications ever

Yes, I can see a lot of markets for that.

I think the flame pattern would look great as a sphere. Let me know if you're interested in a trade.

All that would be needed was some say 4 inch stainless pipe say 9 inches long so loose glass can be stacked in it for a random mix cylinder shaped brick.

But a square mold needed for patterns. and then practice to pour patterns at 3 to 4 inches thick. Change the brick height from 2 to 4 inches and it is a new game.
3 inches might be more in my zone..I have a 6"x6" mold. It is 5 inches tall. I could cast a 6 x 6 x 3.5 inch brick and then saw it 4 ways - 3x3x3 inches.
Or saw 1 - 3.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 out of it and use the remainder for other.

The brick on right is 2 1/4 X 10 1/2 x 6 1/4. Seems solid as ever.
I could go ahead and add more glass till it is 3 to 3 1/2 inches thick. Then saw cubes out of it...
12 pounds glass per 2 inches thickness. So 20 pounds of glass would be close to 3 1/4" thick.
Might be safer to do such a thick pour in a smaller mold. It would need a long anneal time for sure.



This little 6X6 mold would make 4 - cubes.... I have a small kiln it will fit into with a 9x9x9 glory hole.