Grinding

Foiling

Cutting

Soldering

Fusing / Slumping

Lamp Construction

Bases

Lead Came

Patina

Glass Selection

Special Glasses

Patterns / Designing

Polishing / Cleaning

Signatures

Studio Design

Mosaic

Kaleidascopes

Resources

SPECIAL GLASSES

ON WORKING WITH MIRROR

Joan Bengston: For what it's worth, I use Rust-oleum Bar-B-Que black paint, heat resistant to 1000 degree F. I spread the mirror pieces out on newspaper face down and spray a couple thin coats of paint. It's effective as long as the mirror is well cleaned of any oily residue before painting and the paint is hardened thoroughly before soldering. I know, sometimes it's hard to wait when you've got a project going.

Harry Savage: A new mirror is on the market in the UK its called Reflex and is made by Pilkintons. The backing is more robust and flux does not affect the silver. To test it I placed a cutting of mirror in both water and in a strong flux. It had no effect on the silver.

ON GLUE CHIPPING TO PATTERN

Joan Bengston: Most chipping is done on window glass or thicker plate glass. The process I'm about to describe may, of course, be done on whole pieces of glass without any resist or design work. Wonderful results can be achieved by chipping the flashed side of flashed antique glass. Materials: Animal hide glue granules Cold water Glass Sandblast resist Masking tape Silica gel, optional Clean glass well and apply sandblast resist, working out any bubbles. Adhesive backed shelf liner is NOT a good choice. It doesn't have enough tack to hold well for this purpose. Transfer desired design on to the resist. Cut along design lines with a sharp stencil knife. Peel the resist off the areas to be chipped. Sandblast thoroughly. Acid etching doesn't create enough "tooth" for the glue to hold onto. Carefully brush or vacuum away the dust. I prefer not to clean it with glass cleaner at this point. I've experienced poor results that could be attributed to glass cleaners that may have left a residue that interferes with adhesion of the glue. To conserve glue or to confine it to specific areas, make dams with 1/2" or wider masking tape. To do this, fold the tape lengthwise, off center, sticky sides together, leaving about 1/4" of adhesive exposed along one long edge for anchoring it to the resist. Stick the exposed adhesive to the resist at least 1/2" away from the etched area that you will be chipping, bending it so the doubled part stands up to hold the puddle of glue. This process doesn't have to be very neat and isn't absolutely necessary. I do it because it gives me more control. Mix glue granules and cold water in a ratio of 1 part glue to 2 parts water by weight, not volume. A kitchen scale works well. Cover the container and let soak for a few hours. Set the container in a little water in a covered pan, sort of like a double boiler. Heat slowly and stir occasionally, being sure it doesn't boil or cook, until the glue is about as warm as the hand can stand (140'-150'F). Glass should be room temperature or warmer. I like to prewarm the glass slightly because it gives me a little longer working time before the glue gels. And it assures a stronger glass/glue bond. Make sure the glass is level. Pour glue and spread very quickly. I use my hand but you may prefer another method of spreading the glue to a reasonably even thickness of 1/16"-1/8". Thin is better than too thick. Don't go back and touch up an area. The glue gels very quickly and you risk loosening the glue from the glass so it won't chip properly. Let dry at room temperature with gentle circulation until the glue is leathery but still soft enough to cut with your stencil knife. Cut through the glue along the design lines at the edges of the resist. This makes a nice clean sharp edge to the chipped design area. Continue to air dry until the glue gets transparent and you can see tension starting. Drying time is quite variable depending on the temperature and humidity of the air, but usually takes 12-24 hours. Now you want to force FAST drying. What you choose to do depends on the size of the glass, the season of the year, etc. Use one or a combination of the following methods: Set up fans. Turn up room heat if possible. Hang heat lamps above the glass. Set glass in the sun. Must be nice warm day, low humidity. Small projects may be finished with silica gel. Cover the glass with a thin cloth. Sprinkle silica gel over the cloth. This makes rescuing the silica gel for reuse easier; it doesn't get mixed in with the glue chips. Place this assembly in a plastic bag or cover tightly with plastic. Soon the glue will start to shrink and split. As it continues to shrink, it pulls the surface of the glass off in a fern-like pattern. You can hear it crackle and jump. Some of the pieces pop and fly off the glass. Don't "help" it. Be patient and let it work. When it's done chipping, you have a lot of glue pieces with thin, dangerously sharp glass on one side to clean up. Brush it away carefully (not with your hands) and dispose of it. Tiny bits of glue that remain stuck on the glass can be removed by soaking with water. Now you can peel off the resist and polish up the finished glass with your favorite glass cleaner. Admire and enjoy!!!