Striking and reducing

[Trudi]

Hi

I've been reading about striking & reducing - and would just like to ask for some tips / advise please
- I'm using a HH on bulk propane

This is the text I found on the arrow springs web site


Striking is achieved by cooling the glass to approximately flame annealing temperatures and holding that temperature for a short period of time (what exactly does that mean). Variations in color and intensity occur by varying the time and/or by cycling between temperatures of a dull red heat and cooler.

Reducing is achieved by subjecting the glass, while molten, to a reduction flame atmosphere (help on that please). In general, if the glass is first worked in a neutral flame (? does this include a single fuel like propane - I have no idea), then, while the glass is still molten, it is placed into a raging flame without any oxygen supplied through the torch (?), the glass surface will develop a more metallic finish. If in stead, the glass is worked in a moderately reducing flame, the finish will often tend to have a darker color to it and may or may not have a metallic finish.

Help please & thanks

Trudi

[Mary]

Well I'll tell you what I do, if that helps!

Striking - the glass might start pale or clear, or might have a strong colour to start with. When you work it the colour appears in the heat, and might disappear as you work it longer. To get it back, you cool your bead as if you had finished making it. Then you gently warm it for a few seconds and the colour reappears. This is striking it.

To get a reduction flame on a HH, you cover the air intake holes. Either use a tinfoil collar (there's a pic somewhere) or a pot holder, you'll get a big bushy flame with lots of yellow in it.
So you make and decorate your bead, then when you are finished you cover your air holes. Wave the bead through the tip of this flame and the metallic finish appears. You need to be using the right glass for this to work, like Reichenbach iris colours, or the DH colours. It works with ordinary turquoise and petrol green too, for reddish patches.

Hope that helps!

[Shirley]

ooooh, Trudi, you asked my question!  Thanks Mary, that helps me too 

[Trudi]

Mary - that is brilliant! You've made that very clear thank you!!

I've heard the term but had no idea how to do it - I have some striking rods - just arrived yesterday - and I was wondering about getting all the beads the same colour with it! And I have some reduction frit from Martin - now I know how to use it properly!!

Just to clarify - when you say the tip of the flame (only beacause I haven't had a go yet) will it be the outer tip of the flame?

I'm sure that this would be handy for other newbies - is there a place on here (apart from this section) that tells you information like this - I don't know all that much about different parts of the flame - just learning as I go along!

Trudi

[Mary]

Hi Trudi, glad it made sense! Yes, the outer tip of the reduction flame, at arms length if need be. If you put your bead lower down it will be very hot and will start to melt again. Also, try to use a blue part of the flame, the yellow parts are sooty and will make your bead go black! If you don't like what you get, or if it's sooty, go back to your normal flame to reheat the bead, and start again.

A word about striking glass - over cooking Moretti transparent red makes it muddy and cloudy, and overheated rubino will go clear and stay that way! And red looks black in the flame, (coral looks grey, yellow looks red!) that's normal, it will go red again when it's cool.

[Trudi]

That's great - i'll be giving it a go!!

I had seen the picture of the HH with the foil on it - I tracked it down ...

http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1330.msg21530#msg21530

But thanks again Mary!!

[Trudi]

Hi Trudi, glad it made sense! Yes, the outer tip of the reduction flame, at arms length if need be. If you put your bead lower down it will be very hot and will start to melt again. Also, try to use a blue part of the flame, the yellow parts are sooty and will make your bead go black! If you don't like what you get, or if it's sooty, go back to your normal flame to reheat the bead, and start again.

A word about striking glass - over cooking Moretti transparent red makes it muddy and cloudy, and overheated rubino will go clear and stay that way! And red looks black in the flame, (coral looks grey, yellow looks red!) that's normal, it will go red again when it's cool.

Hi – I'll be having a go at reduction this weekend!! But just a question about using the blue part of the flame – do you mean the fist part of the flame – the cone right next to the HH? – this is not a part of the flame I normally use.

On my HH I can see the blue cone – above that I don't really see much colour – unless I have the bead in the flame then it looks more orange/red – is this unusual?

[Mary]

Hi Trudi, not the cone, no, though I believe you can reduce using just this part, without covering the air holes. What I really meant, was when you make the reducing flame (with the foil collar) it will have a lot of yellow. If you use the yellow part it will make your bead sooty, so work further out in the barely visible part of the flame.
The orange/red with the bead in the flame is soda flare, it's off the glass. Didys will let you see through this.

[Trudi]

Didy's?

[Mary]

Didymium glasses, the tinted safety glasses.

[Trudi]

Didn'te realise they were called that  - I do find that with the tinted glasses that it's hard to see anything other than the blue cone!

[Trudi]

Hi

I was looking on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIobh-SsyVE&mode=related&search=

and when Ross applied the raku stringer he'd made - he cooled it down by blowing on the bead surface - is this another way of striking?

Thanks

Trudi

[Trudi]

Question on striking again - how do you manage to get a set of beads the same colour when striking?? Mine are coming out different colours - it's hard to tell what colour the bead will be when it's still warm - should I be holding it for longer at the outer tip of the flame - ie just keeping it warm for longer and then flash it back into the hotter part?

Any tips appreciated!

[glassworks]

you're not the only one - i'm getting stunning colours - but very rarely the same colour twice!!!

[beadysam]

Have you tried Rainbow red yet?  Pull some stringers, decorate a pale bead with dots/swirls etc, then heat until the RR goes clear.  Let it cool then waft it unevenly in the flame to get all shades from pale lemon to browny red.  It can darken in the kiln too.