Tis a shame that brownish green isnt what I'm aiming for with silver glass, tis also true that if I wanted amber clear I'd have used it instead of crystal clear so after lots of trying it out I realise I need a nice tutorial.
I'm looking at Anouk's making silver glass sing and there are 3 to choose from. I'm probably not going for pink just yet as I know pink is really difficult so that leaves volume 1 or volume 2. As I know nothing I'm thinking volume 1 seems the best place to start but what do others think?
Helen x
are you on a hot head by any chance?
I have the 1st one, not got the pinks yet but certainly got better colours - but i find that with silver glass i have to turn the HH torch down low
(playing with rubino and was annoyed at burning it so I turned the torch down till almost out then back up a small amount and, result, it melts a bit slower but is more controlled and i get a cleaner colour, no scumming in clear 04 and rubino shines and I can make a better shaped bead, oh and its quieter as well ! )
use the top of the flame and go slow - dont let the bead out of the flame at all when you are putting it on, then either heat slowly until fully molten or until melted on with surface texture ( depends on what you want).
If striking it has to be fully molten -
If reducing once it is on thats fine if you want surface texture. Take it out of the flame until the glow has gone, make sure it is cool ! you will probably see shiny blue now ! fit foil collar and put back in the very top of the flame and rotate for 2-3 seconds only !! check the colour, repeat if you want - if you do too much thats when you get the browns, remove foil collar and encase with the bead under the flame and not in it until its covered then bring into the flame to smooth the encasing. I am told reducing is a chemical reaction and this tends to be fast - the longer it goes the further the colour shifts to the brown
Striking - after fully molten remove to cool until no glow at all then back into the top of the flame and rotate the bead slowly until it is glowing cherry red - take it out and check the colour - you can repeat this a few times - may need to heat it more than cherry red and then encase - it can be heated a lot to smooth the encasing but overheating will continue the striking and can cause the brown colours again so do a few small beads to get the timings then try bigger beads. Stiking is a heat reaction on the silver crystals and the colours come through in a sequence, the longer it is done the further along the sequence it gets Oh and when you anneal the colpours may deepen further.
really good info here worth reading if getting muddy browns ! =- http://www.doublehelixglassworks.com/FAQ.aspx
well thats my experience anyway ! hope it helps a bit :)
Thanks for posting that link, Mark.
I will spend the rest of the night labelling up 200 rods of glass :( from Big Bead show today, then tomorrow I will have another go with my D.H. Glass ;D
Linda x
Quote from: tomcat on October 15, 2011, 07:49:49 PM
are you on a hot head by any chance?
I'm on a minor, I manage ok with triton but just murdering the mixed pack from tuffers. I have not had any tuition as trying to teach myself, well when I say teach myself I mean the good folk on here guide me through all my disasters and dilemmas!
I drool over the beautiful beads I see others create and know deep down that one day I will get there but maybe I need some tuition!
Thank you for all your help and I will spend a while on that link tomorrow, I was too busy ruining some expensive glass earlier to have a look but now I know I need to do a bit of research before I cremate any more!
Have a lovely weekend and thanks for all the info
Helen
I hope you don't mind me giving you just a couple of hints :):
You have a great torch, with a lot of heat - just don't use all of it all the time! :D Most reduction glasses need to be cool before they are reduced, so make sure the bead has no glow left before you take it to the reduction flame.
When you reduce, make sure you don't hold it in the flame so long that it heats up, just waft it in and out a few times, look for that metallic shine, and then proceed. Don't over do it, you'll end up with goo. And, of course, if you are encasing the bead don't let the flame hit the bead before it is covered in clear.
There are so many fabulous tutorials out there I wouldn't know where to start. I'd just say go for one that has the colours you like!
Thanks, Julie.
I have tried all that you say, but it still makes green poo.
Martin told me that green poo has been left in flame too long....tried to rectify with this knowledge.....no different.
I have a couple of tutes that I had forgotten about :-[
Maybe I should be more organised here on the PC ;D
Linda x
Hmmm. Linda, if you have done what I said above, and it still ends up like green poo I just wonder if your flame is not set right to begin with. We all want to be able to melt fast and hard, and when working with oxycons instead of tanked oxygen it is very easy to turn up that propane just a touch to make things melt quicker.
Set up your normal flame. Put a rod of triton or aurae to it - does it get a metallic shine? If yes, your flame is reducing. Reduce your propane until it doesn't change the silver glass - that's when you have a neutral flame. If you have a bobcat (I do) this is a very easy mistake to do, I know from experience!
I'm on a Cricket, Julie and the propane is actually surprisingly low in the flame. I can tell this by the way it turns off at the torch, i.e., P.O.O.P. The little jets are quite small and tight, but it's still bedding in and when they shrink back I adjust them a teeny weeny bit.
The only time the jets differ is when I have been torching for about 2 and half hours to three hours and I have to clean the holes(which reminds me - I have lost one of the 'poking' wires and I hate being left with just one)
Thanks again though...it remains a mystery that green poo
Linda x
I do cool to no glow but then heat again till I see a reddish glow on the silver glass in the reducing flame but dont reheat the base bead to a glow. I will now try wafting, I did try that before but nothing happened maybe I was being too impatient. I manage poo from triton sometimes and others its shiny and possibly its just in the timing and getting it hotter sometimes more than others. Its raining here so that usually means a day in where I can play!
Just been reminded I need to dry my hair and have breakfast first....
Hx
Tried wafting too :'(
I think there are two ways to succeed with silver glass - use up lots and lots of it trying every possible way of working until you find what is successful, and try it a bit, leave it alone, come back, leave it alone, and suddenly you will find it clicks. I took the second route, and am now fairly consistent. I think for me I became better with silver glass because I had a better understanding of glass generally.
I also read certain tutorials that did help me with some aspects. The key one for me was the free fire opal tutorial from Naos. I also like the storming tutorial.
You might find you are more successful initially with making dots and using stringers or silver glass frit.
Further to Julie's post, I also use a bobcat, and I set my flame very small to work in a neutral way. If your flame is reducing you will turn opaque turquoise silvery immediately, so perhaps turn down the propane if this happens, and then turn it up a bit to reduce. I find it doesn't need to be really big and bushy like some of the books say. Let the bead cool as much as you can before you encase, and try to melt in really slowly and patiently.
It will happen, but you can't force it, I don't think. :)
Thanks, Shirley.
I have had SOME success with some silver glass, but that was back in April, when I first started and with my Hot Head.
I had some pinky gold from Aurea, some silver from Triton and a beautiful GOLD bead from (I think) Golden Emerald.
On my Cricket, the best success I have had is with Nyx..a nice dark blue.
Even this isn't consistent, though.
I am going to try out some Khaos I bought from Martin yesterday, and if I fail again, I shall take your 'leave it alone and come back' advice.
Oh..I did buy the Storming tute and that was also when I was on the HH. I actually got some nice results.
L x
I get the silvery finish I'm after, think oooh yes, pop it in the kiln and am usually so disappointed when it comes out all the silvery finish is usually gone. have tried putting charcoal in with the beads, what am I doing wrong?
Jeannie x
Quote from: Enchanted Cobwebs on October 16, 2011, 09:05:41 AM
I do cool to no glow but then heat again till I see a reddish glow on the silver glass in the reducing flame but dont reheat the base bead to a glow. I will now try wafting, I did try that before but nothing happened maybe I was being too impatient. I manage poo from triton sometimes and others its shiny and possibly its just in the timing and getting it hotter sometimes more than others. Its raining here so that usually means a day in where I can play!
Just been reminded I need to dry my hair and have breakfast first....
Hx
Which colours in particular are you trying? Do waft rather than heating to a glow when reducing: seems to work better if you have quite a propane-rich flame and then waft at the top of the flame, rather than just slightly and wafting at the bottom.
Striking colours: it's important to get them hot enough to start with - they should glow white and the glass should look clear. Let cool. Then warm to just glowing in a neutral flame until they go dark amber-looking. That's the first strike: you can encase immediately then, or strike repeatedly.