Double helix - what did I do wrong?

[Magpie]

I bought some double helix glass from Martin last Sunday and had a play yesterday making big hole beads with a layer of each glass over a base of a different colour (the colours were different and randon so I knew which bead was which when they emerged from the vermiculite). I've read Mary's thread on how to reduce double helix glasses, but she uses dual fuel and I'm still on a hothead. I cooled the beads, wrapped my foil collar round the holes, wafted, cooked, cooled, wafted repeat etc and got the results below....

The glasses left to right are Aion, Electra, Kronos, Gaia, Khaos and Lunna (busted in two parts). Aion looks burnt, OK my fault I burnt it somehow, electra and kronos were the only ones which went irridescent the first time through the reducing flame and don't look too bad, the colours are coming, maybe I needed to do it 100 times instead of 50 (??) as is gaia, but khaos and lunna are that lovely bird poo colour.

Any tips on how I went wrong? Was I just not patient enough and didn't play for long enough on each bead? Didi I overdo it? Do I just need to stick to dots? not that they're much better!

[grandmabead]

Hi Magpie,
I'm a newbie on a HH and have only used DH Triton and how i get a good reduction is to allow the bead to cool until it is no longer glowing and then return it to the reduction flame for just a few seconds, take a little peek at it then pop it back into the flame until i like it. This maybe just a coincidence....but i find i get different reactions depending on where i put the bead in the flame. Higher in the flame (the yellowy top part) gives me the mirror-like effect really easily and lower in the flame i get the more rainbow effect.
You can take the whole thing back to the beginning by reheating the glass until it is really hot and starting again.
Good luck and i hope this helps 

[Mary]

Khaos and Luna are striking glass. It's trickier on a HH, like raku - you get it HOT, drippy hot, then cool quickly (maybe use a press or marver?), then reheat to strike. I've not had much luck myself with Luna, and not used Khaos much, but that's how I use the other strikers. Tip - pulling stringer first, getting the gather hot first, can help because you get the extra heat/cool stage.

For the reducing ones, try rolling the glass longer in the flame. Or on a HH you can reduce in the blue cone of the ordinary flame, right down at the torch face. And make sure the bead is cool before reducing, you'll get better colours.

Good luck!

[Magpie]

Thanks both of you, for telling me that I was doing something right with the reducing ones (just need to ppp), but also TOTALLY WRONG with the others, so I'm not batty, bird poo is right if i was using the wrong technique, yay. Will have another play hopefully Sunday. Right, drippy bird poo.......

[garishglobes]

The four on the left of the piccie are reducing glasses - I think Aion can look better encased but it looks like you're going the right direction with them all to me! Some do take more reduction than others and some burn easier than others but those don't look burnt!! I do find Elektra takes a bit of reducing.
The two on the right are striking glasses (Khaos and Luna). They are a whole different kettle of fish. They need lots of heat till they are a kind of soupy clear, then reshaping and gentle reheating. This isn't easy when you've got 'em so hot they are all over the place, but you can do the shaping a bit when you gently reheat. The first reheating should develop a nice nutty brown. Cool again and reheat gently and you should see colours coming through. You can encase when you get nice colours to keep them better, or you can encase after the brown and reheat and still get colour. Neither of these glasses take very kindly to being reduced!! Keep them as hot and neutral as you can - it is certainly possible with Khaos on a HH, I never really played with Luna2 .

Edited to say, oops, posted at same time as you both!!

Ooh, and edited again to say you could try first with a very small bead on the mandrel with Khaos and Luna. That way you get it hot quickly, and can encase it when you see colours.

[mad bunny]

I've not had much luck myself with Luna

I have a rod of luna and can't get it to do a thing other than melt.   

[Mary]

I think Luna2 is better, but ordinary Luna I get either pale yellow, or purple/black! Though I gave up easily, I had pretty odd lots to play with too!

[Shirley]

Try the reducing glass on different bases. Cobalt transparent is a good one, and I remember that aion worked nicely over a mid blue transparent too.

Also try stringer work on ivory and then reduce.

Never had any luck with the striking DH colours on my hothead at all, although I could get a little bit of colour from Terra sometimes.

[Magpie]

Thanks for all your answers.
I had another go today, and got bird poo again, looks OK but not what it should do. So I'm gonna tuck it in the back of the drawer and wait until I get some oxygen then have another play when I can get it really hot.