Recycled Glass

Yellow friend · October 13, 2009, 12:51:32 PM

I've just been exploring making beads from some glass shards my DH found whilst digging out some footings at a job he's doing for someone. The glass had a beautiful aquamarine colour and they look quite lovely - however - this has made me think about all those empty gin bottles & their lovely colours & COE's - does anyone know the COE's of current bottles - can they be combined etc.,

sarah t · October 13, 2009, 01:07:57 PM

i dont know all the ins and outs and about combining with other glass but several people drink bombay saphire just so they can use the glass apparently

Yellow friend · October 13, 2009, 01:14:22 PM

It is a very pretty blue. I'm sure that must be the reason

llewennog · October 13, 2009, 01:29:40 PM

Make a pull of a small piece of the recycled glass pull it into a rod thickness piece heat to molten and lay it on some heated scrap 104 clear, allow that to cool and note if the glass pulls in one direction or another, If it cools without bending or snapping your 104 , then you have compatability!

Try this with a boro punty and 104 and the 104 will shrink back and crack off the coe33.

Pat from Canvey · October 13, 2009, 01:31:37 PM

Harveys Bristol Cream sherry bottles make lovely beads as do beer and wine bottles too. Just don't mix the different glasses. Concentrate on differently shaped beads or spacers. I cut my bottles and put into my big ceramic kiln to make flat sheets and then cut these up into 1/4 inch strips. I also use offcuts of stained glass, mostly Spectrum to make beads too. I can't remember what COE bottle glass is, somewhere around 84 I seem to recall, may be wrong. Spectrum is COE 96.

theflyingbedstead · October 13, 2009, 01:39:59 PM

You could always try mixing tiny amounts of enamel powder with the glass to colour it.

Jeanniegems · October 13, 2009, 01:53:32 PM

Diana East has an article in the first issue of Bead magazine on Bombay sapphire glass. I have tried it, takes ages to melt, have pulled thick stringers with it, but not done anything with them. Made some plain round beads, quite lovely but takes a long time ,tried frit on them, some was ok some flaked off, even tried silvered glass as dots that worked if not too many dots
Jean

theflyingbedstead · October 13, 2009, 02:16:59 PM

I'd be interested to read that article Jean. I have seen Diana's Bombay Sapphire hollow bead necklace...it is stunning. She has also made another hollow bead necklace using Lorina Pink Lemonade glass, fumed with gold to make it pink. I have a photo of it on my website at the bottom of the page:

http://www.bigbangbeads.com/Big_Bang_Beads/Notes_on_Diana_Easts_Master_Class_Day_2.html

Jeanniegems · October 13, 2009, 02:22:12 PM

As I said the article was in issue no 1. there are pictures of her blue necklace and pictures of the pink lemonade also some brown beads made with beer bottles. She wore her blue bombay necklace when we went for a curry on the first course I took with her, gorgeous!

theflyingbedstead · October 13, 2009, 02:30:28 PM

I'll have to see if I can get a copy!

I have got an empty Bombay Gin bottle as well as a Harvey's lurking outside. I like Pat's idea of flattening them in a kiln...but I only have an SC2 so I'll probably just smash them up and melt them into rods.

I have heard of people using broken lenses from old car brake lights too.

glassworks · October 13, 2009, 02:30:44 PM

di also made some beads using recycled glass in murano - her and sarah hornik spent a few hours "beach combing" a little gravel "beach" for some lumps of glass which they then melted and mixed into their new rods.... i know these were all 104 but they made some wonderful pieces - i'll see if i can scare up some pics from the archives... was just down there again recently and had a wander around looking at studio spaces...

the lumps that got the most excitement where ones that were called "uranium glass" by daniello - it was a kind of milky, creamy, bluey kinda glass that is apparently no longer safe to produce!... ;-)

go figure!...

Yellow friend · October 13, 2009, 02:53:00 PM

Thanks for that - especialy about how to test for compatibility - useful. I've made a couple of beads from one of the shards, it melted quicker than my other stuff - My DH thought it was probably about 100 years old as he has found other parts of it and some have developed that oil on water effect.

Carol · October 13, 2009, 02:57:51 PM

I've made a few beads with Bombay sapphire glass, but haven't tried mixing it with any other glass. I've used silver leaf & silver foil with it though for a different look, it worked well and the silver didn't discolour at all, quite a pretty effect.

Yellow friend · October 13, 2009, 03:06:52 PM

Interesting - I also have about 600 bottles of assorted enamels - haven't a clue what their COE's are. Some are very old but I have tested them and they still 'work'. If they are somehow administered to be on the inside of a hollow - I feel a dose of the experimentals coming on

theflyingbedstead · October 13, 2009, 03:21:30 PM

Quotedi also made some beads using recycled glass in murano - her and sarah hornik spent a few hours "beach combing" a little gravel "beach" for some lumps of glass which they then melted and mixed into their new rods.... i know these were all 104 but they made some wonderful pieces - i'll see if i can scare up some pics from the archives... was just down there again recently and had a wander around looking at studio spaces...

Ooooooo - yes please do!

Quotethe lumps that got the most excitement where ones that were called "uranium glass" by daniello - it was a kind of milky, creamy, bluey kinda glass that is apparently no longer safe to produce!... ;-)

Did they do anything with the uranium glass or did they feel that it wasn't safe to play with?

Recycled Glass

llewennog

glassworks