useing double helix for the first time

[Binny]

Hi everyone

i was very exited today as i tried some reactive glass, i had 1 rod of each Gaia, Triton and Psyche. i could get the Triton and Psyche to go some lovely colours by reducing the oxygen but i tried 3 times to get the Gaia to change but it stayed the same, i really wanted it to change sooooooo much! I guess i have alot to learn, would somebody be able to point me in the right direction and help me out.

Many thanks Binny

[helbels]

Hi Binny

Gaia isn't a reducer, it's a striker.  (Although apparently it will produce some iridescence with very heavy reduction)

To strike glass you heat it until its very very hot, then take it out the flame and cool until all the glow is gone, then gradually reintroduce it to the flame until it glows again.

I should say at this point that I've had no luck whatsoever getting ANYTHING to strike yet on my HotHead - but I know the theory!!! 


Hope that helps
Helen.

[Binny]

Thankyou Helen, off to bed now but i have a weeks holiday from tomorrow so i will have lots of time to play this week. i will be up early in the morning to have a go at striking!

Binny

[Mary]

Has Gaia changed recently? It was a transparent green reduction glass, not a striker.

Funny that you are struggling, I've always found it easy, though I've not bought any recently and batches do vary. Make sure your bead is fairly cool before you start to reduce, let the glow go. It won't work if it's too hot. I get lovely magentas and blues using it over black, or if I reduce it more I get opaque blue/greens.

[Kaz]

Gaia is definitely a reduction glass. I have struggled to get anything out of it too and I am usually fairly successful with the silver glasses (at least the reduction ones - I am not so good on the strikers as I work too hot generally )
Kazx

[Binny]

Thankyou for the advice, i did try to strike and nothing happened, i will have another go later today with reducing again as i have just read the other comments. 

[Helen G]

I think Josephine Wadman is good with Gaia, she resently did some stormed beads in this thread http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=15826.195 hopefully she'll be able to help 

[helbels]

Oops sorry for misleading you over the striking - it does say that it strikes on the Double Helix website, honest!   This is what they say!:

This rich green glass strikes easily in a slightly reducing flame, while remaining clean in a neutral or oxidizing flame.  Upon striking, Gaia can produce surface coloration ranging from blues to greens and creams.  Heavy reduction can yield red streaks, while very heavy reduction can develop a metallic iridescence.

Sorry if I interpreted this the wrong way.

[sandie]

Please may I ask about this, too? As a newbie I wasn't going to try this yet, but had a pressie of a rod of Triton, and of course had to try it 
When I reduced the oxygen a bit, all I got was a soot-covered single-colour bead. Should I do something else? 

[Trudi]

you only need a slight reduction flame and waft the bead through the blue part of the flame, not too close to the yellow cone. Hope that makes sense!

[sandie]

Perfect sense. Thank you!

[Mary]

Try reading here. It was written before the striking colours came out, so it's for the reducing ones.

http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1494.0

[sandie]

Wow, what a great post. Thank you so much for the link.