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Valerie, I did think of one other thing. I have a Gemstone saw, now discontinued, and the guy who owned the company told me an excellent lubricant is non-sudsing dishwasher detergent, the kind used in automatic dishwashers. I don't use it for sawing, but I do for drilling. I mix the detergent very d...

I recommend the niobium earrings because no one is allergic to them. They are handsome and come in many colors. The best sellers in my shop are the dark copper ones with the bright copper ball and the gray ones with a sterling ball. I sell them for $2. a pair, but you can order them from Tierra Cas...

Hi, Valerie. I asked a lapidarist friend this same question when I bought my first saw. He laughed and said glass was very soft compared to most of the stones he cuts. Water is fine for glass, but my lapidary saw is just plain steel so I always have to dry it very well after use to avoid rusting. If...

Nigel, I have some of the glow powder, too, and played with it a little. One thing I did discover is that the equipment used to produce the frit left a lot of metal contamination. I was able to remove the debris with a strong magnet.

I bought a 6" Results blade from HIS to replace my 6" MK blade. The MK blade has worked well but was getting worn, and I wanted to try the Results blade. When I mounted the Results blade on my lapidary saw, it was slightly larger in diameter than the MK blade and was rubbing the saw baffle...

Thought some of you might be interested in this pendant tutorial which was posted on Ed Hoy.

http://edhoy.com/pdf/Wrap_Around_Pendant_guide.pdf

Leslie, here is a glimmering of how Loren does the murrini. It is a YouTube video of a demonstration he did at Corning. There is also another video on YouTube of him creating and encasing florals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-TKDAY6vKg

Hi, Gail. You might want to take a look at this page to learn more about color shifting. Like most things, if you want it to shift, it won't, and if you don't want it to shift, it will, provided the coating doesn't popcorn or flake off the glass. Some colors and coatings are more prone to surprises ...

Jesus, note to self: avoid galleries in Tennessee. Actually, those galleries were some I sell through in North Carolina. Years ago I only did stained glass work and it was easy to keep track of what was in a gallery and know when it got sold. The biggest problem then was panels and lampshades getti...

All of my kilns have windows except for the 6" fiber one. One kiln also has a bead door, too. I don't have any problems with air leakage or poor heating. The windows are great provided I place work where I can see it. I don't like opening a 1400 degree kiln and breathing whatever is venting plu...

I once made necklaces with sterling silver findings and West German rubber (very supple and feels like suede). I was only making about $1 per necklace but the galleries convinced me it was essential to have some necklaces in stock. After a while I noticed necklaces were disappearing without me getti...

If you are purchasing your findings at retail or in small quantities, you most likely will not be able to add any mark-up. If you are purchasing the findings at true wholesale, you might be able to do a mark-up depending on the value people associate with your work compared to that of others. If you...

Here is a picture of one of the enameled cabs from the latest batch. The cab is about 1.25 inches in diameter. This cab has a variety of enamels and is much more complex than some of the earlier ones I have posted. It is too cold in my shop now to do much other than make bits and pieces in preparati...

Morganica wrote:Put it into a (microwave-safe) container you don't care about, stick it in the microwave and heat it to a simmer (not to a full boil). That should help it go back into solution, especially if you add marbles.

Are you sure you want to heat a solvent in an appliance which can ignite the vapors?

When I post a photograph, I sometimes wonder how often it is viewed. While there does not appear to be a way to determine the number of viewings, I finally realized there is a tab in the User Control Panel called "Manage Attachments" which lists all the photos I have posted as well as the ...

Hi, Doug. I did a quick search of eBay and Amazon for "rubber tubing". Both have extensive listings in numerous colors, diameters and lengths. Hope some of those might work for you.

Several years ago I bought a few rolls of "thin fire" like paper from a company that someone here on the board recommended and had posted the URL for. I can no longer find their link on my computer or by doing a WGBB search. If anyone knows of this company and their site, could you please...

With enamels, whenever you get a really good colour test result , it is probably worth checking the MSDS for heavy metals. :-k Good point, Kevin. I did check the MSDS for one of the enamels and it was hazardous to breathe or ingest so I am very careful with all of them. I had considered purchasing ...

Thanks for the compliments! These are enamels on opaque glass, no glass powders or frits. They are a lot of fun to make, and I am always surprised at the fine details of the enamels on such small surface areas.

I am continuing to work with enamels and did a test firing today of some more color combinations and shapes. These pieces are about 1/2 inches to 3/4 inches long and may be used as jewelry at some time. For now it is just fun to open the Quickfire kiln and see what happened with the colors.