float glass

[Pat Donaldson]

I am finally back on line after a huge computer crash. Don't know if I'd rather be stuck with a broken kiln or a broken computer.......both seem HORRIBLE.I have experienced both, now.

I am trying to recreate all of the "favorite" places I had marked on the site over the course of a year. A daunting problem at the very least.

I took advice and went to an auto and home glass shop locally and asked for scrap float glass. Now I have it, and am not sure what to do with it.

Is float glass "food safe"? Is float glass compatible with itself (i.e. can if fuse layers together to get thicker glass?). Also, Bert had a site to go to for , if I remember right Sunshine paints? I am going to purchase a sample set in January as a late Christmas present for myself. Also, does float glass fire the same as BE? Can you tack fuse pieces of float to each other? Does thickness of float glass have any problems with compatibility with thinner float? It would be a shame to have this glass and not be able to do anything with it. Also, I remember someone saying something about heating the float (what temp) and then putting it in a bucket of cold water to get pieces instead of having to break it with a hammer or some other way. What size do these pieces turn out? Any little hints or site locations would be greatly appreciated.

I will make paper list for back up once I get them again.

There was also a sight where someone had a tutorial where they used scrap to make so items that looked like sea anemones or coral formations. I was going to try that with my scrap......alas, that favorite site is history. I am hoping not to be a pest, but, don't blame me.........blame the computer gods for all this heartburn.

Thanks for ANY help.

Pat
pat@aslowfuse.com

[Bert Weiss]

I am finally back on line after a huge computer crash. Don't know if I'd rather be stuck with a broken kiln or a broken computer.......both seem HORRIBLE.I have experienced both, now.

I am trying to recreate all of the "favorite" places I had marked on the site over the course of a year. A daunting problem at the very least.

I took advice and went to an auto and home glass shop locally and asked for scrap float glass. Now I have it, and am not sure what to do with it.

Is float glass "food safe"? Is float glass compatible with itself (i.e. can if fuse layers together to get thicker glass?). Also, Bert had a site to go to for , if I remember right Sunshine paints? I am going to purchase a sample set in January as a late Christmas present for myself. Also, does float glass fire the same as BE? Can you tack fuse pieces of float to each other? Does thickness of float glass have any problems with compatibility with thinner float? It would be a shame to have this glass and not be able to do anything with it. Also, I remember someone saying something about heating the float (what temp) and then putting it in a bucket of cold water to get pieces instead of having to break it with a hammer or some other way. What size do these pieces turn out? Any little hints or site locations would be greatly appreciated.

I will make paper list for back up once I get them again.

There was also a sight where someone had a tutorial where they used scrap to make so items that looked like sea anemones or coral formations. I was going to try that with my scrap......alas, that favorite site is history. I am hoping not to be a pest, but, don't blame me.........blame the computer gods for all this heartburn.

Thanks for ANY help.

Pat
pat@aslowfuse.com

Pat

Every glass is compatible with itself and can be fused. You can never assume that 2 disparate pieces of float glass are compatible. (My personal work is based on fusing glass from within a 2 ton case. I never fuse different glasses together.)

Float glass is food safe.

Any glass can be heated and dunked in water to break up. I believe that up to a point, the hotter you heat, the smaller the pieces break in to. I get smaller pieces at 1250 than I get at 900.

Float softens and anneals about 80º hotter than Bullseye and Spectrum.

Brad sells Sunshine series enamels in his Warm Glass gallery and studio.

[Morganica]

Pat, with Brad's new forum software, you can search the archives for the stuff you're looking for and then "bookmark" it in your user control panel. If you look around, Brad's posted instructions on doing that. The neat thing about doing it that way is that you find a lot of other good things along the way that you might have forgotten.

--cynthia

[Pat Donaldson]

That is exactly how I found the favorites I had marked. However, I cannot remember the name of those scrap creations to try to search. I believe it was some kind of "sea" name. I would gladly search for that, if I did not have a "memory" problem......and I mean my brain, not the computer memory.

Pat
pat@aslowfuse

[Morganica]

Uhm, well, they're probably mine, and I called them nudibranchs. I'm headed out the door for my parents' anniversary and nephew's birthday or I'd find 'em for ya...

[Pat Donaldson]

That was a good enough hint. I found them. I can't wait to try it with my scraps. I plan to make them about 5" across, but haven't a clue if that's too big or too small. I noticed you had them on stands (they are so intriguing!). Do you glue them on? Because I can't figure out how a tack fuse wouldn't ruin the rest of the setup. That's also been my concern in trying some of the "freeze and fuse" stuff. There is so much "stuff" out there to try.......and sleep and other responsibilities just keep getting in my way!

Thanks for the hint!

Pat
pat@aslowfuse.com

[Morganica]

The ones in the picture range from about 6-8 inches across and maybe 6 inches high on the stands. I have some that are about 18-20 inches high and perhaps 14-16 inches in diameter; the look changes as you get bigger. The stands are made with the same process but slumped over small bowls without any decoration, and they're sanded to make a common face with the nudibranch and glued on with HXTAL...very permanent bond. I could cast this form as a single piece, but it'd lose the whole "recycled" thing.