I've seen some beautiful dichroic glass pendants, and I'm trying to figure out how they are made. They are obviously layered, somewhat at random, and then cut into shapes with a channel for a chain or cord.
I know how to make the channel, but I haven't been able to figure out how to make nice shapes other than squares and triangles. How do you make pretty curves, etc., with layers of dichro. I believe they might be made of larger panels of dichro and other glass.
This may be a stupid question but I'd really like to know!
coldwork, coldwork, coldwork! I couldn't live without my Inland disc grinder and glass grinder. I also make good use of my Taurus II ringsaw. After all the manipulating, a nice gentle fire polish brings back the shine. With the proper equipment, there really is no limit as to the shapes or designs one can conjure up! Let's not forget wet belt sanders, lap machines, dremel tools, and tile saws. Also sandblasting units, tumblers, vibratory laps, acid etching, oil polish, spit... etc...etc...
BOTTOM LINE: Fusing the glass is only the beginning of the work!
casting the channel and also having intricate curves in the same pendant is a tall order. basic shapes - squares, rectangles - are easily done with the channel.
but if drilling holes, i guess any shape could be cut out, fire polished, and hung on a necklace.
Fire hot enough and you'll get rounded corners if the item is thick enough. Small (15mm) square, 6mm thick will become a circle. (Hotish = 836 C).
This isn't infallible, but half the fun is not knowing what you'll find when you open the kiln door...
Fuse three layers of glass -- base, dichroic middle layer and clear cap. Lay out a design on the fused piece using either a template or your imagination and then grind to shape. Fire polish your product and you have your dichroic pendant.
molly, there is quite a bit in the archives about how to cast a channel in a pendant, so a cord can slide thru. people do it with fiber paper, or with a thin welding rod coated in kiln wash or bead release. see if you can find some of those previous posts ... it's been described in pretty good detail a number of time. good luck. come back if you can't round up the info.
