BE ball mold?

[Barbara Elmore]

I,m getting 9 ladie,s dancing with these molds. There doesn't seem to be a flat spot in them. Any suggestions?

[Valerie Adams]

Not sure I understand the question completely but a ball mold is exactly that: completely rounded, so there won't be a flat spot.

[Barbara Elmore]

Well, how do I fix it so that it sits level?

[Valerie Adams]

They don't. I guess it's an 'artsy' thing that they wobble which is why all of my ball molds are unused.

Some folks will place a tiny round of fiber blanket or even sift some dry kiln wash into the mold to create a flat spot. Or, you could lightly flat lap the bottom of your piece.

[Morganica]

Three choices:
--Grind the bottom so it sits flat (which by definition is going to give you a thin spot on the bottom, so your design needs to account for it)
--Fill the bottom with something to level the glass when it slumps. I use dry kilnwash, sifted and packed into the bottom, then smoothed and graded to make a seamless joint with the mold. You can also put a piece of 1/8 inch fiber paper in the bottom,; which will give you a lipped base that is kind of cool. I like putting thinfire over the top to keep it very smooth.
--Attach feet to the bottom of the piece. I find three beautiful marbles, flatten them on one side, and permanently glue them to the underside of the bowl in a tripod formation. Makes a very nice base, like this:

[Barbara Elmore]

Thanks, Cynthia. I'll put Thine Fire in the next one, and add feet to this one. We were in Japan eons ago, and I almost got run over trying to cross the street in their crazy traffic to get to a glass seller of marbles!

[Morganica]

Well, if thinfire is all you're using, it'll take a lot of it--it's too thin for a single piece to flatten much. Might be interesting to stack graduated circles of it, though....

[JestersBaubles]

If it is a good ball mold with a continuous radius, and the glass is placed on the mold evenly, the piece should sit nicely even without flattening the bottom or adding feet (unless the bottom of the bowl is textured, or you have varying thickness/weight within the design).

I typically offer bowl stands with pieces I slump in ball molds, or if I have a textured bottom, sometimes I'll use bump-ons. Bump-ons aren't so great if the bowl is actually going to be used, however (they'll eventually wash off). I've also glued on "feet" like Cynthia showed.

Aftosa offers some black metal bowl stands that are inexpensive and look reasonably nice.

Dana

[JestersBaubles]

Three choices:

--Attach feet to the bottom of the piece. I find three beautiful marbles, flatten them on one side, and permanently glue them to the underside of the bowl in a tripod formation. Makes a very nice base, like this:

Very pretty bowl!

Dana

[DonMcClennen]

3" dia. x 1/8" thick fibre placed in bottom centre of mold has worked for me for years.

[Alexis Dinno]

You can also put a piece of 1/8 inch fiber paper in the bottom,; which will give you a lipped base that is kind of cool.

Ye Gods, you just made the solution to a problem I was way over-thinking for a few years.

Thanks!

[Babette (Shawn)]

I made a coiled steel stand for those totally round bottoms. Expensive and a bit excentric...

[Andrea R]

Well, if thinfire is all you're using, it'll take a lot of it--it's too thin for a single piece to flatten much. Might be interesting to stack graduated circles of it, though....

Thats a very cool idea !

[David Jenkins]

If you decide to grind a flat spot with a lap, be careful you don't grind too much - it's thin down there and you can grind through the bottom in the blink of an eye. Been there, done that ...

[charlie]

[quote="Babette (Shawn)"]I made a coiled steel stand for those totally round bottoms. Expensive and a bit excentric...[/quote]


the stands at a place called Picazzo's (here in AZ) are perfect for this. i've bought stands from them for not very much. they look almost like this, except they're not tilted.

[Vonon]

Charlie, Are the stands from Picazzo's for tableware - like for holding pizza or bread basket?

[Babette (Shawn)]

I've seen the stands intended for food, foods like pizza. My stands are thicker, and I can pull them up or push them down and I can create an angle or make them straight up. Truth is there are times I want something that is of a less intrusive design, like what Cynthia does with the marbles.

[charlie]

[quote="Vonon"]Charlie, Are the stands from Picazzo's for tableware - like for holding pizza or bread basket?[/quote]


they are pizza stands for the table. they must get then from some supplier, because all the stores in the chain have the same ones, but no mgr that i've asked has been able to tell me where that is. i haven't tried going to corporate to ask.

[JestersBaubles]

You can order the pizza stands from Amazon. I got one a few months ago, but haven't created a piece for it yet.

Dana