kaleidoscopes

pookie · Post by **pookie** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 8:08 pm

would like to find info on making kaleidscopes.ordered a book by thomas boswell.is there any info in the archives?thanks in advance .mel

Brock · Post by **Brock** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 8:41 pm

I don't recall much, but you could check. Brock

Brad Walker · Post by **Brad Walker** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 8:48 pm

pookie wrote:would like to find info on making kaleidscopes.ordered a book by thomas boswell.is there any info in the archives?thanks in advance .mel

You won't find much on making kaleidoscopes in the archives. It's not generally a kiln-based technique.

There's not much mystery in making one, anyway. The only trick is the mirrors. Go buy one of those cheap kaleidoscope kits (from any stained glass supplier) and you'll know how it's done.

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 9:11 pm

Well, sorry Brad, there really IS quite a bit to them, or at least can be. They are just like a piece of fused glass; make it as good or poorly as you wish.

Check out http://www.kaleido.com and you'll find quite a bit. And as far as making them with fused glass, I've been doing it for years. I fuse glass for the object wheel and bend glass into what ever shape I want for the body. I went so far as to make a body out of combed glass that matched the colors in a large marble I used as the object. Again, they can be as easy or bizarre as you wish.

Jerry

Ron Coleman · Post by **Ron Coleman** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 9:38 pm

Over the past 10 years, I've built 23 scopes and the single most important thing to remember about Kaleidoscope design is to use FRONT SURFACE MIRROR. The front surface mirror, sometimes called "First Surface Mirror" gives a superior image compared to regular single strength float glass mirror.

Front surface mirror has the silver coating on the working side and gives a perfect image without secondary reflections. Float glass mirrors give your two reflections and a real fuzzy image. Keep your fingers off the mirrored surface, it scratches very easily.

Another thing to add to the design criteria is keep the eye relief (distance from the eye to the end of the mirrors) to a minimum for best viewing and use an eyepiece diameter that fills the inside diameter of the triangle created by the three mirrors. One and a half inch wide mirrors are a good starting point for a large image. Keep your mirrors at least 10 inches long, otherwise it's hard for some people to focus for a crisp image. You can go shorter but you'll need a lens and that adds complication to the design.

Remember that the mirrors are the heart of the kaleidoscope so the design revolves around them. Experiment with some cheap float glass mirrors first by taping them together and then work on the package design.

Look around stained glass shops for the front surface mirror, some have it in stock. You're gonna pass out when you see the price tag for a 12 x 16 sheet and you'll pass out again the first time you try cutting it.

Front surface mirror is only available in 1/16 inch thick glass and it cuts about as well as a piece of BE white.

There are many kaleidoscope designs that use different numbers of mirrors and angles between them, but in my book the old three mirror design beats them all for brightness and image crispness.

Ron

Brad Walker · Post by **Brad Walker** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:08 pm

Jerry wrote:Well, sorry Brad, there really IS quite a bit to them, or at least can be. They are just like a piece of fused glass; make it as good or poorly as you wish.

I'd have to agree with that. I guess what I was trying to say was that the basics are fairly simple; like anything else, they can be much more complex if you want.

I used to play with kaleidoscopes a bit back in my stained glass days, but have never done one with a fused body. Perhaps that would make an interesting contest one year.

vblue · Post by **vblue** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:24 pm

The website that Jerry mentioned looks like a real good source of info....I did recognize several of the names.
The mirror system to me was the hardest to learn. My boss has designed some awesome fused kaleidoscopes. I've done one with the body and wheels fused. Believe me making fused wheels is a lot easier than foiling all of the itty-bitty pieces. And dichoric glass really adds interesting colors and designs.
"The Kaleidoscope Book" by Thom Boswell is a good one. But the same info is probably in the site mentioned.

Vernelle

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 7:24 am

Well, folks, didn't mean to kick up such a storm. Ron's comments, however, should be taken as the "5th Gospel" as far as scopes are concerned. The heart of the scope is it's mirrors; fail there and all your work is for naught.

Brad suggested fused kaleidoscopes as a possibility here, and I agree. If you can flat fuse and slump, you can make a scope body. The object piece or pieces go as far as the imagination can take you, or, don't exist and the entire world is your object. So there is no limit to the creativity scope makers encounter with each new piece.

I do a lot of marble scopes where I use a hand crafted marble of high quality (I buy them from artists whose work I've come to admire) and match them to fine art glass or make the glass myself. It's an easy way to make something really beautiful. When I have time I go much deeper and that's where the fun really begins. Ron probably knows what I'm talking about when I say "these things talk to you." I've gotten hung up on a design and simply couldn't figure out where I was going only to wake up in the middle of the night with the answer. (Man, does the wife get grumpy when I do that).

So, let's think this scope thing out and see if there is any interest here to doing more with them, from the fused glass perspective.

Jerry

Ron Coleman · Post by **Ron Coleman** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:12 pm

There is a tendency to get carried away Jerry.

One of my more complicated scopes. Fifteen different woods and it's even self-propelled with its own light system and gears.

So far I haven't built any out of glass.

ron

gone · Post by **gone** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:57 pm

Ron, you're such an overachiever!

Ron Coleman · Post by **Ron Coleman** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 7:41 pm

Els VandenEnde wrote:Ron, you're such an overachiever!

Just something to do in the winter and more productive than watching the tube. It only took three months.

Ron

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 7:09 am

Ron, be careful; the ghost of Jules Verne may have something to say about that one.

I'm backing out of the conversation. While I've done some complex scopes, I've never done anything as magnificent as that one.

U Da' Man

Jerry

Ron Coleman · Post by **Ron Coleman** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 8:39 am

Jules is alive and well.

A Wimshurst machine, circa 1999.

Ron

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