oceanside QC

[Bob Gent]

I ordered a few pieces of oceanside 96 for a class I'm putting on, and was amazed at the poor quality of the glass. In the clear, there were multiple stones, some of which caused cracks. All of the glass had bubbles here and there, some of them big enough to blister.
I had thought I could switch to a 96 COE fusing glass for the sake of compatibility with the base glass and colors from my hot shop. Now I see that Spectrum is out of the game, and Oceanside is supposedly making their formulas in Mexico (badly, it seems)
I've been out of the game for a number of years, so I'd appreciate if anyone can catch me up on what's available

[Bonnie Rubinstein]

Hi Bob,
I have been using Spectrum, and now Oceanside for a total of 20+ years. I do occasionally small bubbles, but it dos not affect the quality of the end product in my case. I do not see a difference in my fusing since working with Oceanside.

[Bonnie Rubinstein]

just to clarify, I do occasionally see tiny bubbles in the glass prior to fusing, but they do not present a problem.

[danieljanse]

Hi Bob. Have you read the posts and opinions on OC from Craftweb? The bulk of interest is in the clear glass cullet product but there has been some attention to the limited amount of color. No one can deny the price is good but you probably hit the nail with your title "QC". The cullet review has not been good and it has been suggested by the moderator that the COE/LEC is 94 rather than 96. I can't recall where that number came from, but it comes up everytime OC is mentioned. If you are strictly OC you are likely fine as the QC they do perform is likely between their own glasses. I have ordered some OC Vanilla Cream frit and will be testing it carefully.

One thing I will say about OC. Looking at their website and catalog, it seems like they are trying to become the 96 COE version of Bullseye so that is a good model and direction. To get there may take some time...I can't imagine the complexity of taking over an entire glass making operation.

But you asked about what's available. I've started doing some of the same combinatorial (fusing/blowing) work so I'll tell you what I have found. Delphi has some nice prices on sets from Wissmach and Youghiogheny, both 96. These give you a variety of colors so you can find what you like. The rainbow Y-96 set has a nice red and the other opaques are also good. It is rather interesting that these Made in USA companies are still able to make glass here as they have been for a long while. Good quality and I've so far had no issues. Wissmach has some frit available but I have not tried it yet. I so wish these other companies offered a Vanilla product in order to achieve the amazing reactions seen in Bullseye.

That's your other option. Make the decision right now to go Bullseye and figure out 90. You would not be the first. Check out the work of Leslie Rowe-Isrealson and Mark Laukner. Leslie and her blowing partner, Ryan Bavin work around 90 COE glass in the hot shop. They tried some Spectrum/96 products but were not pleased with the colors. It is WORTH it to them to use Bullseye. Mark actually melts Tekta clear. I have been aware of him for years as an equipment designer who did a lot of foundry work. I had no idea that he was blowing Bullseye! For some work he just throws some glass sheets on top of his clear and gathers it up. He is so creative and non-conventional that it's just refreshing to browse his videos. I've read before that just getting some glass products shipped into Canada can be prohibitively $$$ so perhaps this is his motivation. Actually, Leslie and Ryan are also in Canada. Best of luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEpp9eOggMg

https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkLauckner/videos

[JestersBaubles]

I am a "fuser only" but I have moved seamlessly from Spectrum to Oceanside. I have 100s of ft2 of both (some very old Spectrum that almost pains me to use, LOL). I mix and match, without issue. I always see comment about OC's lack of color choices compared to BE, but I just don't see this to be true. The one thing I do worry about is that many of their mixes might be "short run" and once it's gone, it's gone. Not enough history yet to tell if that is the case, but it seems likely.

I have tried Wissmach, but the cutability is poor, IMO (it's brittle). I'll use their lumis for a few things like flowers. I won't touch Youghiogheny. A lot of their fusible glass shifts appearance significantly when fired. I am a very visual creator, and I'm not willing to work with beautiful glass that shifts to drab once fired.

Many people have been using Val Cox's 96 COE frit mixes. I haven't used them, but there are some really lovely color mixes. Keep in mind that most are lead-bearing and so not suitable for food surfaces unless capped with clear.

Dana

[AndyT]

The prices of OGT have continued to rise to the point that they are now competitive with BE, KOK and others. I think they've become better at making the colors more vibrant. I've never had a bad experience with OGT for fusing.

Hi Bob. Have you read the posts and opinions on OC from Craftweb? The bulk of interest is in the clear glass cullet product but there has been some attention to the limited amount of color. No one can deny the price is good but you probably hit the nail with your title "QC". The cullet review has not been good and it has been suggested by the moderator that the COE/LEC is 94 rather than 96. I can't recall where that number came from, but it comes up everytime OC is mentioned. If you are strictly OC you are likely fine as the QC they do perform is likely between their own glasses. I have ordered some OC Vanilla Cream frit and will be testing it carefully.

One thing I will say about OC. Looking at their website and catalog, it seems like they are trying to become the 96 COE version of Bullseye so that is a good model and direction. To get there may take some time...I can't imagine the complexity of taking over an entire glass making operation.

But you asked about what's available. I've started doing some of the same combinatorial (fusing/blowing) work so I'll tell you what I have found. Delphi has some nice prices on sets from Wissmach and Youghiogheny, both 96. These give you a variety of colors so you can find what you like. The rainbow Y-96 set has a nice red and the other opaques are also good. It is rather interesting that these Made in USA companies are still able to make glass here as they have been for a long while. Good quality and I've so far had no issues. Wissmach has some frit available but I have not tried it yet. I so wish these other companies offered a Vanilla product in order to achieve the amazing reactions seen in Bullseye.

That's your other option. Make the decision right now to go Bullseye and figure out 90. You would not be the first. Check out the work of Leslie Rowe-Isrealson and Mark Laukner. Leslie and her blowing partner, Ryan Bavin work around 90 COE glass in the hot shop. They tried some Spectrum/96 products but were not pleased with the colors. It is WORTH it to them to use Bullseye. Mark actually melts Tekta clear. I have been aware of him for years as an equipment designer who did a lot of foundry work. I had no idea that he was blowing Bullseye! For some work he just throws some glass sheets on top of his clear and gathers it up. He is so creative and non-conventional that it's just refreshing to browse his videos. I've read before that just getting some glass products shipped into Canada can be prohibitively $$$ so perhaps this is his motivation. Actually, Leslie and Ryan are also in Canada. Best of luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEpp9eOggMg

https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkLauckner/videos