FRIT GRINDER Q

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rodney
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FRIT GRINDER Q

Post by rodney »

i guy i know says that a powerful JUICER with the grain attachment would probably work for glass,,,,,,what i need to know is what do i need to be aware of when buying a garbage disposal or any other thing that i plan to use for making frit,,,i guess i would need to have a magnet with me when i go to buy something, just to make sure if the thing starts to chip, i can take it out of the glass, with the magnet,,,,,when making frit, can you adjust the disposal to make smaller or larger frit, or does it come out pretty much one size,,,,,and while im here, can you tell me the best size of frit to use in pate de verre,,,,i know thats a lot,,,thanks,,rodney
Paul Tarlow
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Post by Paul Tarlow »

Hi Rodney -

You'll get a variety of frits sizes so you may want to plan on sifting them with different size meshes to sort them out.

Lundstrom Fusing book 3 covers this (including diagrams of a disposal-based fritter). It also includes some info on what size frits to expect in what proportions.

And no message on this topic would be complete without a warning about wearing a respirator if you are going to frit your own glass :)

- Paul
Brad Walker
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Post by Brad Walker »

If you make your own frit, it won't come out of the process sized perfectly. You'll need to sort it into various sizes. You can do this easily with different mesh screens, available at most pottery supply places.

There is no one best size of frit to use in pate de verre. Different size frit gives different looks, so the right one depends on the look you want.

As for the garbage disposal frit maker, the main thing would be to wear a mask when you use it. The last thing you want to do is inhale a lot of silica dust. And use a magnet to remove any bits of steel that make their way into the glass.

I used to make my own frit, but considering the time required I've now decided it's cheaper to just buy it pre-made.
rodney
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pre made frit

Post by rodney »

yeah, im sure its cheaper for some to buy it, but when i went to check it out, it was like gold,,,, GOLD I TELL YA,,,, so ill go ahead and do the handmade frit thing, until i can become as rich as those that buy it, ITS LIKE GOLD I TELL,,,GOLDDDD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh life is good

thanks for the comeback folks
rodney
Colin & Helen
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Joined: Fri May 16, 2003 7:21 pm
Location: Albany Western Australia

Post by Colin & Helen »

Hi Rodney.. I still crush by hand ..had the local stainless steel work shop make one up for me.. works well although blisters on my hands are a problem after a short time of crushing........the other day I purchase a garden chipper..for use only in the garden ... but I was thinking it would be great for fritt production .. as other than the cutting blades and the disc they sit on all the other parts are plastic...so if the blades and disc were replaced with SS .....bingo ......instant fritt chipper....

Colin
Colin & Helen from the other albany<img src="http://members.westnet.com.au/sheltie/i ... b-logo.jpg">
charlie
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Re: FRIT GRINDER Q

Post by charlie »

rodney wrote:i guy i know says that a powerful JUICER with the grain attachment would probably work for glass,,,,,,what i need to know is what do i need to be aware of when buying a garbage disposal or any other thing that i plan to use for making frit,,,i guess i would need to have a magnet with me when i go to buy something, just to make sure if the thing starts to chip, i can take it out of the glass, with the magnet,,,,,when making frit, can you adjust the disposal to make smaller or larger frit, or does it come out pretty much one size,,,,,and while im here, can you tell me the best size of frit to use in pate de verre,,,,i know thats a lot,,,thanks,,rodney
the juicer probably won't last very long. a disposal doesn't either. you have to do the grinding wet to cut down on airborn glass.

all together now: if i had a hammer, i'd hammer in the morning....
Strega

Re: pre made frit

Post by Strega »

rodney wrote:yeah, im sure its cheaper for some to buy it, but when i went to check it out, it was like gold,,,, GOLD I TELL YA,,,, so ill go ahead and do the handmade frit thing, until i can become as rich as those that buy it, ITS LIKE GOLD I TELL,,,GOLDDDD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh life is good

thanks for the comeback folks
rodney
DUDE! CALM Down :P It's just broken glass :lol:
rodney
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strega,,,,ya gotta help me out mannn

Post by rodney »

strgra wrote,,,,DUDE! CALM Down It's just broken glass

come on man ,,,ya gotta help me out here,,you live in oregon where ya got the good 80 mesh, here is nothin but 20 mesh, ,,,dude, come on help me out,,i got those 80mesh bugs crawlin all over me, i need the good stuff mann,,i gotta have it
Cynthia

Post by Cynthia »

Okay Rodney. I'll help you, but you gotta promise you'll look into a 12-step program :shock: . Save you a bundle. :wink:

Here's another way to save a bundle on frit.

Forget the garbage disposal and juicer. Quenching is the way to go. Now you still need the different sized mesh doodles to sort out your frit sizes, but they can be made, or purchased.

Take your scrap glass and pile it up in the kiln (only one color at a time unless you want a mixed bag). Pile it into a stainless mixing basin like you can get at a restauraunt supply store...a bowl that fits in the kiln without touching the sides. Now....fire up to 1000. Go as fast as your kiln will heat since it won't thermal shock, nor matters even if it did. Once to temp, turn off the kiln...I mean really turn it off...no power.

I forgot to tell you to put a basin of cold water on the floor that is big enough to hold the glass that you have in the kiln.

Now. Take out that SS basin (Wear your kevlar gloves) of glass and dump the glass, hiss, pop, sizzle, into the cold water. You just thermal shocked your glass and while it's still in the basin of water and after it's cooled a bit you can crush it easily since it's already stressed and crazed. Stomp on it with a pair of tennis shoes, wrap in towels and bang with a hammer, crush up however you like. While it's wet or submerged, the silica dust isn't an issue, but once dry, silica dust is as much of a problem as always. Wear your respirator when sifting out the different mesh sizes. I dry the crushed frit by dumping it wet into a towel and hanging the towel like a hammock to let the water drain and evaporate.

I'm told you can do this in your cooking oven at 500F, but havn't tried that. Worth giving it a go if your kiln is too small to make it work.

Poor and lazy person's approach to frit making. I like it better than any other way since it's so low tech.
Jo Holt
Posts: 56
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:02 pm
Location: Maine USA

Post by Jo Holt »

When you use the scrap for frit - what happens to iridized coating? Do you not use irid glass or does it go away? #-o Is this a blonde question? :oops: Really building up clear scrap and wanna use it.

Jo
Deb Libby
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Post by Deb Libby »

Rodney ...
Cynthia's solution is the one I use for fast, really fast frit production .... when I need alot, I simply put 4 x-large restaurant sized SS bowls into my oval kiln, heat to 1200 (I'll try going to the lower temp like Cynthia next time), and then dump them into 4 metal trash cans 1/2 full of water. And like Cynthia says, "Voila" .... instant frit. You can put different colors in the separate bowls and separate trash buckets or go for one color in one trash bucket. For smaller amounts, I use my Fire Bucket to heat the glass quickly and then quench into the water. I got my "sifters" at the local Salvation Army thrift store .... old pasta drainers, collanders, etc.

Have fun .... you'll have all the frit you could possibly want![/b][/u]
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