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Hi,

I have been trying to make holes in small pieces of glass (1 in) for jewelry
with fiber board. I've put a small pad of fiber between two layers, trying it with both float and bullseye, and have full fused them at 1550. The glass however, seems to buckle up and not wrap itself around the glass. Is there someway to achieve these holes with fiber board? I'd like to stay away from fusing wire as it looks messy in transparents, and I want a cleaner look.

Thank you

Maria Paula
Vidrio

Try string dipped in kilnwash. or bead release.

[quote="vidrio"]Hi,

I have been trying to make holes in small pieces of glass (1 in) for jewelry
with fiber board. I've put a small pad of fiber between two layers, trying it with both float and bullseye, and have full fused them at 1550. The glass however, seems to buckle up and not wrap itself around the glass. Is there someway to achieve these holes with fiber board? I'd like to stay away from fusing wire as it looks messy in transparents, and I want a cleaner look.

I think your fiber paper is too close to the edge of the glass. Try this...make fiber paper "matchsticks" out of 1/8" fiber paper (slice a 1" long piece into 1/8" wide pieces). Place a matchstick about 3/8" of an inch in from the edge of the piece, 1/2" if it's a large piece, sandwiched between top and bottom layers. This, combined with a slowish schedule allows the glass to soften and fall over the matchstick. If you have less of an overlap, the top layer doesn't weigh enough to slump over the matchstick as it softens. Instead it acts like a single layer of glass and contracts in its efforts to become thicker.

You may want to try firing to a lower temperature...I fuse my pendants at 1480 with a soak. If you're using a tiny kiln like a quikfire or something that hotter temp. may be okay, though.

Try bamboo skewers or round toothpicks dipped in thick bead release and allowed to dry. The wood burns out and leaves a hole. The skewers leave a larger hole than toothpicks if that is a consideration. Stainless steel mandrels dipped in bead release also work.

Also, make sure you allow enough space above the mandrel or skewer for the glas to "drape."

To make holes I wrap thin fiber paper around a short section of bead mandrel. I find that the fiber paper is much easier to clean out of the piece than shelf wash or bead release. It takes some practice to get any of these methods to work well. The key is to let the glass do what it wants and try not to expect it to defy the laws of physics.

Tim

jerry flanary wrote:Try string dipped in kilnwash. or bead release.

kiln wash doesn't work, ime

I have done it w/ bead release. Africans used to use clay way back when. I just said kiln wash first because there are so many different formula maybe one of them would work...

daffodildeb wrote:Try bamboo skewers or round toothpicks dipped in thick bead release and allowed to dry. The wood burns out and leaves a hole. The skewers leave a larger hole than toothpicks if that is a consideration. Stainless steel mandrels dipped in bead release also work.

Once the wood burns out (which would be lower than fusing temp) what stops the hole from collapsing?

Would you believe the bead release? Really! The first time I tried it I was astounded. You get no ash left, just a round "tunnel" caused by the bead release. The size depends on the size of the wood, but the skewers make a hole about 3/32" same as my steel mandrels. Don't be skimpy on the bead release--for the brand I use (Fusion), I made it about pancake batter thick and allow to dry.

One caution--if you have a problem with the fusion for whatever reason, and have to re-fire it, results are disappointing. You might try packing the hole with bead release, but putting another skewer in place will break the coating off.

If you're worrying about cleaning out the bead release, don't--it seems to be easier than with the metal mandrels.

there is this stuff that i get at the glass store,,,it is a 1/8" fiber blanket material and you can cut it with sissors and put it between the glass, fire away, and poke it out with some wire when its finished,,works great
rodney

It seems like you may be going too hot?

The glass will 'fall' over the fiber paper and seal with the glass on the bottom at a lower temperature, but at that hot, it's been my experience that it wants to pull in and it does not form a nice channel, but a clamshell effect on either side of the fiber paper. Maybe the wood makes a better channel and it falls nicer?? I may try that...

For fiber paper, if I want to go hot, I will go not so hot at first to make the channel, leave the paper in and then go hotter later if I want the movement effect that hot will get. Or 'move' the glass with heat first and then slump it together over the base layer and the fiber paper channel... Even if you leave more of a fall area in the small side, if you go hot with fiber paper, the channel is rough and will tend to 'catch' a chain.

So my suggestion is not so hot. Hot enough to fall and seal, not so hot as to pull in and gap. Somewhere (in my kiln) between 1450 and 1475...

Good luck,

Linda

When you say skewers and toothpicks, I can't picture it. My pieces are only roughly 1 1/2 " X 1/2", half the size of rounded toothpicks. How do the pieces I want to fuse stay in place, or are we talking about single layers? I haven't tried it yet as I have no bead release, (I live in th e boonies of Costa Rica) Do I use the whole toothpick? Could I use just
a ball of bead release? Thanks for your help?

Vidrio

daffodildeb wrote:Would you believe the bead release? Really! The first time I tried it I was astounded. You get no ash left, just a round "tunnel" caused by the bead release. The size depends on the size of the wood, but the skewers make a hole about 3/32" same as my steel mandrels. Don't be skimpy on the bead release--for the brand I use (Fusion), I made it about pancake batter thick and allow to dry.

One caution--if you have a problem with the fusion for whatever reason, and have to re-fire it, results are disappointing. You might try packing the hole with bead release, but putting another skewer in place will break the coating off.

If you're worrying about cleaning out the bead release, don't--it seems to be easier than with the metal mandrels.

What's the difference between fiber blanket stuff and fiber board? Is it heartier, or just cozier?
Vidrio

rodney wrote:there is this stuff that i get at the glass store,,,it is a 1/8" fiber blanket material and you can cut it with sissors and put it between the glass, fire away, and poke it out with some wire when its finished,,works great
rodney

What about the clay? Would they sandwich a pad of clay in between? Have you tried it?

jerry flanary wrote:I have done it w/ bead release. Africans used to use clay way back when. I just said kiln wash first because there are so many different formula maybe one of them would work...

Hi,

What's a steel mandrel?

V

daffodildeb wrote:Try bamboo skewers or round toothpicks dipped in thick bead release and allowed to dry. The wood burns out and leaves a hole. The skewers leave a larger hole than toothpicks if that is a consideration. Stainless steel mandrels dipped in bead release also work.

Also, make sure you allow enough space above the mandrel or skewer for the glas to "drape."

vidrio wrote:Hi,

What's a steel mandrel?

V

a short piece of welding rod

vidrio wrote:What about the clay? Would they sandwich a pad of clay in between? Have you tried it?

that would probably cause cracking because of the different coe's.

vidrio wrote:What's the difference between fiber blanket stuff and fiber board? Is it heartier, or just cozier?
Vidrio

density, sometimes thickness, flexibility. blanket is fluffy. board is harder and denser. you can get thick blanket to be used as kiln insulation. both are rigidized before using as molds.

Vidrio, you can use any length of skewer or toothpick you want--the important part is the bead release coating. I make the same size pendants, and allow about 1/2" to stick out on each side.

You can go online to any of the glass beadmaking supply companies--Frantz, Arrow Springs, Heritage Glass, etc., and get the bead release. I use Fusion, which I get from Heritage, mainly because I learned beadmaking from the owner.

At any rate, you lay down the bottom piece of your pendant, then the coated skewer or mandrel, then top it with the other piece. It's important to have the skewer far enough down from the top to allow it to drape and fuse.

[quote="vidrio"]What's the difference between fiber blanket stuff and fiber board? Is it heartier, or just cozier?
Vidrio

There are actually 3 products: blanket, paper and board. Board is rigid usually 1/2" or thicker, paper is pliable and usually thinner, blanket is fibrous, not as dense, and 1/2" or greater in thickness. For what you are doing, you want 1/8" thick fiber paper.