fusing question

[bkrgrl@aol.com]

Hi everyone, I am trying to fuse a round piece with several scraps, after it is fused, I want to slump it in a round mold. Question, do I overlap all the scrap pieces, or fit as close as I can, do I cover with a clear piece of glass? Can I fill the cracks in with frit? I should mention that it has a lot of small pieces -it is all BE glass-Can you tell I am a beginner? Thank goodness for this forum-thanks Gayle

[Tom White]

Have you considered using the clear glass as a base layer and fusing your scraps on top of it? This might be the easiest means to your desired result. You coulld the fit, overlap or fill between pieces witrh frit to your heart's content.

Best wishes,
Tom in Texas

[AVLucky]

It all depends on the look you want. You could try any of those ways, but I wouldn't recommend the closely-fit non-overlapped idea. Sometimes side by side pieces will fuse together but often they'll just pull away from each other as they reach full fuse (especially if only a single thickness). If you go with frit, use more than you think you would need--it will shrink down a surprising amount. Also, I don't know if this would change your design too much, but I would rather use a clear blank underneath all of the scrap pieces, instead of on top. You'll have less of a chance of trapping air bubbles, and also end up with cleaner surfaces front and back.
Good Luck! And while you're at it, why not do little samples of all of your ideas? The best way to learn is to try everything and make lots of informative mistakes.