Simple Fusing

[Mark]

Hello,
My wife and I are potters and also woodworkers, my mother (before she
passed away 5 years ago) was a stained glass artisan. We now have melded her
glass studio and our pottery studio into one. We still do some glass work
but mostly focus on the clay/wood.
We are working on some wood boxes with hinged lids and were thinking of
making glass panels to insert into the lids. Originally we had thought of
simply making leaded glass panels for these lids but then we had the
brainstorm of fusing some planels for the lids.
We have never done fusing before but have several Skutt electronic kilns
in the studio and thought we may be able to pull it off. What we were
thinking of was a way to lay a sheet of glass in the kiln (basically the
size of the panel we need) and then stacking a layer or two of shards ontop
of it (in the middle) and heating it enough to slightly fuse it and melt it
in but not so much to actually allow them to flow together if you get my
drift. we were mainly looking to maintain some dimension to the panel and
have it clearly look like a couple pieces that were slightly melted
together.
Does this sound like something that is possible as a basic entry into
fusing? Something that may be fairly easy to do as a start? We have hundreds
of dry materials for the clay that may come in helpful from frits to clays,
silica, colorants, etc.. We are also very accustomed to doing visual
firings.
If anyone could give any input or resources (on line prefferably but
others are fine) it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mark

[Glenn Woolum]

You can absolutely do what you mentioned. I've done similar things many
times. The thing to keep in mind is that glass has its own set of
characteristics to learn about, just like clay. Here's some things to keep
in mind for your project:

1) Make sure all the glass to be fused together is compatible. A differing
expansion rate of incompatible glass will cause the piece to break apart as
it cools.

2) Glass has to be annealed as well as heated/cooled slowly. The rate of
heating/cooling is dependent on size of piece and thickness.

3) Glass is much easier to work with when you understand it's properties.

Rather than make a book-sized post about how to do such a project, I suggest
you take a basic fusing class or read a book about it (or both). The overall
knowlege will serve you well as you expand into glasswork. A great online
resource is www.warmglass.com . Much good luck to you. The box idea sounds
interesting.

--

Regards,
Glenn Woolum

"Mark" <x...@sdlfk.com> wrote in message
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[Bert Weiss]

Mark

Fusing Book One by Boyce Lundstrom is all you need. Your Skutt's will work
without a controller as long as you stay relatively thin. When you want to
get thicker than 1/4" you can think about a controller. Kiln wash is 80%
alumina 20% kaolin. Use it once to fusing temp, remove and replace. You
can make bisqued slumping and fusing molds and do some real nice unique
work. Remember that glass shrinks more than clay.

Bert

Bert Weiss Art Glass
http://www.customartglass.com
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