Chunk Jewel Lamp

Yeah, or a glaze.

This is a really cool project.

 

Why not just hit it with the oxy acetylene torch after molding to get rid of the rough then reanneal it. Flame polish.

 

I was thinking about trying that Zap... But I think that might result in slumping. I'll have to try it. Any thoughts on how I would reanneal it? That will introduce a shitton of stress.
Might be better to preheat it first past the softening point in the kiln, remove, torch the piss out ot it and then head straight to annealling temps for a few hour hold followed by a slow ramp down through strain temp. (geez, listen to me... I almost sound like I know wtf I'm talking about)

I did learn this.. If you think you will ever get tech support from Bullseye glass without having a previous purchase on hand, FORGET IT. I've been given the shaft from the states to the UK. At least they could have taken 2mins to listen to me and offer to sell me the correct stuff. I would have bought something even if I didn't need it. Cold day in hell before I spend a dime with them.
When you visit their website, they conveniently won't allow you access to certain info without paying them 45bucks. Theses glass people are unreal. Kinda like prying a patina method out of some clown. These people today only make beads and plates, most of them don't know a thing about casting glass. Disappointing really.

On a brighter note, GafferGlass is now here in the states. They have low viscosity casting glass that doesn't devitrify, takes shapes easily and more tech support than you can shake a stick at. When they send you glass, they even provide casting instructions and TECH DATA! http://www.gafferglassusa.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=88_61

 

You ever try cold working glass? It's a HUGE pain in the ass. Mega hours to polish these tiny pieces and I'd never be able to get in all the nooks and crannies.
Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

I was thinking closer to the second method you mentioned. But from my dabbling with bead making I think glass insulates pretty well so torching it while it is still hot should liquify the surface only and glass it nicely. The only way to screw the pooch here is to let it completely cool to room temp, then torch it with the oxy acet without first warming it up slowly. That would certainly shatter it. But if it's hot to begin with then you flamed the top I doubt it would slump that much. You could give it a try and if it moves a lot then place it in a new plaster mold and torch it so it slumps into the right shape.

 

I've tried polishing rock. Not too hard. I have a shit ton of different polishing pads and a wet angle grinder. You could do it. And use cerium oxide to final polish.

 

Let me know when I can send you a handful of my rocks. I've got a few more things to try and some corrections need to be made.
Namely DEWAX/BURNOUT! Last night I invested another wax and this time I steamed it out in a pot over boiling water. Now to follow R&R's advice for
slow ramping to drive the moisture out and then NOT cooling and loading the glass hot and head up the ladder from there. If that doesn't pull it off, I'll make the switch to gafferglass and try again before resorting to polishing glass. The trouble is, since folks quit casting fat glass ashtrays, no one does this stuff anymore. People make beads these days or BP's.
That's what I need! Where do I find the weirdo that makes this?

 

In the mirror!!

The real reason it needs to be so smooth... haha.

 

Hardee Har Har.. I knew one of you would go down or UP that road.

 

Haha well played.

But in seriousness I think the oxy acetylene polish will work very well if it's done on hot glass and annealed. I can't wait for updates!

 

I think it might work too... An old lady in the UK suggested something similar too. I might lose a little definition, but I can compensate by adding more to the wax in the future.
Interestingly, she also suggested using some kind of shellac thinned with mineral spirts and applied to the face of the mold. I didn't see that one coming.

 

Interesting.

An old guy who faceted gems told me to shellac the dopping stick before using brown wax to fix a gem stone in place for faceting. It seems shellac has some interesting uses...

 

I'm starting to wonder if my expectations are exceeding the capabilities of this process...?
Looks like next step is fire polish. I did weigh the wax and glass and now have a ballpark figure to load the mold with. So small steps. I'm switching to gaffer glass.

 

What are the shapes in the glass supposed to be? Ridges to attach it to the bronze?

 

The flange around the bottom is for that exactly. It will keep them from falling through the shade. I'll trap them inside with some creative tig welding.
The rest of the bumpiness will protrude and stick out above the bronze. Now you see why I need these done before moving on. After the chunks are made, I'll position and cut the wax
to fit the glass pieces. I'm sure it will require some additional fettling, but that's a breeze.

 

Are you sure she suggested mineral spirits? Shellac is alcohol-based. Flakes of dried shellac dissolve nicely in alcohol but not mineral spirits. I routinely use shellac to coat patterns since it is so fast drying and adheres well to other finishes.

Denis

 

Good point Denis. I just looked, she said methylated spirits. and did mention flakes. Home depot sell these flakes? I'm not familiar with them...

When she said shellac, first thing that came to mind was a can of clear coat. lol