Boro and lenses

[suzanne]

As most people here already know I bought some real funky lenses at auralens.( diddy). Now here's the thing. I want to try some boro ( I heard it can be done on a Minor) but a also heard those lenses are not suitable. Can I try just a few beads with these frames and then decide if I want to pursuit this new ( again...) glass or should I definetly get the dark lenses before even thinking of trying this glass?

Suzanne

[Cosmo]

Well, I'm not the expert that Mike is, but I'll tell you what I've gathered from my experience...

I would not use any boro until you get the proper eye protection. The damage that UV (or is it IR) does to your eyes does not happen immediately. It damages them over time. So, working with boro today without the proper eye protection may ruin your eyesight in 5 years. Will it definately happen? Of course not. Is there a chance? Yes.

I know people who do boro work with regular didymium (sp?) glasses, and they claim their eyes are fine. Perhaps they are. Personally, I'm not willing to take that chance.

[MikeAurelius]

IR is the culprit...

All that Chad has said is absolutely true -- that said, what I'd recommend is an inexpensive pair of welders clip on lenses. My supplier is on backorder right now, but I've got some expected in fairly soon. (Our part number is 7520.)

The clip on's will work just fine - however, be aware that they do fade over time and exposure to IR - usually about 6 months is the time to replace them.

[suzanne]

Thanks for the info!A pair of clip ons for a trial package of boro sounds reasonable, I do not want to wreck my eyes over glass. I'd rather invest a couple of bucks so I can be sure I can stull make beads for a long time. The uv is comming from the glass then, I always thought it was the flame

Suzanne

[MikeAurelius]

No, there is no UV - UV is not an issue at all when working glass - it is IR, infra red, heat energy.

It takes at least 5000 degrees F to start generating any substantial amount of UV, and "our" work doesn't get anywhere near that.

[suzanne]

Alright then! I never knew that