Frit question

[fishykisses]

Hi there - this is probably a dumb question but...
i'm pretty new to lampwork and am very new to frit as well, i have some fine stuff that's no problem but i made my first very large order of moretti glass and ordered frit too. Well it came and it's huge! it's called Purple Rose Large Reduction Frit, 2 oz pkg
I don't know how to use pebbles this big...do i pick up one piece at a time and melt them in or will several pieces adhere and melt in properly.
I probably should have tried to use it before asking but i'm kinda nervous.
thanks
Connie

[Kevan]

It's hard to get the big ones to stick to the bead. You have to heat the bead up pretty good and then some of the pieces fly off when you put it in the flame.

You could smash them up and make them smaller. If you don't have a frit masher you could put them in a couple of baggies, like one inside the other, and put a board over them and hit it with a hammer.

You can also use them to make stinger by heating up a rod and picking up pieces, melting them and picking up more until you get a gather you can pull.

[shawnette]

A coffee grinder works great. You can't use it for coffee any more, though.

[Emily]

To get the big ones to stick, you need to heat a spot on the bead, then pick up the chunks with tweezers and stick them on one at a time. If your chunks are really big, you may need to flash the chunk in the flame a little bit to warm it before putting it on the bead.

If you want smaller bits, here's another way to make smaller frit (small quantities at a time, but you don't need to pick bits of plastic bag out.) Fill a clean glass cup or bowl with water. Use a glass rod as a punty. Heat the tip of the rod until drippy. Pick up chunks of frit one by one with tweezers and wave them in the flame until they're warm, then attach them to the glass rod. As you attach them, melt them a little so you're forming a gather of just the frit glass. When you have a decent-sized gather, squash it into a lollipop with mashers or with a graphite paddle and a marver. After you've squashed it, warm it up in the flame again, but not enough that it loses its shape. When it's warm, plunge it into the water, making sure that you don't put any of the glass rod into the water (you don't want any of the other color of glass in your frit). Repeat until you have as much frit in the water as you think you want. Poke through it with a tool and see if there are any big chunks that haven't broken up. Carefully pour off the water, and put into a coffee filter or on a paper towel to dry -- the top of the kiln is a good place.

(Oh -- I just saw that Kevan said this. Oh, well. What's worth saying is worth saying twice, right?)

[fishykisses]

great info - thanks guys - i think i will beat them smaller.
I've haven't pulled a stringer yet...nervous about that too, i'll get to that next.

[FourTailsLampwork]

If you have any raku that purple rose works nicely when blended with the raku.

[Terryelemcee]

I am keen to make my own frit, and have heard members mention the use of a coffee bean grinder. Are they the big expensive ones, or just the ordinary electric ones. Any one got a brand name they can advise on Please.

[Over the Moon]

Just an inexpensive one will do the trick just fine! Mine is a Braun...

[Terryelemcee]

Thanks for the info Val, have just ordered one, will post results once I have had a go.
regards
Terry