Lampwork Etc.

Lampwork Etc. (http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/index.php)
-   Tips, Techniques, and Questions (http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=29)
-   -   Glass brands.. what's the lo down? (http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5568)

Cracked Baubble 2005-10-05 4:55pm

Glass brands.. what's the lo down?
 
so tell me what brands glass thier are and what the difference is between them.

what should I be looking for when I buy glass online and inperson?

elle 2005-10-06 3:54am

Hi Camie!

Have a look at Arrow Springs' website. www.arrowsprings.com Click on Catalogue, then click on Glass, and they have a list of many of the different brands. Each brand you click on, Lauscha, Vetrofond, etc., has a page that lists the COE, annealing temp, etc.

If you're interested in trying a particular brand of glass, get a sample pack. Those are labeled (one would hope), so when you want to order larger quantities of what you like, you'll know what to ask for.

Hope this helps! :)
Sarah

Jude Rose 2005-10-06 7:26am

IMHO disclaimer: I'll just shoot off some opinions I've gathered. Just one person's viewpoint. And I'm only going to list a few glasses-if I listed all, I'd be here til tomorrow typing.

-EFFETRE/(Moretti)
C.O.E 104-
a wonderful chart made by Chris Fischer
http://www.chrisfisherart.com/Morett...ic%20Chart.htm
*It's easiest to start with the pastels and transparents. Each color has it's own personality and even pastels as a whole act differently in the flame than transparents.
*The specials are just glorified pastels that cost more because of the metals needed to make them.
*The handmade glasses are very individual. Some melt so easy and others can have a lot of internal stress that makes them spit and explode at the ends.

With all glasses, it's just best to introduce them to the flame by waving them in and out for about 10 seconds to keep al the spitting down.

*The alabastros and opalinos-these glasses are a little different to work with. They are not necessarily harder-just different. I believe it's the opalino that strikes solid once it's properly annealed-so what you see is not what you get when you order. The alabastros will scald and boil easily and need a very patient touch-and all are not coefficient with the other Effetres.

VETROFOND-
Very much like Effetre because the companies used to be merged. The vetrofond is completely compatible with Effetre in my experience, and the transparents typically have more clarity, especially clear.

LAUSCHA-
Not always COE 104. They range from 102-106. The glass needs more heat to get molten and so it works a little stiffer than Effetre. It has some lovely colors not found elsewhere. I use it a lot, I just avoid casing it over or under a different brand. Just do tests and find your comfort zone.

BULLSEYE-COE 90
Bullseye is made in the USA and has a long history of providing fusing glass for artists. It has it's own complete set of colors-noone can rival it's pinks. It's really not that fussy to work with. The one thiing to be careful of is to get it immediately into your annealer, for it will crack easily if left to cool too long.

CZECH GLASS-COE all over the place
Gorgeous, crystally clear glass that really is best for small beads. If one is daring to try larger beads, they need to do extensive testing or research of compatibilty even within the same brand.

There. That's a start. When shopping in person, try to eye up your transparents and avoid scratched glass. The scratches will turn into scum and bubbles when heated. Some folks wash their transparents in the dishwasher to make them really grim free. I just wipe each rod down with alcohol before use.
If you see some handpulled glass that's thick or lumpy in spots, it is indicating a high chance of internal stress, so guard yourself against spitting glass with a longer warm up and high instincts.

O.k.,
Hope that helps,
Jude

DreamMuse 2005-10-06 7:34am

That's a great summary, Jude! Thanks for posting it *smiles*

The Alabastros are not compatable with the transparant and pastel Moretti?? I didn't know that!

Cracked Baubble 2005-10-06 7:38am

wow Jude that chart is very cool!
Thanks for the help ladies!

Jude Rose 2005-10-06 7:41am

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamMuse
That's a great summary, Jude! Thanks for posting it *smiles*

The Alabastros are not compatable with the transparant and pastel Moretti?? I didn't know that!

Just some of them. The Ed Hoy catalog even mentions it on their order page. They recommend testing.

Glad to help!

Jude

Zooziis 2005-10-06 8:26am

I'll jump in on the 96 COE's...

Pi Glass
New lampworking glass line. They seem to be a "glass blowing" glass company that have lampworking too. The colors are cool, fun names (like the light blue is "Baby Boy" and the Bright Red is "Translvania". It melts easy and smooth, though some of the transparent yellows and oranges bubble easily...Color line is new and I assume, still building. What they have already is very pretty. (Available at PiGlass.com)

Uroboros
A bit stiff to work with. The opaques aren't totally opaque, they have a translucent quality about them, which is pretty. The color line is still building and is pretty strong in the Blues, Greens, Whites, a good black...they need a good pink. This glass is compatible with the Gaffer, Riechenbach, and Zimmerman frits and Riechenbach intense stringer and Pi Glass. It is not compatible (though some have been successful with using it with, Gaffer Cane.) (Available at bridgetownglass.com, jodelglass.com, Arrowsprings.com...maybe more, but all I know about right now)

Gaffer Cane
Handpulled cane made in the US by artisan glass blower/pullers. It is veiled causing a wispy, streaky look that is very pretty. It is made with a lot of clear layered with Gaffer frit. This is a unique glass and is priced as such...$44.00 a pound. I find it worth every penny. Val Cox was the visionary behind this, and she sells it at valcox.com. You can also find it at ggglass.com. My understanding, from reading about it, Caliente glass is similar in this category too. You would have to look into that one more on your own...Calienteglass.com. That one comes from Canada, so for you Canadians, a "local glass"!

Gaffer
This is a New Zealand company that makes glass for Glass Blowers. Because of this the colors are very intense, and not all of them work well in a lampworking application. But when they do work, they work fabulously! Pretty colors. They really can open up your current pallet. They are compatible with 96 COE glasses, and can be used in small quantities 5%-10% of the bead with Moretti (104 COE) and Bullseye (90 COE)...though there is debate on whether that makes them compatible or not. Gaffer is a true 96 COE.

Reichenbach
Another Glass blowing frit, but they also jumped in with the Lampworkers and pulled us cane too! So you can get intense stringer cane (usually the size of a thin rod of Moretti) from them, and it is just like the frits, as far as compatibility...The COE ranges from 92-96, I believe...

Zimmerman
Another Brand of the Glass Blowing Frit. The COE also ranges a bit. Still compatible in the same was as the other two Glass Blowing frits.

Frit companies Abound! Val Cox started the "boutique frit company" at ValCox.com, where she also sells the intense stringer from Reichenbach. I know I'll leave someone out but here goes at listing all the "boutique style" frit companies:
Sprialdanceglass.com
Glassdiversions.com
GGGlass.com
KayKelly.com
They all have their own flair and unique blends. GGGlass also sells the Reichenbach cane.

Olympic Color Rods (glasscolor.com) is a major supplier of frits and Reichenbach cane. You need to buy a pretty significant quantity of the frits, so unless you know you really like a color you may want to go to the boutiques instead. The Reichenbach Cane is sold in "normal" quantities...But you don't want "Rods" from them, since they are about 1 foot long and 1 1/2 " thick...it is for glass blowing, but you can smash it for big frit pieces.

Cracked Baubble 2005-10-06 10:39pm

wow Great info! thanks!

JoDel 2005-10-21 3:20pm

wow Zoozie!! thats some explanation!!!! Pretty cool!!! we also have loads of photo's of glass and it's easy to browse through our web site, www.jodelglass.com, we try to make samples of all the glass that comes in but never quite catch up, there is some info on glass reactions when i run into something I usually write it while listing a new color or when I find time to add more pics, But easy to see colors in here, Monique

Enjoy!!

JoDel 2005-10-21 4:20pm

used your info Zoozie
 
Hi Zozie, I just copied and pasted your info on this forum in another topic about 96coe glass, It was so informative I wanted to share it with a woman who had a question about 96coe, hope you don't mind, It's under the forum, how many people work in Uroboros glass rods, Thanks!! Monique

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zooziis
I'll jump in on the 96 COE's...

Pi Glass
New lampworking glass line. They seem to be a "glass blowing" glass company that have lampworking too. The colors are cool, fun names (like the light blue is "Baby Boy" and the Bright Red is "Translvania". It melts easy and smooth, though some of the transparent yellows and oranges bubble easily...Color line is new and I assume, still building. What they have already is very pretty. (Available at PiGlass.com)

Uroboros
A bit stiff to work with. The opaques aren't totally opaque, they have a translucent quality about them, which is pretty. The color line is still building and is pretty strong in the Blues, Greens, Whites, a good black...they need a good pink. This glass is compatible with the Gaffer, Riechenbach, and Zimmerman frits and Riechenbach intense stringer and Pi Glass. It is not compatible (though some have been successful with using it with, Gaffer Cane.) (Available at bridgetownglass.com, jodelglass.com, Arrowsprings.com...maybe more, but all I know about right now)

Gaffer Cane
Handpulled cane made in the US by artisan glass blower/pullers. It is veiled causing a wispy, streaky look that is very pretty. It is made with a lot of clear layered with Gaffer frit. This is a unique glass and is priced as such...$44.00 a pound. I find it worth every penny. Val Cox was the visionary behind this, and she sells it at valcox.com. You can also find it at ggglass.com. My understanding, from reading about it, Caliente glass is similar in this category too. You would have to look into that one more on your own...Calienteglass.com. That one comes from Canada, so for you Canadians, a "local glass"!

Gaffer
This is a New Zealand company that makes glass for Glass Blowers. Because of this the colors are very intense, and not all of them work well in a lampworking application. But when they do work, they work fabulously! Pretty colors. They really can open up your current pallet. They are compatible with 96 COE glasses, and can be used in small quantities 5%-10% of the bead with Moretti (104 COE) and Bullseye (90 COE)...though there is debate on whether that makes them compatible or not. Gaffer is a true 96 COE.

Reichenbach
Another Glass blowing frit, but they also jumped in with the Lampworkers and pulled us cane too! So you can get intense stringer cane (usually the size of a thin rod of Moretti) from them, and it is just like the frits, as far as compatibility...The COE ranges from 92-96, I believe...

Zimmerman
Another Brand of the Glass Blowing Frit. The COE also ranges a bit. Still compatible in the same was as the other two Glass Blowing frits.

Frit companies Abound! Val Cox started the "boutique frit company" at ValCox.com, where she also sells the intense stringer from Reichenbach. I know I'll leave someone out but here goes at listing all the "boutique style" frit companies:
Sprialdanceglass.com
Glassdiversions.com
GGGlass.com
KayKelly.com
They all have their own flair and unique blends. GGGlass also sells the Reichenbach cane.

Olympic Color Rods (glasscolor.com) is a major supplier of frits and Reichenbach cane. You need to buy a pretty significant quantity of the frits, so unless you know you really like a color you may want to go to the boutiques instead. The Reichenbach Cane is sold in "normal" quantities...But you don't want "Rods" from them, since they are about 1 foot long and 1 1/2 " thick...it is for glass blowing, but you can smash it for big frit pieces.


Nejoum 2005-10-21 6:28pm

Don't forget Satake
Made in Japan.
COE 120 and 113
Very soft...Great for HH users.
Lots of great colors.
http://satakeglassusa.com

Zooziis 2005-10-22 6:58am

Hi Monique, Thanks. Glad people found it helpful :)

JoDel 2005-10-23 5:51am

your welcome!!
 
your welcome!!

Monique


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 5:59am.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.