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-   -   Boro Sticks (http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249098)

debkauz 2013-07-26 6:20pm

Boro Sticks
 
Is there anything I should need to know about using them? I've heard varying things that I should do and I kind of don't know where to start.
Thanks in advance!

Rough_necked 2013-07-26 6:30pm

1 Attachment(s)
In my experience you need to mix them with clear if you want to deeply encase it or use small amounts. I've lost a few marbles this way.

I use it outside without issue.
Attachment 140613
The centers of these flowers are boro sticks white.
Chuck

Liquidsand 2013-07-26 11:09pm

They are pretty much unusable until you melt the stick down, mush it around a little, gather it all up and draw it back out into a rod or stringer. I actually like to melt two together and draw it out into a longer piece, it seems to save me a little time.

Certain colors are very smooth and friendly. The Bright White is very nice, Blush, Uber Blush, Cotton Candy, Eggplant, and Lapis have all been good to me, although they almost all devitrify if overworked even a little.

I got a pound of Spring Purple on sale, and I don't know if it was a bad batch or the color itself, but when it melts it kind of breaks up all boily and grainy, and I absolutely hate it. I had a similar experience with what I think was Lime Green. If you can have the patience to gather this type of problem-stick up with a very low, oxidizing flame, heating slowly, you can encase the gather with a very thin layer of clear to protect it from boiling, or another transparent to get an interesting effect. I found that encasing the awful Spring Purple with Momkas Obsidian gives an interesting effect when stretched out over the surface of a piece. The bubbles and inconsistencies actually lend some texture to the color, making it very unique in the boro palette.

There are some compatibility issues with deep encasing, and I think the frit is known to crack inside-out pieces frequently. My favorite use for Borostix is in murrini, because you can get a lot of both high-contrast and shading effects, and the murrini are small enough so that there aren't any coe problems or much surface boiling. I have heard others complain about "fading" when the colors are stretched thin.

They have their uses - but they're high maintenance.

mightymike 2013-07-27 1:57pm

Maybe this will help. The way it was explained to me was that rather than mixing everything in the crucible to make the color, borobar sprays the color material on very tiny glass bead and then press the coated molten hot beads in to molds. Then popped them out hot, thus the shape and why they are often not strait.
So as always you get what you pay for other colors $50 plus per pound, borobars $25-$30 per pound but you have to mix them before you use them not a bad price break for a little extra work.

Also I have used spring purple with no problem and it mixed and melted smooth so I would guess you did get a bad batch. I like it as my violet in rainbow color work and have made flower implosion marbles with it.

Before there mixed they are very shocky like as bad as soft glass and have heard other talk about compatibility issues but don’t know if they were remixing or not. I have never had a problem but it makes sense that if the color is a coating and it’s not mixed in the thin layer of color chemicals could be different Coe.

I have heard many of their green do not do well deeply encased so I never tried them.
But they do have some colors that no one else carry.
Uber blush over white makes an outstanding pink fade to white rose implosion.
Tangerine great milky orange or peachy color
Best of all the glow sticks – they do however loss their glow if they thin out or are over worked
Aqua Glow Boro Rods
Yellow/Green Glow Rod - brightest glow in the dark glass I have found

Mary K 2013-07-28 5:57am

For me, it's not like I have a million years to live, melt glass, etc. I just won't waist my time working with those boro bars. They are too much work, & I have enough work, when I get to melt glass, I want fun only. I have some, they will likely wind up in the garage sale when I get time. I do like the glow glass for surface work, but it acts like soft glass sometimes.

menty666 2013-07-28 10:07pm

I'll usually remix them, but just a warning, give them a scrub before using them. Sometimes a little refractory from the molds gets stuck to the bars and screws up your work.

Overall, I like them. If you mix in clear, you can get some neat effects.

Just and FYI, the black sucks. The white is fantastic.

Kollp2098 2017-07-04 9:00pm

2017 Origin Boro Stix Review
 
mightymike -
"Best of all the glow sticks – they do however loss their glow if they thin out or are over worked"

I agree when thinned out the glow is dismal, but they can be used in stringer applications if you don't go TOO thin. For as losing their color when over worked... I thought so too! Then miraculously, after charging in my black lights (3, 4ft. t12 bulbs) over two days, the piece I had thought lost all of its' glow started glowing again, and was able to charge in sunlight and glow at that point. I'm not a chemist so I can't explain it, but I can tell you my experience.

I have recently used the Aqua Glow Boro Stix with no problems when encasing in 1" vortex marbles. I have dropped these marbles (on accident) and seen them bounce at least a foot if not two with no cracks upon retrieval.

When it comes to other origin colors I have no experience, and am a beginner so I may be missing the problems others are having. The color does seem to... spread out as if you can see all the little beads of glass they added the chemicals for color to, but only a lot towards the end of a line of color, not throughout the entire piece AS much.

Would gathering and mashing prevent this effect?
If so I see why it's recommended, but I've not seen any devit on this color, or had cracks from encasing it WITH OUT taking the time to gather mash and pull out the color.


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