Which Clear?

[GinnyHampton]

Originally Posted by kimberly

I have been using it will ALL of those and have had no problems.

Cool, thank you!!!!!!

[hannahbeads]

What is the best way to clean your clear? I wipe it down with alcohol on a paper towel. I have also heard that using a scouring pad is what you should do. I always seem to have one little scratch line on the side of the rod. Is picking this off the only way to avoid tiny bubble lines? I work on a HH and this would take me a ton of my precious torch time.

[GarlandGlass]

Okay those of you who are using Precision Diamond Clear could you do me a huge favor.

If you have a polarized lenses could you test your batch for me. Make a gather in reg 004 clear, squish flat, put dots of Diamond Clear, melt in, squish flat, pinch off and then anneal normally. Then check under the polarized lenses.

I ordered just a little bit and did this test and it had huge and I mean HUGE halos around the edge of each of the diamond clear dots. Major stress. I put the glass away at that point. Who needs another expenisve clear glass that varries in compatbility from batch to batch.... we have enough of those.

I would really love to know if the batch of rods each of you have show the same stress under a polarized lens. My experience has been that if it shows stress on 004 clear it only a matter of time before you have an issue with cracking. No amount of annealing will remove that incompatibility stress so often it just matter of how you've used it whether it will crack within a week or a month, or a year or more.

Thanks a bunch!
Tamara

[castaway]

there isn't that much wrong with the clear from Effetre or Vetrofont, except for the rather high bubble count in both glasses, they should get their act together and "fine" their glass before they pull it. most of the problems with scum can be avoided if you do not over heat the glass as it boils very easily, when this happens some of the fluxes vaporise out leaving a silica scum, just be careful how you heat it and of course make sure it is clean before you use it. Having clean hands also helps, do not apply hand creams of any sort before using the glass as this will cause scum on the melted rod, Oh dear so many don'ts, I make a lot of marbles and use Schott S8 for this, however this glass pulled into small rods is prone to terrible scumming if over heated so it would seem that it is not the glass but the way you heat it that is the problem.
hope this has not confused the issue, Bernard
PS I always use a neutral flame, very small yellow tips to candles and never have to skin my S8 pucks , I just do not get scum on them

[bubblebabeuk]

I'm fed up of scummy clear, I've had huge problems lately with my clear, I use vetro clear, but think I might give diamond clear and lausha a try?
here's what I mean by scummy bubbly stuff.........





I'm not totally horrifed by these sets as it kind of gives a vaguely ethereal effect, but if I want to work on encased florals.................

[topher wren]

I am so glad some one posted this. i made a set of beads sat. came out all cracked. re made them on mon. all cracked crack runs in line with mandrel so figured stress. but one that dident crack popped a crack right in my hand. all encased with lauscha. the color i used were black with silver foil . ivory, tranparent aqua, ink blue, amber. I made a set a while back with just Ivory, ink blue and a silvered stringer and they all cracked so was thinking it hapens with ink blue. but other beadest thought it was kiln temp to low so , I raised it. I think it is the clear. i have some clear dimond I havent used yet , might try tomarrow.

[bubblebabeuk]

I'm baffled, I hadn't been having any problems with my clear now its a total nightmare! I can't hand choose non-scratched rods, but I might use a USA based glass seller instead of a UK one, this latest batch is good for nothing

[Firebrand Beads]

Originally Posted by topher wren

I am so glad some one posted this. i made a set of beads sat. came out all cracked. re made them on mon. all cracked crack runs in line with mandrel so figured stress. but one that dident crack popped a crack right in my hand. all encased with lauscha. the color i used were black with silver foil . ivory, tranparent aqua, ink blue, amber. I made a set a while back with just Ivory, ink blue and a silvered stringer and they all cracked so was thinking it hapens with ink blue. but other beadest thought it was kiln temp to low so , I raised it. I think it is the clear. i have some clear dimond I havent used yet , might try tomarrow.

Yes, the last time I used Lauscha clear was about five years ago or more. The batch looked a little greenish on-end, and it broke lots of gorgeous ink based florals. Jagged incompatibility cracks. I shelved that clear and haven't touched it since. I never thought it would be a reaction with the ink, since it's a transparent color. In the past I'd had trouble with encasements over opaque based beads, but now use a 'heat sink' method (base of clear, layer of opaque, flowers, then the encasement) OR just use a transparent color base. But maybe it IS the Lauscha + Moretti Ink??

[cherie]

So far I have tried moretti, vetro, CIM and just recently lausasha..I bought two different sizes for the lausasha and I like the larger diameter ones better..I get hardly any bubbles and no scum..maybe its just the batch thats good? I dont know, but I sure love it!

[PaulaD]

Lauscha has introduced two new formula's for clear in the last year and they are both more compatible with Effetre. One is the Reformulated Clear and the other is the Soft Clear. I've tested both extensively before buying them and have both coming in soon on a Sea Shipment to flamedame.com. The glass is crystal clear, doesn't contain any lead , and is just about impossible to boil, bubble, or scum up. And since it's hand pulled it doesn't contain the scratches from rollers or other machinery. I've also encased lots of silver colors with it without a problem. It is advised that people anneal a little higher and cool down a little slower when mixing manufacturers.
Paula

[PaulaD]

Originally Posted by topher wren

I am so glad some one posted this. i made a set of beads sat. came out all cracked. re made them on mon. all cracked crack runs in line with mandrel so figured stress. but one that dident crack popped a crack right in my hand. all encased with lauscha. the color i used were black with silver foil . ivory, tranparent aqua, ink blue, amber. I made a set a while back with just Ivory, ink blue and a silvered stringer and they all cracked so was thinking it hapens with ink blue. but other beadest thought it was kiln temp to low so , I raised it. I think it is the clear. i have some clear dimond I havent used yet , might try tomarrow.

You could have also had a batch of Ink that was off COE. I had a batch of Effetre Amber that was not even compatible with itself!
Oh Oops. Guess I shold have quoted Jennifer...
Paula

[agw]

Thanks from me as well.

I have Effetre but it's cracking on me on my encased beads. That could be due to my error as I'm floundering around here on my own trying to learn without a kiln, just a crockpot and vermiculite; but I do need some more clear so will try Vetrofond first and then maybe some of the others.

P.S. I will be buying a kiln. Just need a new fridge first...

[Dasi]

Encased beads really need to go right into a kiln. Until you get a kiln up and running, I would stick to unencased beads....... do dots and lines etc. to practice. Encased beads just do not hold up well without going right into a kiln.

[agw]

Originally Posted by Dasi

Encased beads really need to go right into a kiln. Until you get a kiln up and running, I would stick to unencased beads....... do dots and lines etc. to practice. Encased beads just do not hold up well without going right into a kiln.

Thank you Heather! That's the kind of info I would never know, learning on my own. I'll just wait till the kiln arrives.

The hard thing is even knowing what questions to ask!

[ziggys]

I stumbled across this way to make some VERY clear (honest!) 104 glass rods and am thinking of trying it.

Steve and Susie at Tumbleweed Glass Studio sell these big round glass pieces that you heat in the kiln, punty up, peel of the crud, and pull into rods.
They also have a video on their site that shows how to do it. The prices of glass cost 95 cents each and wiegh 30 grams.

I hope this interests someone and would love to get feedback. I'm not real good with these "advanced" pulling cane techniques. Plus I'm wondering how easy it would be to use these rods once peeled as they can be quite uneven from the looks of it.
Should start a new link so more people can see it?

[MadelineBunyan]

I'm in the uk ( and new to this forum)
I gave up using moretti & vetrofond to encase beads long ago. whenever I make encased beads now I use Plowden and Thompsons standard clear. Doubt you can get it in the states or anywhere else. its 93 coe though so you have to use their colours too but they're yummy...mango...heather...pearl violet
I've not tried lauscha. This diamond clear stuff sounds good, maybe I''ll look into it.
I do have rather alot of 'under stuff' clear! must make some big beads soon....

I use a GTT bobcat with an oxycon at home and a Nortel midrange on tanked when I'm at college. love them both.

[Rudy]

I just bought some Lausha clear from Flamedame and am hoping that it's kinder than Moretti. I get nervous just thinking about trying it out! Nothing worse than starting with an awesome bead and then ruining it with crappy clear!!! : - (((((

[ChaseDesigns]

I know you all are talking about 104, BUT

for 90 coe, scott glass clear. Best we have ever used.

We never had anything but problems with 104 clear, scum scum scum. ick.

[sunnyone]

hmmm....ever since I got my bethlehem betta...my clear looks wonderful. I always melt off the cut end....then the betta is a hot little bugger so if applied really molten...no bubbles..no scum...I thought it was just the clean heat of the torch....since I used the same bathches with my old minor and the betta. no issues with the betta. anybody on a piranha with input???

crystal

[Laura Bronson]

I am fan of lauscha for encasing (but use cheaper glass if I'm trying to add bulk on the inside, or if I'm gonna cover with enamels)

[PaulaD]

I'm posting this again because I just got back from Glass Stock and there was alot of misinformation going around about Lauscha Clear.

Lauscha has introduced two new formula's for clear in the last year and they are both more compatible with Effetre. So the clear you are buying now is not the same formula as the one you bought 5 years ago..One is the Reformulated Clear and the other is the Soft Clear which melts faster on Hot Heads. It is advised that people anneal a little higher and cool down a little slower when mixing manufacturers. Even Double Helix has a not on their website that their glass is compatible with Lauscha.

Paula

[MisoBeady]

I tested out the Lauscha Clear that came free with my Lauscha 'Color of the Month' color. I think it is the 'Soft Clear'. It melts beautifully, is crystal clear and cracked like crazy. I tried it two days in a row and the only thing it didn't crack on was the Laucha color it came with. I tried using it to encase Terra, and Pink Champagne. I made sure they went into the kiln piping red hot and they still cracked like crazy. I went back to CIM the next day and had no problems. I didn't raise my kiln temp. for the Lauscha, maybe that was the problem. I annealed at 960 for one hour and twenty minutes and cooled down 130 degrees an hour to 180 then off.

[GwenMorris]

I used to love Lauscha too but the new soft stuff cracks for me too. I batch anneal so that may be the biggest problem but I had no problems for two years with the old stuff - it was just stiff and I hated doing encasing as a result. Shame because the new soft melts beautifully.

I'll give Diamond a try.

[PaulaD]

Hi Gwen. As I explained in my p.m. to you the problem with your cracking clear is that you are using a crock pot and vermiculite. You will probably find that as you make bigger beads you loose more of them too regardless of the clear that you are using because of the crock pot.
Paula

[GwenMorris]

Paula, I really appreciated your help and yes, the problem is with my setup but unfortunately I cannot change that right now. My kiln is in the basement and I work in the garage so the vermiculite is my best option right now - unless I want to go tearing through the house down into the basement with hot glass on a stick every few minutes! My two goldens would think that was a fun game and would follow me down the stairs, racing to see who could be first.

I like how easy the glass is to use so I was disappointed that it cracked. I need to find a clear that can be batch annealed.

[gubnavnania]

Does anyone use the new soft reformulated Laucha on dual torch? Or is it too soft for minor/cricket?

The reason I asked because they are cheaper than reformulated ones.

[PaulaD]

You can use it on the minor/cricket. Just turn down the flame to a smaller flame or move farther out in the flame so that it doesn't melt as fast!
Paula

[gubnavnania]

Sorry Paula, forgot to ask, how soft is the soft one? As soft as moretti ivory? or softer?

[PaulaD]

I"m using a lynx and it melted really fast for me but so does ivory and white so I guess so. It's still 104 compatible (actually COE 106) but has things added to make it melt faster on smaller torches. Paula

[meadowesky]

Originally Posted by PaulaD

I'm posting this again because I just got back from Glass Stock and there was alot of misinformation going around about Lauscha Clear.

Lauscha has introduced two new formula's for clear in the last year and they are both more compatible with Effetre. So the clear you are buying now is not the same formula as the one you bought 5 years ago..One is the Reformulated Clear and the other is the Soft Clear which melts faster on Hot Heads. It is advised that people anneal a little higher and cool down a little slower when mixing manufacturers. Even Double Helix has a not on their website that their glass is compatible with Lauscha.

Paula

I guess the problem with lauscha is that it was supposed to be compatible in the first place ( 5 years ago). So if they said it was then and then we had problems and they say it is "more compatible" now then how compatible is it really? I had several encased florals from a few years back that were fine for about a year and then the clear cracked like it was trying to separate from the moretti. Wouldn't want a customer to have to deal with that.

I am having problems with clear. I have been a boro girl for over a year now and just bought 40# of soft glass to play with. Bought vetro crystal clear and wow it sucks. i don't remember it being this bad in the past.

Why can't we have a cheap (boro clear cheap) great quality clear?? The colors are generally fine, even the transparents... so why can't we have a good clear? And why do we have to pay 30$ a pound for it? How long have these companies been making glass?

Hope I am not coming off cranky... I guess I am just a bit spoiled by boro clear. Simax rocks!