Devardi glass

[CO_Phantom]

Awesome!

I will definitely have to email her.... The presses looked like they could be a PITA to use, but the price of them was really good, so I figured it was worth messing around with them.

-Amy

[likes to make glass stuff]

I'm not that good at picturing what a negative shape can make, so I hope there will be more pictures of the actual beads made from the presses up soon

[funkibeads]

Well I am so delighted - what a lovely way to begin a new month and a full moon - wow.

I spent the night researching various forums, youtube et al in my unending thirst for more knowledge of this wonderful medium we are so privileged to work in. At about 3am in the morning I wearily checked into my inbox and I saw to my amazement I was the lucky winner of a 10lb box of Devardi glass rods in the February draw. I was literally OVER the moon. I never win anything and this was just a gift from the gods (by email) - so it just goes to show that it does make sense to enter the odd competition... it was on their website and I just entered on a whim - never usually do that sort of thing... but my goodness what a result.

So a huge public THANK YOU to Natasha & Daniel who sent me the email this morning & who have really put a spring in my step this Spring. Add that to the sun shining through the window and pure blue skies after a really murky winter here in the UK, it can hardly get better...

Can't wait to get my Bobcat on a low temperature small reducing flame (hope this is correct - from the research I have been doing). Please do correct me if I am wrong. Especially if you have experience with Devardi and a GTT with tanked O2. Maybe this should also be complemented with a glass warmer to prevent shocking before introduction into the flame. I have a ceramic halogen heater which could be modified until I can find a 240v glass warmer - USA 110v appliances are not compatible here in England - any ideas anyone ? It sounds quite unusual and really interesting glass to work with - not exactly like the CIM, Vetrofond & Efftre I usually play with in my studio. Note to self: must go out and get some more UPVC tubing and make a new space in there dedicated to Devardi. That is what I call organic growth.

Ah glass - sometimes I wish I had started 20 years earlier... so much to learn, so many new things to take on board, so many exciting new prospects. I just know that a lifetime will never be enough... lol

Oh wow - this is just so great. As time goes on I'll try and report back my experiences with my batch. Thanks to everyone on this thread for the shared learning experiences you are encountering. Very useful & positive. There is nothing like peer group learning - I used to be an English tutor full time (now PT - flameworking has taken over control) and the best way to learn is from each other, pooling and sharing success - learning what does and what doesn't work. So in all good time - watch this space.

All good things, Greg (funkibeads) in England x

[baby firefly]

Carol, I got 3 of the presses and I press by hand, I don't use the block of wood thing. I can't believe how easy they are to use. Were you able to press them holding it in your hand? Amy, the transparent rose colors are gorgeous!!! I'm getting panicky because I'm down to l lb. in reserve of the dk rose and the ship is still out to sea. Also on the big wonky rods....have no fear, they melt just fine.. and I have to say, last fall when I first started working with the glass, it was still fairly warm and I very rarely preheated my rods. I'd just put them far out at the end of the flame and slowly work them forward. holly

[CO_Phantom]

Haha, I'm usually not a pre-warmer myself....I'm a throw it in the flame and watch it explode kind of girl. =) I've only had issues with a few colors by doing that.

I have a crock pot I will fill with hot water and use as a warmer if need be. No worries at all!

-Amy

[glassactcc]

I just ordered the dichroic faceted beady things. They look very interesting. I also ordered some pink glass as I have none right now.

[mandyjw]

I'm interested but I love high quality dichro and glass rods in small diameters so I'm afraid I would be dissapointed.

[SuzyQ]

Mandy you might very well be. I was. I didn't like working with Devardi at all. Some was shocky, some was bubbly no matter how cool I worked it and I didn't find one color I couldn't live without.

I have a lot of glass so finding a cheaper alternative is not an issue for me. I would rather pay more per pound for glass that is easier to use. But I can understand why one would find that attractive.

I don't think it's awful glass, just not for me. If you are curious you should definitely try it out.

[Kym]

Congrats Greg, a very nice surprise for you!
I don't use a reducing flame on Devardi, just a neutral one and that works fine. I have a tool box type annealer and pop my rods in there to warm up and then introduce them gently to the flame if they are at all shocky. I do this with shocky glass from the moretti and vetrofond lines too.
I hope you get some of the rose colours. transp. champagne and peach. They are colours that aren't represented in other 104 lines much if at all.
Enjoy!

Kym

[Carols Glass]

Originally Posted by baby firefly

Carol, I got 3 of the presses and I press by hand, I don't use the block of wood thing. I can't believe how easy they are to use. Were you able to press them holding it in your hand? Amy, the transparent rose colors are gorgeous!!! I'm getting panicky because I'm down to l lb. in reserve of the dk rose and the ship is still out to sea. Also on the big wonky rods....have no fear, they melt just fine.. and I have to say, last fall when I first started working with the glass, it was still fairly warm and I very rarely preheated my rods. I'd just put them far out at the end of the flame and slowly work them forward. holly

yes I could use the presses in my hand the first time and then I fear they will get hot so I use the wood dowel.

[lunamoonshadow]

you'd hate the dichro Mandy (it's very persnickety--I'm not finding it particularly thrilling myself--but I'm going to figure out something to do with it--I fry regular dichro too..so...shrug)
But...I do really *love* the "semi-opaque" marine green (the pastelly looking one--I've probably got the name wrong)--it's really pretty & I've had no problem encasing it, or using it with some silver-glasses. And the color that is a "dead ringer" for Amber Rose is gorgeous too (and, no guilt for wonky-beads )
I don't use (or buy ) all the colors--just the ones I can't get elsewhere...the metallic black--well, the difference between $6 a pound & $$$ for the effetre, I can afford to PLAY with the devardi (I bought that from the first shipment--it's fun!) & not feel like I'm being insane with money that should be going to bills or something else, ya know?
It's fantastic "practice" glass--and as far as "fat rods" go--well, I love Lauscha & that's pretty much fat rods all the time , (and I never had any issues with those, even when I was on my hothead ) so the rod size isn't really an issue for me! (heck--I pull my silver-glass shorts down into stringers, so pulling these smaller would just be good practice )

[tracidawn78]

Originally Posted by glassactcc

I just ordered the dichroic faceted beady things. They look very interesting. I also ordered some pink glass as I have none right now.

Don't get your hopes up. If you like little random balls of white scum inside your bead, then you'll love these!

[baby firefly]

Ok, well here are my beads done with Devardi dichro and I'm not seeing a problem other than the fact that they're a bit lumpy....lol. These were made when I had less than 5 months of torching under my belt. I toasted the very first bead I did with the Dichro, learned from that experience and haven't had a problem with the dichro since. Will be posting beads in the future made with the dichro chatons....not having any problems with those either.

[tracidawn78]

The dichro left raised or exposed on the surface is generally ok if worked very, very cool. I've gone through about 6 strips of the stuff attempting to encase it because, well, I encase everything I have found it impossible to encase this dichro without burning off at least half of the color and sparkle. I wound up giving the beads all away as freebies. And yes, I worked it extremely cool, used Aether to encase which is quite soft.

The faceted bits of dichro covered glass are even worse. They're very neat to look at and hold in your hand, and I had high hopes for this stuff. You can't roll it in as frit, you can't plunge it like a CZ, you can't do anything with it. If it comes within 2 feet of the flame, it turns to pure white scum. I knew buying the stuff that there was a high likelihood of failure and accepted that since the price was so cheap. I haven't tried any of their regular glass at all, but I can say that the dichro is not something I'll ever buy again from them.

They DO have a really good price on 3/16" mandrels, though...

Before anyone bashes me, these are just my findings and they apply to just me. I can't speak for anyone else.

[baby firefly]

Traci, I'm not out to bash anyone either. I just wanted to post my beads for people to see that this dichro can be really beautiful. I love it and am finding no problems working with it. If you look at my beads, the dichro IS encased. I used clear stringer. The beads I made using the dichro chatons came out every bit as nice.... I'm sorry to hear other people are having trouble. For what it's worth, I used the heat of the bead to melt the dichro, just like Devardi shows in their videos, you can practically hold this dichro in your hands and melt it, it's so thin. Then when I encase, I keep the base bead BEHIND the flame and melt my stringer IN the flame.

[tracidawn78]

Originally Posted by baby firefly

Traci, I'm not out to bash anyone either. I just wanted to post my beads for people to see that this dichro can be really beautiful. I love it and am finding no problems working with it. If you look at my beads, the dichro IS encased. I used clear stringer. The beads I made using the dichro chatons came out every bit as nice.... I'm sorry to hear other people are having trouble. For what it's worth, I used the heat of the bead to melt the dichro, just like Devardi shows in their videos, you can practically hold this dichro in your hands and melt it, it's so thin. Then when I encase, I keep the base bead BEHIND the flame and melt my stringer IN the flame.

I know you're not bashing, I've just seen the tension in these Devardi threads and not trying to instigate anything further

I don't really make small hole beads, I made big hole beads for Pandora/Troll, and my beads are always smooth on the surface, and uniformed shaped donut, round, or something similar. Encasing that way, where everything is melted smooth, I've found is impossible (for me). Just a simple swipe here and there and not worrying about melting the bead evenly would be ok for encasing, as you said, but my beads are so small that I can't really encase in that way.

Yeah it's cheap, but I'd personally rather spend the extra $$ on high quality dichro and not spend the time trying to make this stuff work. I'm sure it does, but I don't plan to spend any more time on it.

I'm wondering if anyone else has tried the faceted dichro gems, and if anyone has had any success whatsoever with it?

[CO_Phantom]

I'll be getting my "dichro gems" tomorrow, with the rest of my glass order. I will try to get out ASAP and see what I can come up with for them. They can't be much worse than the dichro rods (glass with dichro coating on the outside of the rod), can they? That stuff had zippo protection for the dichro...

I will see what comes of them for me. I make smaller round beads as well (usually don't do encasing, so we'll see how that goes!) and I will be sure to post my results here!

-Amy

[tracidawn78]

Originally Posted by CO_Phantom

I'll be getting my "dichro gems" tomorrow, with the rest of my glass order. I will try to get out ASAP and see what I can come up with for them. They can't be much worse than the dichro rods (glass with dichro coating on the outside of the rod), can they? That stuff had zippo protection for the dichro...

I will see what comes of them for me. I make smaller round beads as well (usually don't do encasing, so we'll see how that goes!) and I will be sure to post my results here!

-Amy

I've tried those awful rods too and I can say confidently that yes, the faceted dichro gems are worse than the dichro rods.

[CO_Phantom]

Haha!!

I only bought a couple of the rods, and I'm not sure I've even TRIED to melt any of it. Just looking at it tells you it's just not gonna work. I bought them in my first few months of lampworking (back in 2005!) and they just sit there...

I guess they're pretty to look at...if the dichro gems turn out looking like crap, I'll put them in a frit dish and stare at 'em.

-Amy

[dichromary]

Devardi glass was introduced in 2009.

Originally Posted by CO_Phantom

Haha!!

I bought them in my first few months of lampworking (back in 2005!) and they just sit there...


-Amy

[CO_Phantom]

I was referring to the dichro on rods I bought from Delphi back in 2005.

They aren't Devardi, never said they were.

-Amy

[glassactcc]

Ohhhh...you burst my little dichro bubble. Well, I'll try them and see what happens. If worst comes to worst, how do you think they would look in a fish bowl?

I made some bell flowers and leaves with the Burgundy and some other color that I want more of but can't figure out what it is. It does have some issues but for some things, it's fine. I don't like making large beads with it because it usually always shocks about an inch from the end in the middle of trying to get a large gather on the mandrel. But for small things, it seems to be fine. Some of the colors are really nice. I'll think as far as the dichro is concerned, I stick with what I know and has been tried and true for me.

Originally Posted by tracidawn78

Don't get your hopes up. If you like little random balls of white scum inside your bead, then you'll love these!

[DesertDreamer]

I haven't tried the dichro yet because I basically took a medical leave of absence from my torch in November. BUT I'm better now, and dying to hit the torch this weekend.

Some of the glass is absolutely fussy and poorly behaved. It definitely takes extra time and patience. Some of the colors are worth it, some are not, it's all a matter of what you're willing to put into it. I love the pinks and purples, and I'm absolutely crazy about the transparent citrine yellow. It's a color I've wished for for many years.

I want to do some serious compatibility testing once I'm back at the torch. I've tried all of the first-batch colors I got with Effetre super clear and had no problems with encasing, or with using the Dev colors to encase CIM white.

[baby firefly]

there's a new video on YouTube about working with the dichro balls if anyone is still having problems..check it out. http://www.youtube.com/mailbuggy#p/u

[Carolyn M]

Frankly, there is such amazingly good dichro out there (Rocio comes to mind) that I don't think it's worth my time to try sub-standard, although I use dichro in almost all my beads so a cheaper option would be nice! I don't like the look of bumpy, lumpy beads, and if this is all you can use it for, then it's not for me.

Traci is a sublime bead maker, so I'll trust her judgement on this

[tracidawn78]

Originally Posted by Carolyn M

Frankly, there is such amazingly good dichro out there (Rocio comes to mind) that I don't think it's worth my time to try sub-standard, although I use dichro in almost all my beads so a cheaper option would be nice! I don't like the look of bumpy, lumpy beads, and if this is all you can use it for, then it's not for me.

Traci is a sublime bead maker, so I'll trust her judgement on this

Aww thanks, but I don't hold a candle to you

I have a large bag of the faceted pieces and ton of the dichro strips as well, want me to send you some so you can try it yourself?

[tracidawn78]

Originally Posted by baby firefly

there's a new video on YouTube about working with the dichro balls if anyone is still having problems..check it out. http://www.youtube.com/mailbuggy#p/u

I just watched the video. You can tell by watching it how frustrating it is to use. You are quite limited as to shaping once it's embedded and encased. How could you possibly make a round out of that without getting it too hot to melt the dichro? Or any other shape besides a big, fat barrel? Even with all the care he took to make sure it didn't get too hot for the dichro to handle, when it shows the final bead, you can still see that over half of the dichro chunks burned off into white scum. There are some bits that stayed dichro-y, but you can clearly see white flakes all inside of the bead.

It's a great idea in theory, it just needs some serious refinement to make it practical to use.

[baby firefly]

Originally Posted by Carolyn M

Frankly, there is such amazingly good dichro out there (Rocio comes to mind) that I don't think it's worth my time to try sub-standard, although I use dichro in almost all my beads so a cheaper option would be nice! I don't like the look of bumpy, lumpy beads, and if this is all you can use it for, then it's not for me.

Traci is a sublime bead maker, so I'll trust her judgement on this

Carolyn, thanks for hacking on my beads. NICE. I explained that I had very little time on the torch. They were practice beads and I was more concerned with working with the dichro than, the "beauty"of the rest of the deal.
I don't have the money for the fancy expensive dichro that you use as I've been unemployed for the last year, anything that is reasonably priced is of interest to me, and I'm open minded enough to try something BEFORE I bash the hell out of it.

[Drafly]

Originally Posted by tracidawn78

I just watched the video. You can tell by watching it how frustrating it is to use. You are quite limited as to shaping once it's embedded and encased. How could you possibly make a round out of that without getting it too hot to melt the dichro? Or any other shape besides a big, fat barrel? Even with all the care he took to make sure it didn't get too hot for the dichro to handle, when it shows the final bead, you can still see that over half of the dichro chunks burned off into white scum. There are some bits that stayed dichro-y, but you can clearly see white flakes all inside of the bead.

It's a great idea in theory, it just needs some serious refinement to make it practical to use.

The only dicro I have used is strips cut from the expensive CBS. I have found a lot of inconsistent quality glass there. All the surace coatings are minute, but some more than others. I have discarded many round beads, worked as cool as possiable, because of the ash looking white scum mentioned. Some of this glass was not very good for fusing either, at temperatures lower than we use in lampworking.
Jim

[chrissij]

Dichro drives me nuts, and being as it's a truly short drive, I purchase dichro stringers from crystalflipz.