Best Boro Glass Brand!!

A Dragonfly's Journey · #1 2013-06-21, 12:17am

What is the best boro glass brand out there to use? For rods or tubing?!!
I would like to start working in boro, yet have no idea what brand to order/what is the best out there!! I have heard of Northstar-for rods and Schott/Pyrex-for tubing, any suggestions/opinions?!

Thanks!!
~Chrystal

shawnette · #2 2013-06-21, 1:55am

There isn't really a "best" brand. It's all dependent on what you want to do. (i.e., different brands produce different results in some applications, like fuming.) If you're just beginning, just order a bunch of clear (doesn't really matter what brand) and a few colors to play with.

MagpieGlass · #3 2013-06-21, 4:09am

If you are just starting, especially tubing. Buy cheap (aka asian/china) so you don't waste money. Pulling points, getting them on center is a talent that takes lots of practice.

Best "brand" is a loaded question.

menty666 · #4 2013-06-21, 9:49am

It depends what you mean by "best." Best for what application? Fuming? Pipes? Marbles? Beads? Sex toys? Other?

Some things behave better than others.

If you're just looking for a cheap thrill to learn on, get some of the Devardi boro. It's dirt cheap. Borobars are pretty inexpensive too relative to the 100.00 a pound colors.

China glass...that's not necessarily the best suggestion because that would be like me suggesting Devardi soft glass to you which is known to be a royal pain in the gluteous to work. It's cheap for a reason.

kbinkster · #5 2013-06-21, 9:54am

If you are just starting out, you might want to consider buying seconds for your color. The rods might be irregularly shaped, but the colors are usually the same as first quality and the price is lower.

Dragonharper · #6 2013-06-21, 9:55am

Keep with clear until you have the basics down, if you must have some color buy a bag of shorts from one of the glass suppliers like ABR or MGA. Glass Alchemy has a color kit you can purchase that has projects for each of the colors in the kit.

Boro color is not like 104 color, it is very sensitive to flame chemistry, temperature, and working time.

MagpieGlass · #7 2013-06-21, 4:57pm

I've read that the Devardi Boro is not compatible with other boro.

Have you had any experience with that??

Quote:

Originally Posted by menty666

It depends what you mean by "best." Best for what application? Fuming? Pipes? Marbles? Beads? Sex toys? Other?

Some things behave better than others.

If you're just looking for a cheap thrill to learn on, get some of the Devardi boro. It's dirt cheap. Borobars are pretty inexpensive too relative to the 100.00 a pound colors.

China glass...that's not necessarily the best suggestion because that would be like me suggesting Devardi soft glass to you which is known to be a royal pain in the gluteous to work. It's cheap for a reason.

menty666 · #8 2013-06-21, 5:12pm

What's with all the extra punctuation today??!?!?!

I've experimented with it, but I don't recall that I mixed it with any other brands. I will say, that by and large it wasn't any worse to work with than any other boro I have around. There were a couple of exceptions; I think the turquoise, for example, was poppy, but not impossible to use. The white sucked overall, but that was a visual issue, not workability. For just practicing with it's fine.

I have some shop time tentatively scheduled for the weekend, is there anything in particular you want me to try to mix it with? Throw a few TAG/Momka/NS/GA colors out and if I have one or two of them I'll try.

istandalone24/7 · #9 2013-06-22, 5:12am

i don't recomend boro bars for a first time boro worker. boil city. plus you really need to twist and mix them up.....shouldn't use them w/o melting/mixing.

MagpieGlass · #10 2013-06-22, 6:54am

My computer died and I'm using hubby laptop ... it likes to help by jumping around in the text (that's my excuse for the extra punctutation).

Nothing I need/want you to try. I had just avoided it because there was mention it might not be compatible and I don't think they have any silver colors ... I could be wrong ... I haven't looked lately.

I have bought a wee bit of the soft, preheat it my kiln and it's not totally horrible but I'm an impatient wench ... so definitely not for me no matter how beautiful the color!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by menty666

What's with all the extra punctuation today??!?!?!

I've experimented with it, but I don't recall that I mixed it with any other brands. I will say, that by and large it wasn't any worse to work with than any other boro I have around. There were a couple of exceptions; I think the turquoise, for example, was poppy, but not impossible to use. The white sucked overall, but that was a visual issue, not workability. For just practicing with it's fine.

I have some shop time tentatively scheduled for the weekend, is there anything in particular you want me to try to mix it with? Throw a few TAG/Momka/NS/GA colors out and if I have one or two of them I'll try.

A Dragonfly's Journey · #11 2013-06-25, 7:53pm

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!!!
~Chrystal