Devardi Glass Technical Input and Experiences

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Thank you - it sure was a challenge! I will try to work one up that is a lot simpler in the near future!

[PaulaP]

Kristina loving the Dino. Great job.

[blong2001]

Anyone have new stuff from the weekend?

[blong2001]

After the discussion last week about the hints in this huge devardi message I am making notes. Anyone want to help me? What I consider important others may not.

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Originally Posted by blong2001

After the discussion last week about the hints in this huge devardi message I am making notes. Anyone want to help me? What I consider important others may not.

What huge Devardi message? I missed it! What hints and what would help you? You are such a Sweetie I would help or answer anything I can, and I know others will too.

I worked on the critters this weekend. I worked it out with BOC to have a Spiral-bound Workbook of critters for them to sell to make funds for their program, so that is exciting! So here's what I worked up this weekend to be in the workbook with the other critters already up, and there will surely be some more after these!

...............

[PaulaP]

Playing with a new style critter still need more PPP but they were so fun to make. I used up all my Devardi new pink. Devardi sites shows sold out hope they get more with the new shipment.

I had a bit of soot problem but I believe it is my propane ever since I refilled my tank this time just about every color I use I have had a problem with it.

Dress rehearsal

Doesn't seem to be any costume malfunctions

Their manager dropped in to check things out

Group shot of the whole gang

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Paula, are they Chippendale Piggies? I like the one holding his pants on the side!

[blong2001]

Kristina-just referring to this thread! There is a ton of good information in these pages.

Originally Posted by Fine Folly Glassworks

What huge Devardi message? I missed it! What hints and what would help you? You are such a Sweetie I would help or answer anything I can, and I know others will too.

Paula-those are so cute!!

[sansan239s]

This is the reason for one of my last posts here. It would be VERY helpful to nubbies or just anyone who has trouble reading a lot, to get the important tips and tricks about this glass in a consolidated post.

BTW Kristina ~ loves your new little animals!
& Paula ~ those piggies are toooo cute! Good job ladies!!

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Originally Posted by sansan239s

This is the reason for one of my last posts here. It would be VERY helpful to nubbies or just anyone who has trouble reading a lot, to get the important tips and tricks about this glass in a consolidated post.

BTW Kristina ~ loves your new little animals!
& Paula ~ those piggies are toooo cute! Good job ladies!!

I sure agree... and I remember the frustration of first learning to work with this glass, how to handle it and how to make rounds and hollows, pull stringer and encase, goldstone adventurine rods, etc.

Maybe a Tutorial of "New User Points" in a PDF that anyone can download, or an online Tutorial on their site. If it only gets posted here it goes away with lack of viewing, and then people don't know about it, but something on the Devardi site and also posted here would be more visible.

I will email the owners and see if they would find it agreeable if I put some points with pictures together in one place.

[blong2001]

I started going through the beginning of this thread for good info. It was really interesting to re-read some of the stuff. Lots that I had forgotten about color reactions and incompatibility info. I started saving the good info. It may become huge!

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

I emailed Natasha and she agreed with the idea of working up a New Users Info Tutorial or Workbook!

It will need to be done after the Beads Of Courage Workbook gets done, but it will be a great project and a reference that we can add to in the future. I don't claim to be any expert, but I can do most of the basic things with Devardi on a Hothead, and I have a Technical Publications background, and I will be glad to work it up.

SO the workbook would cover the techniques of using Devardi on a Hothead, and can be adapted to a surface mix torch. It would also include the very basics of handling the glass and then get into the how-to's on things like dots, raking, making hollows, rounds, stringers, encasing, making critters and so on!

It would be neat to have images of other people's work too. Maybe we can have peoples work with their names and websites if they have one?

Sound good? Here are some pics of past work that could have how-to's included in the Workbook. Please make any suggestions for content that you like, so we cover whatever you are interested in if we possibly can!

..................

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Originally Posted by blong2001

I started going through the beginning of this thread for good info. It was really interesting to re-read some of the stuff. Lots that I had forgotten about color reactions and incompatibility info. I started saving the good info. It may become huge!

Bethany, if it appeals to you it would be wonderful if you wanted to collect that data and send it to me! It could go in the workbook!

[sansan239s]

EXCELLENT idea, Kristina. I would even pay the usual "tutorial fee" for whatever you work up. Thanks for taking on this monumental task!!

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Thank you Sandy... it will be a neat project. I used to work on Naval Technical Manuals which are huge, so this one should take far less time and be SO much more rewarding!

[Steffi]

I got my devardi colors last week. Ordered some of the pinks, some bicolor rods, some mixed rods and some dichro. After the first test i really like it. But do the rods have to be that shocky?

Espacially the opaque and semi opaque pink (which look exactly the same...) crumble like crazy even in the tiniest flame. The pink luster rods do it also, but not as much as the opaques. And the pink luster doesn't like to be put over kugler white. Incompatibility cracks all around the bead.

The dichro is very very very thin and has to be immediately (spelling?) encased after applying it next to the flame. When i put it into the (tiniest) flame of my cricket it starts to burn. If handled carefully it has a great sparkle.

These were the first tests...more to follow if you are interested

[Imaglassgal]

Steffi, please do post more (with pictures if possible). Thanks for your input.

Are you using a rod warmer? I have very little shockiness when the rods are pre-heated.

[blong2001]

Steffi-you may want to check out the videos on the dicro. A rod warmer or put the rods on top your kiln. Like Marina, I have very little trouble when the rods are pre-heated.

Good Luck!

[evvybuns]

Life with Devardi rods will improve greatly if you preheat them. The worst of the worst in terms of shockiness for me were the semi-opaque pink and the opaque pink. Steffi, I couldn't tell them apart, either.

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Hi Everyone,

I had a froggie-day... and my Devardi heart-froggies came through nicely, but my 96 frit-froggies cracked I can hardly wait for that bead kiln I have on layaway!

Here are my two cuties on Dk. Transparent Rose and the Transparent Light Green with flowers on their fannies (they are girl frogs)... and then the ones that cracked... well it was a nice break, pardon the pun!


And I would chime in with everyone else and say you MUST get a rod warmer to preheat your Devardi rods with, and then life will be rosie!

[Steffi]

So here are those pics

#1: opaque pink, burned dichro , flowers are transparent dark rose over white, encased with kugler clear

#2: pink luster over opaque pink, stamen stringer, flowers same as #1, encased in kugler clear

#3: spacer beads, tr. dark rose, opaque pink, pink luster rod

#4: cobalt bicolor rod, dichro, kugler clear

#5: pink luster over kugler white, dots are tr. dark rose. Bad combination, cracked all over the bead


I'll try to put the tips of the rods into my kiln to preheat. Don't have a seperate preheater...

More experiments will come for sure

[blong2001]

I tried the dark rose over the Devardi white and the sop white. Encased they both were not compatible. Tried the dark rose over white Vetrofond and Moretti. The Moretti was the only survivor. I still need to do some more playing with the different clears.

[SilverRiverJewelry]

I stick the first quarter of whatever rods I am going to be using in my kiln to pre heat and keep the rest on top so they are pretty warm when I introduce them into the flame. Very little shockiness doing it that way.
I am having issues with the Devardi clear over some of the silver colors like triton and psyche also. Serious incompatibility cracks. Also the dark transparent over sop white cracks every time and they are both devardi.
In defense of the clear over the silver, I had the same problem with moretti clear over the silver glass also. Will be trying out different clears with those.
Here is one set of frit beads I made mixing three colors of the devardi frit, they are red, orange and yellow but I would have to go down and look if you want the exact colors. The funny thing is the focal is encased (the whole bead is devardi glass) and I had no trouble with this one cracking or the other two that I did that have the yellow and oranges in them. And I have heard that those two colors don't like to be encased in almost any glass.

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Steffi & Sonja - beautiful work despite the problems, and thank you for the info on what works and what doesn't!

[blong2001]

I used the clear over DH Aurea with no problem. I have not been able to use the clear from the latest shipment to encase. Much too bubbly. Anyone else have this issue?

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Originally Posted by blong2001

I used the clear over DH Aurea with no problem. I have not been able to use the clear from the latest shipment to encase. Much too bubbly. Anyone else have this issue?

I used the latest clear to make a layered petal bead yesterday and it was okay. Maybe it's the heat... are you using it pretty hot?

[blong2001]

It really depends on what I am doing. To test clear I make a few spacers and then encase thick and encase thin. I usually encase a dark color looking for bubbles. Nothing I did made the clear happy!

I encased the SOP Lt Green on Saturday. Turned it completely white. Very strange to me.

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Originally Posted by blong2001

It really depends on what I am doing. To test clear I make a few spacers and then encase thick and encase thin. I usually encase a dark color looking for bubbles. Nothing I did made the clear happy!

I encased the SOP Lt Green on Saturday. Turned it completely white. Very strange to me.

I would let Natasha at Devardi know. She may replace it. That doesn't sound right for clear!

[blong2001]

I have some Vetrofond crystal clear that does the same thing. I just use them as bases for higher priced or hard to get glass. I will use it up! But-prob will use only Effetre in the future for my clear.

[blong2001]

I tried some frit over the bubbly glass. Transparent frit looks really neat on top!