No clue if i should be doing this

[SilverWind]

ok so i ended up getting a motor and pestal made of white marble (could not find steel) to ground up frit i made and one day a chunk of the marble came off the pestal and it was sparkley looking so i went with a likely bad idea and ground the marble up into powder and dyed it to use as enamel

ok im not sure if that was a good idea at all i have not used it yet so i have no clue how it will affect the beads if no one knows i guess ill experiment a bit and give input

[Mina]

I'm fairly new as well, but if I understand correctly, you can introduce materials in a bead as long as it does not exceed a certain ratio/%... I want to say it can't be more than 5% of the bead but don't quote me on that. I would recommend you only use it as a surface treatment rather than encasing it... I imagine the bead would not survive if you encased the marble. I do know people have put sand on their bead surface with no ill effects, so maybe you would get the same type of effect with the marble. Post your results, I'm very curious how it turns out.

[SilverWind]

Originally Posted by Mina

I'm fairly new as well, but if I understand correctly, you can introduce materials in a bead as long as it does not exceed a certain ratio/%... I want to say it can't be more than 5% of the bead but don't quote me on that. I would recommend you only use it as a surface treatment rather than encasing it... I imagine the bead would not survive if you encased the marble. I do know people have put sand on their bead surface with no ill effects, so maybe you would get the same type of effect with the marble. Post your results, I'm very curious how it turns out.

will do ill even try encasement just to see if it would work

[ROC]

Yes on the 5% rule, however that really depends on how closely related the two are. On this chart http://www.supercivilcd.com/THERMAL.htm the COE of marble is .0000110.

Just to give you an idea, I used lava rock (about 2.5 COE) with less than 5% in 104 and the whole thing fractured in to those cool looking spider web cracks.

Still, it's fun to play, so let us know how it goes!

[AlwaysLearning]

FWIW I believe some marble contains asbestos. Probably not a big deal with the amount you're playing with. Just info.

I went to the rock shop nearby and tried embedding several minerals. Garnet and apatite looked good. Calcite lost it's color. Haven't annealed them yet. Industrial black diamond (cheap abrasive) looks sort of cool but if it's not fully embedded it cracks the glass (which might imply long-term instability). I want to try quartz points but haven't found tiny ones yet.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Wayne

[SilverWind]

the one on the right is my result with the marble did not crack but it did burn off the dye so its white speckled would go great in a galaxy bead for stars my recommendation after rolling it in heat it up till the marble glows brightly and pops so the surface is not so rough (Tuxedo black rod COE 104 & White Marble)

the one of the left was me goofing around and remembering what when i made frit by melting and submerging it in water it gave the glass a crystal look (though it would not stay together very long) but this after many attempts is my final result (i think its a Emerald green rod)

[Mina]

Is the green one encased?

[SilverWind]

Originally Posted by Mina

Is the green one encased?

no it is not, not a bad idea but would be difficult to reheat it to put on that

oh if your thinking i put marble in the green one no i did not the encased version of marble was hard to see for me and i dont have clear glass

[jaci]

What did you dye it with? I can't really imagine much would withstand the flame.

[losthelm]

You need to be careful with smashing/grinding glass.
The small particles go very where.
Eyes and respitory may be a concern with an open mortar and pestil.