strange question

[misfit]

Hello Everyone,

Well a freind had wine galsses from her wedding (their toast glasses) And they fell down went boom. she saved the peices and asked me if I could make her a set of beads from them. The glass looks like it is boro. It melts very slow for me compared to soft glass. It frankly looks like blue bottle glass to me. The beads as just solid blue are quite frankly underwhelming. So My question is can I encase it with boro clear? Is there something Important I should know? I've looked every where I can think of and don't see anything about this anywhere. Thanks.

P.s. Its a dark cobalt color. really needs something to lighten it up.

Thanks

A.

[squid]

could it be a furnace glass? COE 96? that would be stiffer than 104 if that is what you are used to using. Someone can probably chime in and tell you how to figure it out, but it seems to me that if they are blown, they are likely a furnace glass. Not sure if they use boro for blowing glass. Good luck!

[misfit]

it melts way slower than any 96 I've tried. They weren't blown they were cast in a mold... those fake cut glass things...they were really ugly actually. It maybe something else glass wise I haven't tried, but it defianately isn't anything that we'ld buy from olympic color rod... It feels like boro to me except the color isn't as ugly as all get out. (I was great at getting ugly browns and grays with boro- thats why I threw the towel in on it to beginn with) Thats not to say that super dark blue all alone is great either...

[playswithfire104]

Does the stringer test work on boro? You could try that.

[Chuckie]

I wouldn't mix strange glass with any additional glass. Besides, it's what the beads are made of that will make them special to your friend, not how nice you can make them look by adding decorations. jmho...

Char

[misfit]

Not worried about decorated, but would be nice to stop the surface from pitting and not being shiny. This may not be a glass that really wants to be lampworked. <shrug> and she is no worse off for my having tried.

[Mr. Smiley]

If the surface is pitting, my guess is that it's not boro. ;)

You could try the stringer test.

My best advise would be to try and gather a nice ball. Mix it up in a soft flame. Try pulling thicker rods to see if it plays nicer after a mix. I wouldn't add anything to it. Pull stringer for surface decoration and maybe make hollow beads to lighten the color up. ;)

[Three Muses Glass]

If I remember correctly, bottle glass is somewhere in the 80-87 COE range. If it is bottle glass, you may never find anything completely compatible with it, some bottles of the same brand/color are not compatible with each other being from different batches. Ask me how I know that! Perhaps suggest some windchimes. You could drill holes in the pieces and string them up with other beads.

[DawnT]

If I remember correctly, bottle glass is somewhere in the 80-87 COE range. If it is bottle glass, you may never find anything completely compatible with it, some bottles of the same brand/color are not compatible with each other being from different batches. Ask me how I know that! Perhaps suggest some windchimes. You could drill holes in the pieces and string them up with other beads.

What a great idea!

[pipyr]

Why not use some silver foil or wire to add some interest? Or gold if she's a gold person? That might help the surface pitting be less noticeable too :)

[misfit]

thanks for the advise. This stuff isn't very nice to work with. It won't even pull into nice smooth rods. I will suggest wind chimes, because if it can't be encased it doesn't look like it will have a good enough surface for beads.

Thanks.

[playswithfire104]

I've used goldstone with bottle glass and have had no problems.

[plauzon]

You could try tumbling or etching the beads. That will lighten up the color.
Just a thought~

[DawnT]

You could try tumbling or etching the beads. That will lighten up the color.
Just a thought~

Hmm and trying to etch them would tell you if they were soft glass or boro as well.

[Karen Hardy]

Hey Misfit,
I actually do this as a sideline. People send me bottles all the time, from
fancy shmancy occasions (honeymoons, parties) and I charge them a set
price to break them down and make beads from them.

Here's my advice: I only use the glass from each bottle - I never mix glass.
There's too many problems and I don't like to take the chance on having
these very special beads cracking because of incompatabilities.

I melt the broken glass into big thick globs and then I pull rods (about 5-6mm)
from the globs (a lot harder than it sounds <g>). Then I take the rods and I
use them to fashion beads with. I use a whole selection of different presses
to make large focals and I usually make a whole bunch of spacers to go along
with these.

I also pull stringers from the glass and I use these to make raised decorations
on lentils and on barrel beads. Usually just curlicues and raised dots.

Then - unless the customer requests otherwise, I will divide the stash of
beads in two and I will etch half of the beads. In some cases, if the customer
requests, I do some cool resist painting on some of the beads (like I add a
smaller heart to the middle of a large heart - or I add their initals to the bead)
before I etch it. The customers LOVE this.

I anneal them on a regular soft glass schedule. Haven't had a single bead
crack on me yet (knock, knock). I can usually get about 50 beads from an
average bottle.


Hope this helps - PM me if you have any questions, and I'll be glad to help!

[misfit]

okay tried etching the one trial hollow I made. This stuff does not etch at all. tried a stringer test with boro and it doesn't seem to be boro. It pulls slightly to the side, didn't break or crack however. The surface is really just not acceptable and the color after annealing is a blotchy nearly black ugliness, not that it was great to begin with.

[ginkgoglass]

I would love to see pictures! Lana