Anyone using Bullseye 90 coe?
 

Because I do a lot of fused glass with Bullseye I wanted to use their rods to make components like leaves, twisties etc. that can be included in my kiln work. Being so inexperienced with lampwork in general - it has been really interesting playing with both 104 and 90. With 90 being much stiffer and it also seems more brittle and prone to cracking - I am curious to know if it is commonly used for bead making? In some situations perhaps having a stiffer glass is helpful?

Thanks June

To tell you the truth, when I first started using Bullseye (for making beads), I never even thought about any other use of that glass. I had never heard of fusing. It was a wonder to actually get real pinks and purples from glass rods. I am hoarding a big stash of Bullseye. Beads made from Bullseye were a really big deal. Every few weeks (months?) they would debut new colors. There was mad scramble to order it. People would lurk, stalking the site. I used to drive to Portland just to buy the new stuff. Many times, there was not enough to meet the demand. Remember that you old dogs? It was so much fun.
As for it being brittle or stiff, you just got used to slight changes in the way you worked the glass. It was not a problem.
della

That is all that Stephanie Sersich uses. Here is a video of her teaching at Corning if you're interested. You can google her and see lots of examples of her work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP0c3i2zqwU

That is really interesting Della. Supplies are getting back to normal now after the big air quality mess but we were all hoarding our stash for a while there. There doesn't seem to be much new color development these days other than what was necessary to meet new standards. It's a fun change of direction to use a torch on this glass - instant results, instead of waiting hours for kiln firing.

Thank you for link Eileen - love watching talented lampworkers at torch. Certainly have heard the name before but didn't realize she used Bullseye.

Try annealing your glass if you're cutting it into strips to fire in a torch for beads before using. i usually use 1000, hold 10, AFAP down to 900, hold 20, 100 dph to 700, off.

Like you jsknow445 ... I started fusing before lampworking and have always been a huge BE fan.

Still most of my beads are made with 90 (I also work 104 and 33). The more recently manufacturered rods do seem to be hellaciously more shocky than in the past. Bullseye is stiffer and most of their glass is translucent instead of opaque which I prefer.

My newer cane/rod that wants to constantly blow up on me I shove in my kiln to preheat the end for a bit. Same can be done with cut strips (I've been using those for colors no longer pulled to cane: Deep Red, Striking Pink, Violet Striker, transparent Gold Purple).

I started beadmaking on Bullseye. I only went to Moretti (104) after a Leah Fairbanks class. I have many pounds of Bullseye that will be finding a new home eventually.

I use BE in the torch to make components to add to my pate de verre. But for beads I use 96 or 104 - it's cheaper, and comes in a huge range of colours.

Also - you can't use Double Helix with BE, which would be a dreadful loss! :)

Thank you - that's a good tip. I have not tried strips yet just rods but was thinking of trying it to see if I like it.

I have a pate de verre class coming up in October at AAE glass with Alicia Lomne. I have always admired that process - looking forward to learning more.
Evelyn Gottschall Baker is also teaching "A non-traditional approach to pate de verre" there in Jan.

I love the look of the silver glasses but I have zero experience with them and the cost makes me reluctant to try - but I do have a sampler pack of DH colors that I should experiment with. Do have favorite tutorials that use DH?

June

Leah is a favorite artist of mine - so yes I would have done the same! Keep me in mind if you decide to detash you 90 glass, I would be interested.

Thanks June

Good suggestion - I will try preheating in the kiln - I was thinking it might get too hot to touch if I had the annealing program running?

It was Alicia's class in England a few years ago that got me started! i was so keen, I went with my arm in a sling having broken my collar bone about a week before! She is a brilliant teacher (even for the one-armed!).

Silver glass is addictive, once you get the hang of it. The tutorials and links on the DH website are a great start; and I have a tutorial by Anouk Jasperse - she's very good. When I started, I used it as stringer a lot, to eke it out. :-) Moira

jsknow4445, I had the same idea some time ago and discovered a whole new world. But at that time I bought HH torch because I had no idea if I like it or not. I had some BE 90 and tried to melt firepolished stripes on HH - well, as far as I remember I ran out of gas before a 10mm (less than 1/2") bead was rounded. :) It was a moment when I decided to switch at least to Minor and try again, but COE 104 world offered its opportunities and I am still investigating it.

I would suggest that you go further and not only anneal but firepolish your strips in advance for a number of reasons. First - when we score and break strips we may have sharp edges. Even with 2mm thins. And it is not the best thing to have your fingers injured when you are making your the very best thing. Second - you can grind the edges but it is not always good for hot glass - there is a chance to get scum and other impurities (just like from scratched rods). If you firepolish and wash your strips (to remove any residue from kiln wash or paper) in advance, you will have nice "bars" of annealed glass. Аnd one more thing - you can prepare your dichro in the kiln - 2mm (thin) transparent on top of dichro side, tack fuse, anneal and you have your dichro covered, with nice edges and secured from burning off. Thre are so many dichro colors and textures in COE 90 - love it :)

I'm gonna start stalking you :hide:

(joke)

I have a bunch of Bullseye I never use, and would love to sell it, but jeez that stuff is brittle. Some of the rods break in pieces when you look at them too hard. I can't imagine shipping it. I'll just have to make myself use it. Or sell it to someone that will come get it.

I like the transparents, but most of the opaques have too much translucency to suit me.

I get BE rods all the time from my supplier AAE Glass in Cape Coral FL - they just wrap bundles of them in bubble wrap and place in the center of a box of packing peanuts - I have never had any arrive broken. I wonder though if older batches could be different from current production?

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions - I can see firepolished edges would be very helpful. Do you recommend to use thin instead of 3mm strips for torch work?

Also very grateful for the dichro tip, I've been wanting to try that but would have never thought to cap it with clear first. You are right - 90 dichro selection is lucious.

Oh my, I just found Anouk Jasperse Flickr photostream the other day - what amazing beads - the colors are surreal.

Making SG stringer would be a good way to play and practice without being so stressed out - thanks.

That's how all mine came from Bullseye and nothing ever came broken. I switched to BE about 15 years ago.

That's how all my 104 was packed, too.

Never mind :) I think, you can use both, there is not a big difference. Since coe 90 is pretty stiff, for layered pieces thin is more convenient because when you fuse a piece, you end up with a thicker piece, but both will work, anyway - fused glass wants to be 1/4" if fully fused without any intentional limitations - pretty close to regular rod thickness. So you can use what you have without additional investments.

To you BE 90 beadmakers... I'm simplifying my life and cleaning house! I have appx. 15lb of assorted Bullseye rods to give away to the first one to PM me! It's not labeled, it's dirty, but it's FREE! Haven't done beads in about 8 years but jumping back in and decided I don't need 5 different brands of glass. Headed to bed now but will let the lucky person know who they are tomorrow. Thanks, Pat