Graphite or Brass?
With all the different tools out there, I am interested in knowing your preferences. Do you prefer brass bead rollers or graphite bead rollers and why? Wondering if the material the roller is made of makes it easier to roll the glass. Maybe because one material will hold heat longer than the other. A poll would have been great for this but I am not sure how you guys do that.
Karen |
Brass "grabs" the glass so I prefer graphite for beadrollers (I only have two however and almost never use them) and marble mold (the Infinite Marble Mold that I use all the time).
Some people do prefer brass and many wax their brass tools. It's really a personal preference. |
I have read here that brass is preferred to strike 104 rainbow glasses (double helix, etc) Personally I use brass and graphite tools and beeswax them both;p
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For glass that devitrifies, brass all the way. The cooler the better.
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I prefer graphite bead rollers for the same reason as Haley.
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What is the purpose of waxing the tools? How is the wax applied and how often?
Thanks, Roger |
I second that question... what does the wax provide?
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Brass is good for getting colors to strike, such as iris orange, because it sucks the heat out of the glass more rapidly. I think brass and graphite both have their place. Wax on a tool will allow the glass to slide more. Kind of like waxing skis. :)
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When I first started using raku frit, I had some graphite and brass tools I experimented with.
I couldn't get the raku to strike on brass but I could on graphite, the trick is to turn slowly. (Disclaimer: This isn't meant as a plug, just and explanation of one of the reasons I went the route of making graphite tools and not brass.) -Donna |
Like Artsyuno said, waxing helps the glass to slide. I apply right before and during use of the tool. Once the tool is hot, i just poke it into my beeswax puck. Don't wax tweezers though, it kind of defeats the purpose. I keep doing it on accident! ;p
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A certain bead maker swears that graphite is dirty. But, I have had WAY more problems with brass causing tiny little bubbles -especially on clear encasing.
For me, I only use brass to shift glass or in presses. To get a good clean shape, I use graphite. |
What is the "Infinite Marble Mold" and why do you use it? Lydia
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http://frittsartglass.com/marbles/molds/ |
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here is a good description of them http://www.artcoinc.com/infinite_rim.php |
Where do you buy the beeswax? I've never used it for anything so I was wondering if it is all the same or if some brands are better for this purpose.
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From what I have read here on LE, graphite can cause some glass to go muddy. I forget which ones or which thread I found that in.
My little bit of research on graphite turned up various qualities of it from right out of the ground to super high quality stuff that is made by vapor deposition. I take it the range covers uses from making homemade smelting pots to carbon arc electrodes to science equipment. I have read that new graphite should be washed with soap and water and towel dried. If it will leave a mark on your hands it will leave traces on your work. I read that brass can be a little more "graby" and this lends it to moving the molten glass around. Also brass sucks the heat out of the glass and this can kick start crystal formation in some of the silver glasses like raku and such that leads to the wonderful color changes. Glass that goes muddy with graphite can be worked with brass instead. I think the bees wax runs a spectrum as well from food quality down to stuff that has twigs in it. For glass work I would go with the least expensive I could find. I would even look up local bee keepers as a source. |
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I got the cuts of beeswax mixed with honey from when it is harvested, and cleaned and strained it myself to get a block of pure beeswax. It smells lovely when melted and burned. I just found this other thread doing a search for something completely different, but it has good information on brass/graphite:
http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=152246 |
Don't they use bees wax for toilet ring seals? Good lord, how cheap can I get eh?
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I make lip balm so I always have bees wax on hand. So I'm thinking some hobby place like micheals or hobby lobby would even have bees wax for candles.
I just drop a little sliver in, roll hot glass on it to melt it, then it's good to go for a very long time. I've done my rollers from perlenpresse once ever. For raku or other striking, I say brass, it's colder, and imo that's what kicks in the striking (fast temp. change). If I have a trouble bead I lay it or roll it on a brass marver and bam, colors start lol. I like both, I'm not partial. I tend to look more at price tbh. |
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