A couple of questions....

[EmbellishYourself]

Is there a huge difference in using a tungsten poker versus a brass one?

and

I have Thompson enamels for 104 coe, can I use it on bullseye if I only use a little? I know they say you can use different frit coe's if you use 5% or less so I was wondering if the same holds true for enamel.

Thanks for your help!

[tiggybubba]

Yes
No

[Karen Hardy]

Leslie, you're such a hoot .

Tungsten = no stick
Brass = stick

***********************
As for the enamels - bullseye is 90 COE, and 90-104= more than 5%
So that would be a bad combo.
(and remember to WEAR A MASK when you use them!!!)

[beadworkstudio]

Depends on how you're poking. I use brass and it doesn't stick, but I make sure it's not hot, and I don't leave the poker in the glass.

[Karen Hardy]

Originally Posted by beadworkstudio

Depends on how you're poking. I use brass and it doesn't stick, but I make sure it's not hot, and I don't leave the poker in the glass.

Or in the flame .
Brass DOES melt too (ask me how I know).

[CelesteK]

So, no matter how hot your tungsten pick gets it won't stick?? I have a bent pick that I got in my starter kit and it sticks in my glass. Of course, I figured it was operator error...

Celeste

[nagibeads]

don't quote me on this, but I think it depends on the mix of tungsten.


If you have regular tungsten picks, they have a mix of other metals in there to give it strength. They will stick after a while if you get them red hot...

pure tungsten picks retard sticking well. But it is super brittle metal. I had some made and if you drop it, it breaks. I bought a bunch of the tips so I can keep replacing them because I seem to drop them often.

[squid]

I have found some "tungsten" picks to not actually be tungsten too.

[RSimmons]

Pure tungsten melts at over 6000 degrees, alloys are a bit lower. Brass melts between 1650 and 1720 (depending on the alloy), so it'll be a lot more likely to crap out if you put it into the flame. Tungsten picks generally don't stick to glass, but if you get them both screaming hot together in the flame they will. If you pick sticks easily then it is probably steel, not tungsten.

Robert

[scoutycat]

You can re-shape your tungsten picks in your torch if you need to (ie, if it breaks, which it will if it gets banged around much) so they aren't really as expensive/annoying as it seems. Another advantage of tungsten is that you can use it like a drill kind of to go through glass & make loops or whatever.

[EmbellishYourself]

Thanks for all the info, it's very helpful!

[Hels]

Jen, how do you reshape your tungsten pick in the flame??

[scoutycat]

Loren stump showed us how to do this in his class, it's easy peasy once you know you can. You can get it pointy again by super heating it (ie, white hot) & basically oxidizing off the outside and then quenching it to reveal a nice pointy end. You may need to knock off a bit of oxide before using it again. If it's your rake that you are fixing, you can bend it again by heating it to cherry and bending with pliers. Use grubby pliers, 'cuz they'll get fumed with tungsten as you do this. And of course, ventilate etc.

[MaryBeth]

I think your tungsten question was answered!

As far as the enamels go I wouldn't use COE104 enamels on Bullseye. As a matter of fact I read a some information from someone who extensively tested the COE90 enamels on Bullseye and even certain colors of those aren't really compatible.

[Hels]

Awsome! Thanks Jen! I will try that!!!

In my case, my problem is tunsten tweezers. They are 'bent' tweezers, so can't be turned to the other side. Well, they are always in my RIGHT hand, and now, the one side, the left side, is getting smaller and smaller... other side is the same as ever
so that means that they are barely touching to tweeze anymore.

So if I can melt off some of the right side, I'd be all good, but the tungsten doesn't seem to sand down with sandpaper, so didn't know how to shape.

Thanks! I'll try that!!!