FREE TUTORIAL - Fire Opals - Page 10

essiemessy · #**271** 2012-09-25, 4:12pm

Nice, Cherri

How exciting is it when you see something you know is lovely that you've made yourself?

Cherri · #**272** 2012-09-25, 4:35pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by essiemessy

Nice, Cherri

How exciting is it when you see something you know is lovely that you've made yourself?

Is pretty cool. I just really like this tech.
I have a friend who is an opal person. Shhhh..I am going to send a couple to her as a surprise.

The heart ended up having a weird "layer"? crack it is tiny, but I will keep that one for myself. I dig the purple.

Thank you
Cher

*Naos* · #**273** 2012-09-30, 11:00am

Cherri - WOW! You did GREAT! What are you talking about you got no blue? I see it all over them - FANTASTIC JOB!

Cherri · #**274** 2012-09-30, 12:48pm

Oh thank you. I guess I just felt I over did it and muddied them. I love them, just try and try again to get more color. I love this tutorial!

saraconklin · #**275** 2012-10-22, 3:23pm

my beads cracked, ugh. i not only tried Ekho but Kalypso (nice purples) and Khaos (too brown). encased with Zephyr and was sure to add insurance heat at the end before putting into kiln. so disappointing to have the cracked bead babies, oh! one just totally separated right now. it knew i was writing this.

once while working boro i found having white glass next to the mandrel caused those beads to crack, is there maybe a problem with the black glass layer? i used Tuxedo. hummmmm. these are too pretty to give up on.

*Naos* · #**276** 2012-10-22, 4:16pm

Sara, I use Effetre Black, DH over the silver and then encase with Lauscha Soft Clear. I've only used Zephyr a few times because I also had cracking issues with it so that's probably the problem.

Nimbus · #**277** 2012-10-22, 4:37pm

Hi Sara!

Every time I have ever tried to encase tuxedo black, it has cracked. Also, I have had trouble with Zephyr cracking when I used it. Sounds like you had the perfect storm going on.

Jeannie

*Naos* · #**278** 2012-10-22, 4:51pm

Ah ok, I've never used Tuxedo.

saraconklin · #**279** 2012-10-22, 5:27pm

wow, so glad you are all here and can help. NO tuxedo, No zephyr, does anyone do anything fun with beads cracked perfectly in half? they are still really pretty, must be something fun to do with them. maybe superglue them together and made suncatchers.

Eileen · #**280** 2012-10-22, 5:43pm

Or fuse them into cabs.

*Naos* · #**281** 2012-10-22, 5:45pm

Sara, if they're broken perfectly in half with no spidering, that's thermal. They got too cool before they went into the kiln.

Pia Kaven · #**282** 2012-10-22, 7:08pm

Did they crack along the mandrel? That way your bead holes would be perfectly hidden by a bezel if you used them as cabs... no need to really even fuse or slump or any of that stuff, just use them as they are.

saraconklin · #**283** 2012-10-23, 10:50am

the one that cut loose was perfectly broken in half along the mandrel, they are all cracked along the mandrel, part of me wants to hit them with a hammer and get it over with....... i also thought i could superglue the outside of them along the split very carefully to keep them from splitting and put them in sun catchers.

use them as cabs??.... i know what cabochon shape is, just not what to do with that shape, i suppose you are talking about mounting them on a cab-shaped metal backing with some kind of bale???? sort of like a bezeled stone?

so, insurance heat and then into the kiln, i have had problems lately with the white fuzzy kiln stuff sticking to the bead because i put the bead in while the surface was still melty i guess. is there a certain amount of time you guys count out between the flame and putting the bead in a chili pepper kiln?

amazing that most of this art form is timing, so important for all aspects.

i now have 3" of snow, really early winter in the High Sierra's. smacks of "boro weather." thanks to all

Pia Kaven · #**284** 2012-10-23, 8:51pm

Yes, bezel them with metal, or beads or what ever, but then again, if it is a thermal cracking, I would not waste too much time making something super intricate, just in case they crack more. Maybe just clue and use the sun catcher idea, or drop them onto the bottom of an aquarium will be best use of them. I still wouldn't toss them, use them somewhere unexpected. A pile of junk can look like a treasure if you have something cool there, even if it is not usable in its original form. And don't be too discouraged by this, you just happened to use two glasses that might be giving you bunch of problems... just try another glass, and you might be into a wonderful surprise!

Maybe it is not thermal after all... if you showed us a picture we would be able to tell you better.

saraconklin · #**285** 2012-10-24, 9:59am

i will try and take photos today, thanks

saraconklin · #**286** 2012-10-24, 1:55pm

ok, got some pics of the cracked fire opals and the few that didn't crack. i am not using Tuxedo any longer and no more Zephyr. i am also cooking the bead well before putting into the kiln. question about the cook before kiln......how does this affect striking? also, how long do yo all take between flame and kiln, is there an amount of seconds that would assure no white fuzzy stuff stuck to the surface but a good insurance heat?? size of the bead is probably an issue

saraconklin · #**287** 2012-10-24, 2:04pm

another shot at trying to make photo bigger, this one is 350 pixels rather than 250. tried 400 and it wouldn't load

saraconklin · #**288** 2012-10-25, 1:19pm

I wrote to Judd at Double Helix trying to get a short cut to the kinds of glass that would do the fire opal whammy and here is his response.

To: doublehelixglassworks@msn.com
Subject: glass working advice
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:43:43 -0700
Magic came out of my kiln this morning, thank you. I used Ekho and put it on a black base bead with foil underneath and wow. I understood to make the glass so hot that it turned clear and dripped off the rod. So, I got that magic of Ekho but want to know if you have any other colors that work in the same “hot as hell, turn clear and very melty” to make it do its whammy. Thank you

Sara Conklin

Hi Sara,
I apologize for the delayed response. All of our Striking Colors are designed to work in a manner similar to Ekho. Getting the glass hot enough to "reset" is indeed an important step. My favorite striking colors are Terranova2.1 (regular and light versions), and Luna3. Both of these colors respond well to the "heat to reset, cool, gently reheat to strike" sequence. Other striking colors that work similar to Ekho are Terra, Terra2, and Khaos. We also offer a striking color assortment to enable you to try them all, including our clears, with a minimal investment. Feel free to email with any other questions you may have.
Thanks,
Jed at Double Helix

________________________________________

Eileen · #**289** 2012-11-03, 2:45pm

Sara, as far as when to put your beads into the kiln, I was told to do it by holding the bead under the table (in the "dark" that is) and watch for the orange glow to fade mostly away. Maybe you could try that?
I do have a stainless rack in my Chili Pepper that holds the beads up off the floor too, so can't guarantee anything.

(Edited to say I meant the bright orange of molten glass, not the entire glow, sorry)

Pia Kaven · #**290** 2012-11-03, 3:30pm

I think the bead will be ready to go into the kiln way before the glow in the dark is gone, but eventhough I have a fancy spancy glasshive, I have electrical problems with it (nothing wrong with the kiln, I just need to install a circuit with more amps in it for my kiln), so I use my old chilipepper kiln and I keep the bead from touching the fuzzy part for a while when I put it into the kiln, I keep it elevated from the floor (close the door, you can still lift the bead up eventhough the door is closed) and keep rotating it for a little while to make sure it is solid enough not to get stuck on another bead or get fuzz stuck to it. I am sorry your beautiful beads cracked... I am thinking it is thermal kind of cracking. When bead cracks alongside the mandrel it is almost definitely thermal...
You don't have to super heat them after they are done, just make sure they are warm allover so that not one side is cooler than the other, just a little glow will be good. I would also check that your kiln is accurate, it could be too cold to begin with, so that it doesn't anneal your pretties. Do you have manual or electric dial? And have you been able to check the accuracy of it?

saraconklin · #**291** 2012-11-03, 3:47pm

Eileen: I somehow think that that is too long to be out of the flame before you put the bead in kiln. i understand that when you want to strike a color you do the under the table thing. I have a bunch of cracked beads and have been vigilant lately about giving them a lot of insurance heat and not waiting too long to put in kiln. I think i have had less cracking lately. thanks for your ideas.
Pia: I have no idea if my chilipepper's digital temp thingie is accurate, how do you test it? i am also thinking of getting some kind of metal mesh to put in the back of the kiln to keep the bead babies off the fuzz. thanks for your info.

Pia Kaven · #**292** 2012-11-03, 4:12pm

http://lampworketc.com/forums/showth...k+temp+kiln%3F here is a thread about testing the kiln temperature, I bet there are other threads too. I would maybe try adjusting your kiln temperature higher and see if that will help you with breaking. That kinda thing will cause way too much disappointments and anxiety to be checked out. Do you have any experienced bead makers around, that way they could just see when you are making a bead if you spend too much time between torch and kiln, and could give you some pointers? I am leaning towards the kiln problems though.

Eileen · #**293** 2012-11-03, 4:31pm

I gave a false impression, I don't leave them out until the glow is totally gone, more like until the surface loses the bright orange glow, and the whole glow begins to darken some.

Pia Kaven · #**294** 2012-11-03, 4:33pm

I'm sorry Eileen, I totally misunderstood. That makes sense though.

Eileen · #**295** 2012-11-03, 4:43pm

No, no, I wasn't clear about it. It's not your fault that you couldn't read my mind!

saraconklin · #**296** 2012-11-03, 5:43pm

i wish there was somebody closer than 1.25 hours one way to Reno to whom i could show my techniques to. i had thought recently that the big time teachers could offer a "watch you" class, say at least two hours long in which you do some basic techniques and they correct all the little bad habits we all get into on our own. Wow, maybe in the future we could do some UTube video's of ourselves and send them to a teacher for critiques. Hummmmmm, pretty cheap, no travel, the teacher could talk you through your video over the phone BUT there doesn't seem an easy way for them to show you physically the right way to do whatever it is you messed up.

Pia: I really miss "talking glass" at this point with anybody. i understand there may be 1 other person in Plumas County, CA that does lampwork beads. i am really lonely and this forum saves my sanity and teaches me so much. big hugs to all.

PS i will be avoiding the snow and living in the Santa Cruz mountains about 20 minutes north of Santa Cruz from mid Jan to end of March. Is there anyone I can visit?? i take my torch etc. with me and sit in my cousin's garage and make beads while in Santa Cruz. ok, i will shut up now.

ginger2 · #**297** 2012-11-03, 11:44pm

I'm so glad this got bumped....I didn't know this was in here! Thanks so very much Amber. You're so great for sharing your techniques with us!
Gratefully,
ginger

Cherri · #**298** 2012-11-07, 8:39am

I only have one picture at the moment, but Amber if you look in the back.. I got my blues and pinks!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did a couple of others, but can't locate them right now.. I think a gremlin might have taken a fancy to them.

I am tickled. I got the colors I wanted. I am getting the hang of this dang stuff.
So anyway, the bigger one is the fire opal done as Amber instructed. The others in the bunch are me playing and learning the DH. Can't wait till I can try again. OHHHHHH and as a side note, they are clear encased with VSuper Clear. I got that problem licked (sooty and scumming) licked to at the same time. Only one that did not really come out great was the one on the far right. I think that was red base with silver, then with, umm don't remember.. either clio or ekho and encased. Not a happy bead.. to dark to see what is going on in it. Oh and I forgot to mention. I am on a hothead. Thank you again Amber and everyone for helping.

*Naos* · #**299** 2012-11-07, 9:29am

Cherri, I think you ROCKED IT!

Cherri · #**300** 2012-11-07, 9:53am

Quote:

Originally Posted by *Naos*

Cherri, I think you ROCKED IT!

Hehehehe, well I certainly tilted it a bit.

Now to just restrain myself and write down what glass I am using!.. I got so tickled.

I can't wait to try again this coming weekend!

Thank you so much.!