Help with Luna and Aion

[Purrpleturtle]

Hi you wonderfully intelligent, supremely helpful people! I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of help with Luna and Aion Double Helix glass. I am working on a HH with bulk propane and no matter what I do I cant get any results out of them. Please treat me like the newbie that I am and explain all of the details to me. I have read the instructions of work hot cool and reheat, but nothing seems to happen (perhaps I missed the "do the hokey pokey, and turn yourself around" bit). Thanks in advance!!!!


Joanne

[deirdreschaneman]

One thing that helps with aion is to put it over a dark color - I find that blues especially make it pop. It also does some lovely things over psyche when reduced.

The problem with a HH and some of the DH glasses is that while you can deny your flame of oxygen, you can't increase it's presence effectively. I find that the ability to play with the oxygen levels is key in making Luna sing.

[Elizabeth Beads]

Try Aion over darm amethyst or dark topaz transparents. Cover the air holes in the HH woth an oven mitt and you should be able to reduce - just bathe the bead in the propane rich flame for a second or two.

Striking Luna 2 will be a challenge on a HH. It's tricky enough on a mixed fuel torch.

[Hayley]

Joanne,

You have gotten some great suggestion on using Aion over a dark transparent base. Here is what I wrote up for the Third Silver Exchange that may be of interest to you:
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• wind a football (American football! lol!) shape of Medium (or Dark) Amethyst
• completely encase Amethyst core with Aion 2
• let bead cool until the glow is gone, start warm up your clear (I use Diamond Clear
• reduce Aion 2 in a reduction flame (my yellow candles are about 2" and my bead is another inch or so above the tip of the yellow candles)
• let cool and reduce again
• go back to a neutral flame, keeping the bead warm by flashing it at the tip of the flame quickly in and out without "erasing" the reduction, melt Clear
• encase completely in Clear by keeping the bead beneath the flame as not to erase the reduction
• shape bead and press
• flame polish out chill marks
• pop in kiln (don't look at your bead too long or it will crack like mine down the mandrel line! lol!)

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Steph Bonniwell and I did a tutorial on Striking Silver Glass using Luna 2, the link is on my siggy line. Unfortunately it's a lot more difficult to strike silver glass using a HH for it is usually not hot enough to get the glass white hot/droopy.

Also, do you have Luna which is milky translucent in rod form or Luna 2 which is creamy translucent? Luna 2 is a lot easier to strike than the original Luna.

Hope this helps!

[Purrpleturtle]

Hayley, thanks so much for the help! I will give it a try as soon as the children go to bed tonight, and i will post you the bead(s). And as for which Luna i have... hmm... will have to go study the rods...

Thanks everyone for your help! I really appreciate it!

Joanne

[cem]

Good luck!! I can't wait to see your results.

[Purrpleturtle]

sorry about the silence... i have tried and tried, and i got a tiny bit of reaction from the aion, and absolutely non from luna. I am thinking that my torch (hh on bulk propane) is not getting hot enough. So... i will hold onto the glass and will try again when i have upgraded my torch.

I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone that took the time to type to me. This site is fab and i love the fact that everyone helps each other out. So, thanks!

[deirdreschaneman]

Upgrading your torch will make all the reactive glasses so much fun to play with!

In the meantime, one glass that I have had pretty good success in getting a reaction on a HH is DH's Triton. Hopefully that will give you something fun to play with until then.

[Purrpleturtle]

Deirdre - i will be upgrading my torch as soon as i can convince DH I have just ordered a kiln this month, so i may have to wait until next month for that! Thanks for the tip on Triton, i will get my hands on some and give it a whirl!