Which Clear? - Page 3

PaulaD · #61 2008-11-14, 11:08pm

Hi Brandie. I have only been selling Lauscha for a year and never used clear much myself before that so I am not familiar with the clear from years ago. I know that when I started lampworking several years ago many people were using it. As Lampworking got more popular more people started to post about problems. Lauscha duplicated all of their combinations and could not get the same beads to crack. They came to the conclusion that it needs to be annealed differently than just moretti. There are one or two colors that don't like to be encased.
As for me referring to it as "more compatible" that reference is to the newer silver laden glasses that have become popular in the last year.
I am also selling my Lauscha clear for a lot less than $30.00 a lb.
I hope I was some help.
Paula

Reenie · #62 2008-11-15, 1:18am

Using a Betta I'd say the soft clear is Much softer than white or ivory. You can feel it when it goes on a bead. You wrap clear over a bead and okay....no biggie.
You wrap soft clear on a bead and it kind of glides over the surface.
I don't work very hot and I love it.
Haven't had cracking problems as of yet either.
Another option could be the "Precision 104" Diamond Clear. I'm hearing great results from that and have used it a few times and it's pretty darn clear too!
Now Moretti has a "super clear" that's replaced it's regular clear.
It's much better then the old clear they sold but still not crystal clear.

Lea Zinke · #63 2008-11-15, 4:58pm

I'm having a real problem with Lauscha Soft Clear -- loved using it, works easily, encases like a dream, clarity & consistency are wonderful -- then the beads crack. Within an hour of taking them off mandrels, the cracks appear. The first ones were large multi-layer encased florals on a CIM base, most recently base of soft clear with embellishments, etc. and still cracking. Love the stuff but CANNOT use it if all is lost due to cracking...YIKES!

And what to do with it, ask for refund or exchange from seller?

Dismayed,
Lea

PaulaD · #64 2008-11-15, 10:10pm

Hi Lea,
I would discuss your cracking combinations with Carol Anne and your annealing schedule.
I do take back glass though.
Paula

carolanne · #65 2008-11-16, 2:32pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lea Zinke

I'm having a real problem with Lauscha Soft Clear -- loved using it, works easily, encases like a dream, clarity & consistency are wonderful -- then the beads crack. Within an hour of taking them off mandrels, the cracks appear. The first ones were large multi-layer encased florals on a CIM base, most recently base of soft clear with embellishments, etc. and still cracking. Love the stuff but CANNOT use it if all is lost due to cracking...YIKES!

And what to do with it, ask for refund or exchange from seller?

Dismayed,
Lea

Hi Lea - I just now answered you in the thread that you started with the same issue. The one suggestion that I made was regarding annealing. On your website, it says you anneal at 950. That's 30 degrees cooler than I anneal. So, I would have a look at annealing temp and schedule - I can share my schedule with you - just have to write down what I am using as my stresspoint holding temperature... kiln is in my studio in the glass hutte.

Smiles,
Carol Anne

carolanne · #66 2008-11-16, 2:55pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by meadowesky

I guess the problem with lauscha is that it was supposed to be compatible in the first place ( 5 years ago). So if they said it was then and then we had problems and they say it is "more compatible" now then how compatible is it really? I had several encased florals from a few years back that were fine for about a year and then the clear cracked like it was trying to separate from the moretti. Wouldn't want a customer to have to deal with that.

I am having problems with clear. I have been a boro girl for over a year now and just bought 40# of soft glass to play with. Bought vetro crystal clear and wow it sucks. i don't remember it being this bad in the past.

Why can't we have a cheap (boro clear cheap) great quality clear?? The colors are generally fine, even the transparents... so why can't we have a good clear? And why do we have to pay 30$ a pound for it? How long have these companies been making glass?

Hope I am not coming off cranky... I guess I am just a bit spoiled by boro clear. Simax rocks!

Dear Brandie - your boro beads are so ethereally beautiful, I don't know why you would bother with soft glass.

I use a bit of boro clear for making tools and stands, and it's dead expensive - I have to buy it by the gram! Maybe because it's here in Germany, but it's killer costly here.

Like I think virtually every glass manufacturer and glass reseller does, Lauscha suggests personal testing and experimentation, even when the glass tests between 104 and 106. There are a lot of variables that just cannot be controlled or predicted when people work in the privacy of their studios. Viscosity is also a factor.

I have had Moretti on Moretti crack often when I was still in Canada, and if a colour combination didn't work after a couple of tries, I just used different colours. If a particular Moretti colour didn't work, like that one really beautiful pastelly opaque one that is so awesome for flesh sculpture, but just explodes the entire length of the rod, I found another use for it. That particular colour, at 45 bucks a pound or something like that, makes wonderful plant stakes, although you have to cut it to length, and cannot round off the ends in the torch, without the end starting to shatter into a million tiny pieces.

Depending on how hot someone works, or how fast, or slow, lots of things can happen to the glass chemistry right in front of the torch.

Some combinations work for some people and the same combinations don't work for someone else. I know this isn't much help, but I feel your pain and sympathise... But there is no comparison between hard and soft glass. Hard glass will win every time for purity and clarity and toughness and everything - because of it's laboratory equipment heritage. That said, soft glass has it's own magic - It has me under it's spell.

In spite of being bewitched by soft glass, I am off to look at your boro work on Etsy now.

Smiles,
Carol Anne

carolanne · #67 2008-11-16, 3:33pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisoBeady

I tested out the Lauscha Clear that came free with my Lauscha 'Color of the Month' color. I think it is the 'Soft Clear'. It melts beautifully, is crystal clear and cracked like crazy. I tried it two days in a row and the only thing it didn't crack on was the Laucha color it came with. I tried using it to encase Terra, and Pink Champagne. I made sure they went into the kiln piping red hot and they still cracked like crazy. I went back to CIM the next day and had no problems. I didn't raise my kiln temp. for the Lauscha, maybe that was the problem. I annealed at 960 for one hour and twenty minutes and cooled down 130 degrees an hour to 180 then off.

I anneal for 2 hours at 980, then slowly ramp down to the stresspoint, hold there for 2 hours, and then slowly ramp down to room temperature. I have always had the stresspoint hold step in my schedule and haven't had any cracking issues.

Give it a try. I can't remember my stresspoint temp off the top of my head - that is the one thing that I don't change in my program.

But you can find it in the forum here.

Smiles,
Carol Anne

PaulaD · #68 2008-11-17, 11:12pm

Just came across this on the internet. Great information!

http://www.corinabeads.com/pages/clear.php

Paula

Astrid Riedel · #69 2008-11-19, 12:03pm

Thank you all for the info, I have 5kg Lausha clear on its way to me, Sofar I have found it to be the cleanest, I hope this will be a good batch. I will experiment more with encasing over silver glass, as I have had some cracking but not a lot, and Lausha is just beautiful over the silverglasses.

Astrid

PaulaD · #70 2008-11-23, 12:25pm

This is for all of the non bellievers. These are two Juno beads encased in Lauscha clear. One has a base of either psyche or TAG purple, a center of Juno and an encasement of my batch of Lauscha clear and the other is pure Juno with TAG something dots and an encasement of Lauscha clear. Jenny asked me to test this weeks ago but I just got to my torch last night. The bubbles are from me boiling the Juno not the clear. I annealed at 940 and crash cooled.

Really sorry for the crappy beads but the important thing is that nothing cracked!

Paula

2kids&atorch · #71 2008-11-23, 3:03pm

For anyone still interested, CiM wraps their clear glass in tissue paper by the quarter-pound and sometimes even winds tissue in between the individual rods, which goes a long way toward preventing scratches from the rods rubbing together and also toward keeping it clean. I use it for encasing.

Lea Zinke · #72 2008-11-23, 4:14pm

Hey Paula! Believe me, I want to be a believer! But if those pictures are spacer bead size, I'm not sure it qualifies the same as a big multi-layer encased bead for passing the test. I've got some photos I'll send you...but for whatever it's worth, I feel like a dozen or so beads all correctly annealed is more than I can contribute to testing. Lovelovelove the workability but can't take the chance with more.

I'll get those pics sent to you asap.

Thanks for all your help,
Lea

carolanne · #73 2008-11-24, 5:08am

Judging from the size of the mandrels in relation to the size of the beads, those look more like giant honking beads that Paula has posted.

xoxo, Carol Anne

DesertDreamer · #74 2008-11-24, 7:56am

I have an old stash of large Moretti clear rods. I love it! I don't know why it's so different from the regular-sized Moretti, but it definitely is. I use it for thick encasing and for all of my homemade latticino.

I used Lauscha in Pam Pitts' marble class, and it was terrific. I'm hoarding my small stash.

I LOVE Precision clear, it's absolutely gorgeous for encasing. I'm not the world's best encaser, but for whatever reason I get fewer bubbles with Precision. I also prefer it for dots because it rarely bubbles up when I'm working fast.

My everyday clear is still Vetro. It's inexpensive and pretty well-behaved, and I like the skinnier diameter.

PaulaD · #75 2008-11-24, 9:10am

Leah if you p.m. me your color combos I will try to remake them. Those beads are bigger than spacers. I can't make anything little even when I try. I will measure them tonight when I am near a ruler!
Paula.

gubnavnania · #76 2008-11-30, 7:42pm

Yay!!! No more scum!!! I gave up on vetro clear and using Lausca soft reformulated clear from Paula.

Excuse the bubbles, those are user error

my way on encasing.

PaulaD · #77 2008-11-30, 7:45pm

Very nice florals Yunita!!
I know it's impossible to Scum the Lauscha clear!
Paula

StOrM · #78 2008-12-13, 8:02pm

Ok i am also having problems with my clear.....I have just started encasing within the last few months....i have found half my bead i encase are good and the rest crack after they are cleaned, or just after a few days. I am using lausha the # is L-100-10. i am not sure what lausha this is....reformulated, soft, regular......i don't know. The clear is also very very shocky....some rods are ok and the next shatters everywhere everytime i put in the flame (bouncing it in and out does not help) but i do know i need help..... I also have been putting my beads in still red/orage all the way through. i anneal at 960 hold for 1 hour and ramp down at 100 degrees to 840, hold for 20 mins and ramp down 100 degrees to 500 and then off (this was as per brent) so if i am annealing wrong let em know.

I would love to try something else but am confused on what to try next.....plus i do not want to spend tons on my clear.

PaulaD · #79 2008-12-13, 8:14pm

Well I wouldn't turn my annealer off at 500....You might try annealing at 980. It sounds like you are using the old batch and not the newer reformulated batch. It is not shocky at all.

Paula

StOrM · #80 2008-12-13, 8:18pm

so if i use the new lausha then i should anneal at 980.....

PaulaD · #81 2008-12-14, 1:42pm

If you anneal at 960 and don't have any problems then you can stay there. If you have trouble go up to the 980.
Paula

StOrM · #82 2008-12-14, 1:50pm

i think i will go up to the 980.....should i ramp down slower than 100 degrees and hour to 840?

I wasn't having any problems till this batch of glass......

PaulaD · #83 2008-12-14, 2:00pm

Carol Anne has posted her Lauscha schedule on the forum in a few places. You might want to do a search for it. I'd also go back to your dealer and find out just what batch you have. The new batches are really nice and working really well. Paula

StOrM · #84 2008-12-14, 2:06pm

I am just going to have to buy some online.....

carolanne · #85 2008-12-14, 3:04pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by StOrM

i think i will go up to the 980.....should i ramp down slower than 100 degrees and hour to 840?

I wasn't having any problems till this batch of glass......

Hey guys - I was on the road 5 hours today, and in between road tripping, on my feet for another 11... so I have to sleep...

Can we talk tomorrow? Sorry, I can't even type anymore without having to correct a thousand mistakes. Fingers just not working anymore.

Smiles,
Carol Anne - I somehow turned off my pm notification and need to turn it back on...

SunDoorBeads · #86 2008-12-16, 11:16am

I loved Lauscha till reading this- I think I have changed my mind about Vetro I am using it again cuz all my silver glass beads cracked- I was pissed. I thought it was me but now I know!!!!! Need to try that Diamond clear though.

StOrM · #87 2008-12-18, 5:43pm

i bought some glass from frantz.....I bought the vetro....i guess i will see if i like crystal clear better

StOrM · #88 2008-12-18, 8:44pm

oh and i did change my annealing time and schedule and none of my beads cracked this time....

can i keep it at 980 with any of my CEO 104 glass?

carolanne · #89 2008-12-19, 12:19pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by StOrM

oh and i did change my annealing time and schedule and none of my beads cracked this time....

can i keep it at 980 with any of my CEO 104 glass?

Hey, I am here - caught a cold and have been working but not much computer in the evenings...

I am very happy that the higher annealing temperature has helped your beadies!

I am sure someone else will jump in on the subject of silver glasses with 104 coefficient of expansion (COE). Some people have said that the higher temperature makes the glass lose it's striking colours. But I haven't experienced that myself.

I find that 980 is a weeny bit hot for Rubino Oro if the whole bead or vessel is made out of rubino oro... It can get marks on the side of the bead or vessel that is on the bottom of the kiln... It's a fine line, finding the balance between sticking it in the kiln, and leaving it outside enough that it doesn't get marks, but also doesn't crack...

Smiles,
Carol Anne

StOrM · #90 2008-12-19, 3:28pm

carol - good to know. so far i have not tryed any silver glass to see if it loses it's striking or reduced color. but i do use rubino ore and i found the dots i made on one bead came out nice. i will just be cautious if i make a whole bead out of rubino ore.
I also use a kiln rack in my kiln so i should be ok for not having beads stick to my kiln.