Tips & Techniques
Annealing:
This is my annealing schedule - began
when I started mixing Lauscha with Moretti. I found this schedule from a post
by Lenda Dewyer of lendabeads (excerpt follows) on WetCanvas. She makes
gorgeous florals, and when I first started using Lauscha Glass, I searched
the archives on WetCanvas and when I read this, it was what I went with. Lenda
and I also put the beads in the kiln glowing.
I anneal at 968
30 minutes after last bead goes in, start ramp down
ramp down 100 dph (degrees per hour) to 700
shut off
Very simple, easy and I haven't had any problems with Moretti or Lauscha with
it. Lenda
From Tanya Pertzoff-Wells: Personally, I think the ramping down is most important. I anneal a bit on the low side but have had very little problem with encased beads cracking so long as they are annealed (I had a lot of problems before I got the kiln!) I frequently encase with Lauscha clear over Effetre glass (when I encase with clear, I use Lauscha.) I’ve also encased with Lauscha over goldstone, metals, etc… with success. I try to make sure my beads AREN’T glowing when they go in the kiln since I am, as I mentioned, I'm paranoid about beads deforming in the kiln. I do flame anneal though for beads of any size before I put them in the kiln and I think that might make a difference. Who knows why one thing works for one and another for another…?
I think there must be almost as many annealing schedules as there are glass artists (not really, but there really are a lot of different opinions and most of these probably work just fine.) I work with a lot of Lauscha glass and have had no compatibility problems with Effetre glass, so I assume the COEs of the two are very close. Given that most of my beads are a combination of the two glasses, it would be difficult to use different schedules! I recently purchased Bandu Dunham's "Contemporary Lampworking" (an excellent book, although not as a first bead making book) which has an extensive chapter on annealing and useful tables for both borosilicate and Effetre glass. The schedules are different since the COEs, annealing temperatures, and strain points are quite different. The annealing temperature is a range, with thicker glass benefiting from a longer soak period at a lower temperature. Dunham recommends 15 minutes at a temperature of 968F for a 1 inch thick bead. I soak for 30 minutes at 950F for a bit longer since I think my kiln runs a little hot and am a bit paranoid about beads deforming under too high heat. The slow cool phase is the most important. I do know of several beadmakers who simply turn the kiln off at this point and have no problems. I don't since my kiln cools way too fast for this phase. For a 1 inch thick bead, the temperature change should be no more than 1.44 degrees F per minute or 86 degrees F per hour. I have been using 100 degrees per hour since almost everything I make is well less than 1 inch thick. Since Dunham's table recommends 107 degrees F for a .9" thick bead, I feel justified in this. This should continue until safely below the strain point - Dunham recommends a 40 degree F safety margin. So, the slow cool phase can end at 830F. I had been extending the slow cool phase down to 700F, but now end it at 800F (as I think my kiln runs a bit hot.) Dunham says it certainly won't hurt to extend the slow cool phase but is a waste of electricity. I have been able to cut 1 hour from my annealing schedule because of this information (and now that the summer months are here, an extra hour of sweltering.) After the slow cool phase is the fast cool phase. My kiln is well enough insulated that I can just turn it off at this point since the allowable temperature change for a 1 inch thick bead is around 5.5 degrees F per minute or 330 degrees F per hour.
Techniques:
The Colors:
From Tanya Pertzoff-Wells: Opaque Green (Green Apple) doesn’t separate and form dark lines or spots the way the Effetre opaque greens do. This is why I use it. When I want a green bead, I want an entirely and smoothly green bead! However, I find the Lauscha opaque colors more difficult to work with in that they’re very overpowering. I don’t know how better to explain it. If the Green is melted flat into white, it will spread, or run, into the white. Many of the colors are like this. That said, I still love the glass and have no problems at all with the transparents. You can heat and heat and heat them with no ill effects. I’m slowly getting more colors as I can afford to. And, of course, there’s the wonderful clear. There are several colors I now use instead of Effetre because the glass is just easier to deal with.
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Now my favourite color in Lauscha continues to be the transparent red. It is so bright, so clear! Just a gorgeous cherry red. I'll post pics soon.
Here is a gorgeous bracelet from Sandra Quiring www.sandraquiring.com
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I wanted to share this picture with you. This is Lauscha Milky Way with moody blues frit from Glass Diversions (www.glassdiversions.com). This is such a yummy bracelet, feels good to wear, and it looks great with jeans or dressy attire. :-) |
Look at these beads that Karen Elmquist made using Milky Way!!! Gorgeous! She writes ... "Thought I'd send you a pic of some roses made with the Milky Way glass...I loooooove it! What a pretty glass."
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