No-one likes general adverts, and ours hadn't been updated for ages, so we're having a clear-out and a change round to make the new ones useful to you. These new adverts bring in a small amount to help pay for the board and keep it free for you to use, so please do use them whenever you can, Let our links help you find great books on glass or a new piece for your collection. Thank you for supporting the Board.

Author Topic: Got a technical question?  (Read 4174 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Borolamper

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 12
Got a technical question?
« on: January 25, 2007, 10:37:15 PM »
I joined to use the classifieds, so I thought I would try to make myself usefull.
I have read a great deal about glass over the years, including every fusion magasine (The American Scientific Glassblowers Society journal) from June of 1956 to November of 2002 inclusive. While my focus has been learning about borosilicate, I might have an answer for your oddball question.

Support the Glass Message Board by finding a book via book-seek.com


Offline Frank

  • Author
  • Members
  • ***
  • Posts: 9508
  • Gender: Male
    • Glass history
    • Europe
    • Gateway
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2007, 10:48:39 PM »
Much appreciated, here is a good one for starters that I never get round to finding out myself:

Why is Borosilicate glass the choice of lampworkers/flameworkers?

My intro to glass was handblown art glass resulting in ysartglass.com and from there the parent company that developed one of the eariler succesful borosilicate glasses for use as gauge glasses:

http://www.ysartglass.com/Indexart02.htm


Support the Glass Message Board by finding glass through glass-seek.com


Offline Borolamper

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 12
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2007, 11:05:46 PM »
A low coefficient of expansion (C.O.E.) makes borosilicate less prone to heat stress. Soda-lime glasses tend to crack much more easily in the flame, but they allow for a much larger colour selection, as it is worked at a lower temperature.

Support the Glass Message Board by finding a book via book-seek.com


Offline Frank

  • Author
  • Members
  • ***
  • Posts: 9508
  • Gender: Male
    • Glass history
    • Europe
    • Gateway
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2007, 11:23:33 AM »
Thanks, leads to more q's... so do some people work with soda-lime mixtures instead? I know you cannot mix them due to different COE's.

Is there any easy way of distinguishing the type of glass used?

When did coloured forms of borosilicate become available?

Support the Glass Message Board by finding glass through glass-seek.com


Offline Borolamper

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 12
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2007, 01:21:03 PM »
Most beadmakers work soft glass. Moretti is an example.

Assuming you are looking at a finished piece, and not at raw material you can do compatibility test with in the flame, the simplest way to distinguish between hard and soft glass is by density. Soft glass weighs 1/3 more, or hard glass weighs 1/4 less, depending on which one is considered normal. Simplest way in the flame is to take a small piece of a known glass, and an equal piece of the unknown glass, and make a blob with them overlapping. Pull this out into a thread, and watch how much it curves as it cools.

Cobalt blue has been around in limited quantities for quite some time, but generally speaking, early to mid 90's was when borosilicate colours became available. I was mixing my own colours when I started back in '93.

Support the Glass Message Board by finding a book via book-seek.com


Offline Frank

  • Author
  • Members
  • ***
  • Posts: 9508
  • Gender: Male
    • Glass history
    • Europe
    • Gateway
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #5 on: January 26, 2007, 01:45:36 PM »
Very useful, so all of the older stuff will be soda lime? i.e. http://www.ysartglass.com/Pirelli/Pirellianimals1.htm

Support the Glass Message Board by finding glass through glass-seek.com


Offline Borolamper

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 12
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #6 on: January 26, 2007, 02:03:08 PM »
Yes, those look like soft glass colours to my eye, even ignoring the dates. No reduction of the transparent greens (in boro, copper dioxide transforms to copper oxide on the surface unless silly amounts of oxygen are used, giving it a reddish skin or streaks). The opaque yellows and oranges (cadmium) have only become available in boro in the past few years, and are prone to boiling.

Support the Glass Message Board by finding a book via book-seek.com


Offline Frank

  • Author
  • Members
  • ***
  • Posts: 9508
  • Gender: Male
    • Glass history
    • Europe
    • Gateway
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2007, 02:13:58 PM »
That is extrermely useful as the popularity of lampwork figures is growing and this will make it easier to separate the older from some of the new. Won't help where soda lime glass is used but it does at least help in dating etcetera.




Support the Glass Message Board by finding glass through glass-seek.com


Offline David E

  • Author
  • Members
  • ***
  • Posts: 3908
    • Heart of the Country, England
    • ChanceGlass.net
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #8 on: January 26, 2007, 07:03:54 PM »
Is cadmium still being used then? I thought this was a real no-no, being so harmful.
David
► Chance Additions ◄
The 2nd volume of the domestic glassware of Chance Brothers
Contact ► Cortex Design ◄ to order any book

Support the Glass Message Board by finding a book via book-seek.com


Offline Borolamper

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 12
Re: Got a technical question?
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2007, 10:09:59 PM »
Sealed inside the glass it is safe enough.

Support the Glass Message Board by finding glass through glass-seek.com


 

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk
Visit the Glass Encyclopedia
link to glass encyclopedia
Visit the Online Glass Museum
link to glass museum


This website is provided by Angela Bowey, PO Box 113, Paihia 0247, New Zealand