Fused glass has become more widely known in recent years and there are some technical things that you need to know about.
One of the most important is that you can’t mix and match different types of glass. This is because of something known as the Coefficient of Expansion (COE). Different glass types don’t expand at the same rate and may crack if mixed together. You can’t easily tell them apart so it is necessary to choose your matched glass sheets from your supplier. I use 96 COE in my work.
You can buy glass sheets of a transparent or opaque type which are either 2mm or 3mm thick. Accessory glass such as dichroic glass and prepared products such as stringers, ribbons, flakes and frits of various size grades are also available. Frits comes in the sizes, powder, fine, medium and coarse and can be used on their own or incorporated into other projects.
The glass sheets can be marked with a removable marker so that you can easily see the shape of the pieces. The glass sheets can then be cut as required with a glass cutter, using a ruler if necessary on a cutting board. Breaking the glass along the score lines can be done by hand, with pliers or a tile cutter. I find that this is the stage where I get the most cuts!
The cut pieces can then be placed as per your design on a clear base layer, making sure that all the glass is thoroughly clean. Glue that will burn away during firing is used to hold the pieces in place. If possible keep your cutting area and assembly areas separate and clean up glass shards and bigger pieces regularly. I use a dustpan and brush kept to hand as it can get messy very quickly!
The design goes into the glass kiln for a firing at full or tack fuse temperatures. Often it will take several firings for a piece to be complete. However, too many firings can result in cracking or devitrification of the glass. Some pieces require a slump firing so that a shape such as a bowl is created.
A coral bowl where the final firing was of the slump type.
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