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StrikingColor May 2023 Glass Sale

SOLD OUT! (Sorry.)

Well folks, there's glass again. At least for a short time. As many already know, I had to shut down my glass furnace last week due to a leak in the pot. And since I'm looking for a new place to live after my landlord decided to convert my building into a short-term tourist rental, I don't anticipate rebuilding the furnace anytime soon. Now, getting to the glass...
It can take some experience and finesse to produce the best results with striking silver glass, so the glass in this sale isn't recommended for novices. Although some colors are a little more difficult to work than others, in the hands of someone with silver glass experience, none should be problematic. Compatibility of these glasses was tested against 104 COE Moretti/Effetre clear and fits that very well. Please see the bottom of this page for more information.

The one pound cane bundle on the right in the photo below shows what I am selling. On the left are the three 1/3 pound, single color cane packs that make up each bundle. The colors in each bundle are: BA413, BA419, and BA421. Photos of beads made with each color are shown below. The individual canes are between 11 and 12 inches long.
All of the bead photos below were taken under optimal lighting equivalent to bright sunlight. Naturally, the colors will look more subdued under less than ideal lighting. Due to the differences in various monitors, the colors shown on your computer screen may not be completely accurate. However, the colors are pretty close on my mid-2012 MacBook Pro.

Order using the Paypal button below. US sales only. (Sorry.)

3 Color Silver Glass Bundle, 1 Pound total
$95, plus a flat $10 shipping for any quantity.

(Roughly 1/3 lb each of BA413, BA419, and BA421.)


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StrikingColor BA413

Different views of three beads made with StrikingColor BA413 glass.




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StrikingColor BA419

Different views of three beads made with StrikingColor BA419.



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StrikingColor BA421

Different views of three beads made with StrikingColor BA421 glass.


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General working info:

These glasses act a bit differently than my normal silver glasses. Rather than allowing these a long cooling period prior to heating again to strike them, they often seem to give better color if the striking starts when they are still fairly hot. But because of that one needs to be careful about overstriking. So some experience and experimentation may be required to get the widest range of color(s) possible. Therefore, I do not recommend these glasses for silver glass novices.

To make the sample beads I used a Nortel Minor running on propane and bottled oxygen. A well maintained oxygen concentrator that puts out enough O2 for a hot oxidizing flame should work fine as well. I do not recommend this glass for anyone with an oxygen concentrator running less than optimally, or anyone using a single fuel torch such as a Hot Head. In each of the latter cases the flame is likely to be too reducing and/or not hot enough to give the best color, and/or keep the glass from overstriking.

As those experienced with silver glasses know, results can be highly variable depending on how the glass is applied, heated, reheated, cooled, the phase of the moon, mood of your cat, etc. So it will probably take some experimentation to find what works best for you and your particular torch and setup.
In other words, as always, your mileage may vary.


Clear Encasement

I sometimes get asked about clear encasement. To be perfectly honest, I have never had much luck encasing silver glass. I prefer to have the silver glass on the surface where it is easiest to manipulate the temperature and produce different colors. Some people have had good luck encasing my glass, but I am not one of them. Although I’ve managed to get good color a few times when encasing, my results have been wildly inconsistent - at best. So I don’t even try any more. Which basically means that I can’t be much help with suggestions. Sorry.


Compatibility

All of the glasses on this page were tested against 104 COE Effetre clear and should be pretty much dead-on compatible with it. For any other glasses labeled “104 COE”, you’re on your own. I didn’t make them and didn’t test them, so can’t be sure how they will work. (Although if they fit Effetre clear well you should have no problems.)


Annealing temperature

One VERY important consideration is annealing temperature. Do NOT anneal this glass at the widely (and erroneously) claimed Effetre annealing temperature of 960 or 965F*. If your temperature readout is accurate and you set it there, the glass will likely kiln strike to dark brown. I typically batch anneal at 915F for 30-45 minutes, depending on what I’m making. If you garage your work and then anneal at the end of the day, it’s best to make the silver glass pieces near the end of your work session, rather than at the beginning, so they are not cooking all day long. Please use the "Technical Info" link at the top of the page for more information.

*FYI: The actual annealing temperature of 104 Effetre clear glass, according to their own published data, is 470C (878F). Don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise. [Reference:  https://www.effetremurano.com/en/prodotti/glass-rods/ ]



Last, due to the availability of the materials I used to make these glasses, and the fact that a few are combination melts of batch and cullet, they are all "one off" colors that I will not be able to repeat in the future. So once these are gone, they are gone for good. And fair warning - the supply is VERY limited.



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