Freeze and fuse?

[dawnt]

So...I've been dying to try this. My husband has a little sculpt that he made up and cast in resin and I'd like to try it. It is a funky little bell with a large ring on the top. He cast it in two parts and the ring fits into a groove on the top of the bell.

If we froze the two parts, then de-molded, would we then wet the ring a bit and put it in the bell, then re-freeze?

And....could we make the bell hollow by packing the glass around the edges of the mold, or would it have to be packed solid? Would it hold up in the kiln if it were hollow?

I'm wondering if we aren't overthinking this, and should just go for it, but I'm that way....I like to obsessively think everything through first. :rolleyes:

Any other tips from folks who have tried this?

Thanks!

Dawn

[dawnt]

bump. Anyone?

[bert weiss]

There are several freeze and fuzers over on the warm glass bulletin board. Go to warmglass.com and click on bulletin board. You can do a search on freeze and fuze.

[dawnt]

Thanks, Bert!

[Planet Glass]

What are the pros and cons of the technique, Dawn?

It did find this web page (http://www.glass-fusing-made-easy.com/freeze-and-fuse.html) but it's sketchy on the limits/possibilities.

And on Glassartist.org (http://www.glassartists.org/Gal22066_New_Freeze_and_Fuse_Technique.asp) I see the type of work that is done with it... it seems kinda flat-ish.

[Mike Jordan]

Hi Dawn, I've done a little bit of freeze and fuse and your project sounds neat. I'm not sure if you are going to be able to do it in two parts though and have it stay together during fusing.

The reason is that it's the packing of the powder while it's wet that gets all those little pieces of glass to interlock with each other and stay together. If you take the two pieces after they are frozen and wet them, then freeze them again, the frit from both pieces is not really meshed together, they are just sitting there. What I think will happen is that when it fuses, the two pieces will seperate and not join at all.

But that doesn't mean you can't try doing each piece as it's own FnF piece and then do a tack fuse of them together after they have been fused. You would have to watch your temps and holding time so the glass didn't start to get soft and deform though. It seems worth a try. :D

Planet Glass, the pro's of freeze and fuse is that you can make some pretty neat stuff without going through the molding and casting process that normal casting requires. You can take any mold that will hold wet powder frit and can take a little bit of abuse when you pound it down (you aren't pounding real hard). I've done hundereds of things with the process... everything from a few grams of frit all the way up to over 3 pounds of powder. Mostly I use plastic and rubber candy, soap and candle molds. But I also use molds used to make plaster objects, cement and stepping stone type molds. I try not to think how many pounds of Bulls Eye powder frit I've gone through. It's a good think they are local to me and I stock up during their two sales they have each year where their frit is half price. :D Although I have bought plenty at the full price as well. I've got a couple of 6 pound freeze and fuses I want to try, but I need to wait till the next sale in June to by a couple of 5 pound jars of powder. Unless I can get myself back onto other projects I want to play with before then. I guess that would be one of the con's... if you really get into it, you are going to be buying molds (most candy, candle and soap molds only cost a few dollars or less) and a lot of powder frit. A one pound jar goes a long way with some of the smaller candy molds, but adds up quick with a 3 pound frog.

I have lots of pictures if you are interested in seeing some of the stuff I've done, or you can see it over at Warm Glass. I've posted some of it there.

Mike

[dawnt]

Thanks, Mike! I've been swamped with work lately, so this has been on the back burner, but I'm going to give it a try. If nothing else, I can epoxy the two together, as there is a nice little groove for the ring to fit into.

Love your fish! It would be great to see more of what you've done with this technique!

OH....and to point out another pro....you don't need to make a crucible or have much depth at all to make these guys. Nor do you have to go to terribly high temps.

Thanks again, Mike!

[Mike Jordan]

I agree you don't have to go to high temps. I've been going to only 1320 and getting a good solid shiny fuse.

I like depth. I've done a few FnF molds that were 1.5" deep. They were wide and long so it wasn't hard getting them out of the molds. I have a rubber mold that is about 5" deep that I've not used yet. I made it out of RTV rubber and had to cut it almost in half so that when I pack the frit in, I can pull it apart to pop it out. I've not done anything that sits on the shelf that is real tall yet though. I have a few things I want to try but I need to stock up on more powder frit first during Bulls Eye's next half price sale.

Mike