Colors for Glass Blowers

Whatta coincidence! Here I was having my morning tea, and thinking to myself, 'how can I help those nice fellows at Craftweb.com.'(?) And here like a divine thunderbolt, you J. have offered a most excellent solution!

Please everyone, go take advantage of the incredible wisdom and genius, combined with sardonic humor, of our internet glass treasure, Pete Vanderlaan. His wares are the best, from bomb proof crucibles, to 94 POINT THREE coe colored glass, as well as your assorted books, adhesives and anything else that might tickle your fancy! And don't forget--do you want to touch his monkey? He sells stuff too!

One word of caution though. It is customary at Craftweb to at all times keep your head lower than the chief's. It is also considered a great insult to look him in the eye. Just receive your wisdom, and back out of the room with your head bowed.

Good luck!

No, you don't want to make colors. The chemicals are poisonous and the= =20 results are variable, especially the COE. It will certainly be more=20 expensive than buying. The only reason for doing it is getting exact=20 control over the shade of coloring that you want. Pete is a great source= of=20 moderate advice and he will be offering a week long course in making = glass=20 color this winter, (about $1500) If you want to make color for pyrex glassblowing, it is even worse, but= =20 the technique for coloring individual tubes is given in "Contemporary=20 Lampworking" by Dunham.

--=20 Mike Firth No more levees Bury old Orleans Raise New Orleans up if it is worth saving

I am trying to make Blood-Red, Blue and Orange colors for Glassblowers.

I know there are lot of commercial suppliers of glass colors but I want to do them myself as I can't afford the cost of comm. ones nor are they available in my country.

Can someone please help me here.

Somebody told me that W. A. Weyl's "Coloured Glasses" is a good resource but I can't even get hold of that.

Thank you for your help in advance.

J.

The main reason studio glass blowers make their own color is to gather it.That eliminates overlays and opens a greater range of design options. If the only reason you want to make color is to save money you're barkin up the wrong tree. That's like trying to save money by building your own car. Also, making your own color is an environmental and health nightmare. Frankly, its a wonder to me that some of these meatheads are still alive. You gotta be pretty smart--no strike that--you gotta be highly educated as well as a near genius to make color safely and consistently. And believe me, no one we've mentioned fits that description. Experience is great, but if your life experience reads like a Harold Loyd film of endless fuckups and near death experiences, I'm not impressed. The thing is lots of these guys who came up in the 60's and 70's merely happened to be in the right place at the right time. They don't neccesarily have any talent for it, just a bunch of experience trying to grab the bar of soap.

One option if you need to gather color is to buy Spectrum cullet; it is reasonably priced and the fit is dependable.

I am looking for colors for borosilicate glass.

How do I produce the Orange color ?

How do I produce the Orange color ?

Practice

See