Polishing Large Pieces of Bulk Glass

I have obtained several large pieces of different colors of bulk glass. They are irregular shaped between the size of a baseball and softball. The pieces have sharp edges an many are covered in scratches and flaked edges.

I am using these in some yard art in which I wrap the pieces in copper rod in small sculptures. I have used the glass as is, but I am interested in trying to soften the edges and getting a polish on some of the surface. Minor imperfections are no big deal, I just don't want to crack the pieces or have them slump.

Would fire polishing be possible? I am thinking that because of different sizes and colors of the pieces the trial and error to find a working procedure would use up all all my glass. Are there basic guidelines I can follow that might work? I have done no glasswork before, but have access to a kiln. The owner of the kiln has done lots of enameling, but no work with large pieces of glass.

I would appreciate your comments. Thanks,

Barry

Reply to
bcw0404
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it would be hard to firepolish these.

a: firepolishing means taking them up to the 1300-1400 range and watching them to see when they are done. b: that is above slumping temp c: being thick, they would take a long time to anneal d: being different thickness, they would take differing times to anneal. you'd have to anneal for the thickest, which could be 24-48 hours at an extremely slow rate of cooling, because they are so thick. e: you don't know what temp to anneal them at, since you don't know what glass you have. you could do a test to find this out with one of the chunks, but you'd need a flat thin piece to do so.

Reply to
Charles Spitzer

what you have sounds like slag glass. Your best bet would be to rig up a tumbler and use a coarse abrasive grit for a long time or try an industrial size grinder to polish off the edges. They won't be shiny after this, more of a frosted look, but i suppose you could polish them back up to a shine tho it's hardly worth the trouble! heat ain't gonna do what you want to do with what you're working with. I have a bunch of pieces left that i used in displays if you need more..... they are sharp! You can find this by the pound on the roadsides of NC at the rock and mineral shops. m

Reply to
Michele Blank

Thanks for your comments. I think the best thing to do will just leave them as is.

-Barry

Reply to
bcw0404

softball.

B.C.W.:

Lapidaries either use rotational or vibratory tumblers with grit progression to bring stones to a full polish. Check Ebay. If your tumbler has a vulnerable lining, you may want to use a hand-held grinder to knock off any sharp edges before proceeding. John Sinkankas authored more than one book on lapidary procedures which should be available at your library or by loan through them.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

Reply to
Edward Hennessey

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