What are fused and warm glass techniques? Warm glass usually refers to kiln fired glass. It can be fusing, slumping, or casting.
These techniques are done in a fire brick kiln with electrical elements. There is an electrical controller and a pyrometer to control and measure the temperature inside the kiln.
All fusing glass needs to have the same COE or coefficient of Expansion. Otherwise the glass will break as it expands and contracts at different temperatures.
So the first step in doing any fused and warm glass techniques is to make sure all your glass is compatible.
Stained glass comes in a variety of colors and textures, but it has not been tested for compatibility. Although you could fuse this glass, you could not fuse it with any other glass unless you have tested to find out if they are compatible.
Fusible glass has been tested and the manufacturers indicated the COE of each piece. The lower the COE of the glass, the harder the glass and the higher temperature it will require to cause it to melt. It comes in a multitude of colors and comes in thin or thick pieces. Usually the thin pieces are about 1.5 mm, and the thick pieces are about 3mm.
This fusible glass comes in different types of glass. Standard glass is one color throughout the piece. Iridized glass is coated with a metallic substance that gives it a pearly effect. Dichroic glass comes in patterns and colors that appear different when viewed at different angles.
You have lots of options for decorating your glass doing fused and warm glass techniques. There are sheets of glass, frits, glass paints, decals, rods, stringers, etc.
What are the Techniques
Full Fusing – taking different pieces of glass and melting them together into one solid piece of glass.
Tack Fusing – melting pieces of glass together until they just stick together, allowing each piece to retain its individual shape and texture.
Slumping – heating glass until it sags into a mold.
Casting – placing chunks of glass into a mold and melting them to obtain the shape of the mold.
These are a few of the different Fused and Warm Glass Techniques. I hope this page has helped to clarify how these are done.
