Glass Frit: to make or to buy

[@OlgaPasynkova]

Спасибо за полезное видео! Не буду гриндер покупать 😊

[@JMBenson]

Such a great video. I tried your method of heating glass and plunging it into cold water to create stress fractures. It worked great. Since I have a two handled colander I used silicone oven mitts to transfer it from the kiln to the water. And boy oh boy is it hot!! In the past, I've hammered (with an 8 lb. tamper) the fractured glass between 2 pieces of painter's canvas, but have switched to using a molcajete--a large mortar and pestle used in Mexican cooking. Crushing it in this manner maybe result in small bits of basalt in the glass, but I've had no issues firing the frit.

[@artcanbelove7873]

My curiosity has been quenched! Thank you for all that hard work!

[@57RGilbert]

Thank you for your experiments in frit. The screens in the sifters that are sold to sort frit need an even finer screen like those used for silk screening to get to the powder. But as you point out, it's not a very efficient way if you need a large quantity.

[@cattle_dog]

I like this guy. Thanks for thorough explanations. I wonder if making some Prince Rupert drops and breaking the tails in a bucket of water. It would be taking keen advantage of the free energy stored in the stress of the drop. The potential energy stored within the drop will be used to achieve the primary goal, in this rare instance However all the benefits of purchasing frit mentioned in this video is obviously the best choice if its within your budget.

[@joanmaro3297]

Thanks for the experiment!

[@castein98]

Thank you

[@debbiesteffen448]

I made some frit using my kiln and 4 really pretty blue sapphire gin bottles I found. Followed up with a hammer. My kiln was set 1250 and the hardest part was getting the bottles out using barbecue tongs. Thanks for the video ❤

[@pjbuchanan4467]

Thank you 🙏

[@bobfalk2896]

Excellent video! I had the same questions as you regarding the making of frit and a lot of the videos are misleading. I wonder how the glass manufacturers make frit without contamination?

[@colleengrebus9204]

Thanks, very informative

[@isamohd7008]

Hi….I would like to buy some of ur books for beginners…..can you help me pls

[@gamesofcolors]

Hi, yes certainly. You can buy them here www.gamesofcolors.com/store/c17/ebooks.html. Our store accepts all major credit cards and PayPal. Not all the books are good for beginners. I would start with three of them: Addiction to glass fusing (www.gamesofcolors.com/store/p839/E-book_%22Addiction_to_glass_fusing%22.html), Mondrian pattern in glass (www.gamesofcolors.com/store/p216/Mondrian_Style_in_Glass_-_eBook.html) Textured stripes (www.gamesofcolors.com/store/p646/E-book_%22Weekend_projects%3A_Textured_Stripes%22.html) Other books require initial or advanced glass cutting skills.

[@gwenpetersen5452]

I have used cloth and hammered it also but always end up with cloth fragments that don’t sift out. How do you prevent the cloth fragments? Also I have the same sifter you are using. Small particles of frit gets caught in the rims of the sifter then gets mixed into my next batch of a different color contaminating that color. How do you prevent that from happening? Thank you for your demonstrations.

[@gamesofcolors]

You're absolutely right, and cloth is not a perfect solution. Hammering of glass after thermal shock requires much less force, and cloth remains mostly intact. Also, unlike steel cloth pieces fully burn out during heating. This happens usually at 600-700F, i.e. much earlier the glass softens. So, all fumes and related particles can evaporate before trapping with melted glass. As for the sifters - yes, this is the biggest problem. Even vacuuming doesn't remove all particles. Actually, this is a common problem when you work with glass. For example, if you use lap grinders, ideally you should have a separate grinder (!) for each grit. Otherwise, you have a risk of accidental scratches. Same is valid for sifters. It's better to have several sets for various color families. One for clear class, one for reds, one for greens, etc.

[@gwenpetersen5452]

@@gamesofcolors Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge..