Re: Carpe rutila - seize the spade.
The Roman army would march 20 some miles a day AND build an
entrenched, fortified camping ground for the night. Using the spade
was an essential part of building that fortification that all
Legionnaires were well versed with.
As a further example of useless trivia, history’s first recorded use
of the “face-palm gesture” is found on Trajan’s column.
Versa Colors are great but they stink. They however do silk
screen OK. (You have to make sure the oil is still “fluid”) And they
often have to be fume to dry enough to fire well (YMMV)
Enamels can be silk screened dry onto a wetting agent or they can
be mixed with Golden’s medium acrylic gel to silk screen. (a good use
for fines)
you can use something like the Gocco or Yudu machines to create
silkscreen’s that you can use to push the enamels through.
Barbara’s book very clearly laid out a method for torch-firing
enamels. Thanks Barbara!
Barbara Lewis
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/1n4
Another very good source of info and tools for torch-fired enameling
is Joseph Spencer out of Florida.
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/1n5
He teaches classes and has books and dvds available. He also has a
toolkit that has everything you need to get started from scratch
except a MAPP gas cylinder (that you can pick up at any big-box
hardware store).
I just received my kit and book from him. The book is very clear and
the tool kit is extremely well laid out. I was well and truly
impressed with the quality of the thought that had gone into the
setup of his torch-fired workstation. This is a guy who made hundreds
of enameled beads a day and the organization of the workstation he
sells clearly reflects that he wanted to streamline the time it took
to make an enameled bead, flower, etc.
Andrew, I have taken to using plain old Lavender Oil, that I get
cheap from my local health food store, as a medium to hold my enamels
on small areas that either can be torch fired or kiln fired. You want
to make sure it dries well so it doesn’t bubble & displace your
enamels, but it smells good to work with and holds well.
The other thing I want to remind you of Andrew, is that when you are
working with enamel powders you really MUST wear a good mask that is
rated for tiny particulates. The glass dust is NASTY on the lungs and
you want to make sure to protect yourself. You may already be aware
of this, but I wanted to remind you for your safety.
Other than sifting, there is also a way to rinse your enamels to
separate the smaller crystals out from the larger ones so that they
are not cloudy when fired. You may tend to waste more enamels this
way, unless you have a place to pour your washings into so you can
then let the wash dry out then can use that later on as a counter
enamel on sheet pieces. I only use the wash method if I have to
really have very transparent color.
Enameling can be as intricate or as simple as you want it to be.
Don’t let the extent of you get in responses to inquiries
you post overwhelm you. Like Elaine said, just get in there and
experiment with it. There is no substitute for actually trying and
experiencing. Master Eneamelers will tell you they learn something
new about the processes just about every time they work on a new
piece.
You will find that here in the forums you will always get a wealth
of rich input from all the members. Personally I love it when a
simple inquiry turns into a great amount of material to learn from.
The rich discourse is the best classroom on earth. Take advantage of
the community and what the educated and experienced professionals and
novices have to offer. The Ganoksin community on the forums are a big
family of like-minded and open hearted individuals who love to share.
They [We] can get boisterous and intense at times, but you can learn
so much and the interaction is always interesting and enlightening,
to say the least.
Teresa
The Roman army would march 20 some miles a day AND build an entrenched, fortified camping ground for the night. Using the spade was an essential part of building that fortification that all Legionnaires were well versed with.
There’s a little bit more to Roman “day forts”, they used to have
turf cutters, and would section the grass, and put it aside.
They’d build their fort, for that night only. The next day they’d
fill it in and replace the grass.
Considering they’d have this done to protect 80 soldiers and
equipment, and packed away the next morning, you can really admire
the discipline.
Regards Charles A.
If you’re looking for a liquid enamel, you can also color Thompson’s
Clear or White Base Dry Form Liquid Enamel with Mason Stains, which
are commonly used in the ceramics industry for tinting glazes. Mason
provides a wide color range which you can also use to create your
own color blends as if you were mixing oil or acrylic paints.
Barbara Lewis
paintingwithfireartwear.com
You can also get them at Amaco Clay and other ceramic suppliers.
Barbara
paintingwithfireartwear.com
Yes, you could do that. Just make sure that the enamels don’t have
lead in them. If they’re new enamels from Thompson, you should be
safe on that issue. But if you’re using old enamels you might want to
try to get that
Barbara
paintingwithfireartwear.com
Andrew,
I do have to thank you for bringing up this topic, because I love to
constantly learn of new products from others working in glass. This
has been a great learning experience.
I’m going to add to this. My first experience in silk screening I
purchased my enamels from Ferro Corp in Ohio. I spoke to the
technician regarding carrying agents. He said you need an organic
carrier like “olive oil” it burns clean. So that is what I’ve been
using. Use a pallet knife on glass to mix. apply with a brush.
Jennifer Friedman
http://www.jenniferfriedmanstudios.com
All,
Thanks a lot for your help in helping me understand enough about
enamelling to get started. It seems I already have nearly everything
needed to get started except enamel, the trivet, and perhaps special
safety glasses. I have #5 Welding glasses I picked up at a supply
shop. But will these filter out sodium spectral lines? I don’t think
so.
Thanks,
Andrew Jonathan Fine
Andrew - Rio Grande sells sample kits of enamel which are great to
get you started in dabbling. Have fun and make beautiful jewelry for
unique people. Barbara on a night that seems more like April than
January in Canada
Hi,
I wanted to thank the group for all of your suggestions.
So far, two enamellists have contacted me offline to offer me some
leftovers of glass powders. This has prompted me to purchase online a
basic set of tools necessary for torch enamelling. I already have my
torch, of course.
If anyone other enamellists want to divest themselves of colors they
don’t want to keep, I would probably be a good target for them.
Please contact me offline if you wish.
Thank you all! I’m very much looking forward to spring! (I’ve got
three feet of snow in my backyard, more of it blocking my shed door!)
Andrew Jonathan Fine.
I have #5 Welding glasses I picked up at a supply shop. But will these filter out sodium spectral lines? I don't think so.
You’re correct, Andrew. Welding glass protect from Infrared waves so
they’re good for shielding your eyes during high IR processes such
as casting and looking into kilns. But welding shades do not contain
Didymium, the ingredient that removes the sodium flare wavelength.
Although the soda flare is not physically harmful, it does make it
difficult to see exact details of what’s happening in the flame.
Rio Grande sells two styles of Phillips ACE202 glasses. The ACE202
filter is a didymium type and is recommended for soft (soda-lime)
glass. This should provide excellent filtering of the sodium flare
from both soda-lime (like Thompson) and lead-containing enamels for
silver.
I don’t know what the IR emissions are for torch-firing enamel onto
silver. It may depend on the size of the silver piece. If IR is not
an issue then the 202’s will cover you.
If the enameling experts here say you need both IR AND soda-flare
protection, then you’ll want one of the Phillips Green lenses. They
are a hybrid in which a didy layer and a welder’s shade 1, 3 or 5
have been laminated together. Check out the Phillips Safety Products
website in the Glass-Working section at
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/1nw
Select either the Light Green lenses or the Green ACE IR 3.0 lenses,
according to the level of IR protection the experts say you need.
In fact, you might find it useful to check out the Phillips site
either way, since you will then have the choice of twenty frame
styles and sizes instead of two.
Hopefully somebody with experience will chime in here and tell you
whether you need IR protection for the torch-enameling process.
Beth
Enamel is just a word - like paint.
Words mean specific things in their context. The context here is
professional jewelry making. As Marianne Hunter stated, “Enamel, for
jewelry purposes is fired glass.” She’s a world-class expert on this
subject and knows of what she speaks.
Jamie