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  • Fused Glass Wind Chimes
    		•
    From "Crafters Coast to Coast"
    episode HCC2C-123F


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    Project by Emily McNulty Scripter from Portland, Ore.

    Emily discovered her passion for glass after her husband made a career change and began working at a glass company. Emily soon after joined her husband at the company, and before long, she was fusing her own glass into playful wind chimes embellished with copper, cement and beads. Emily beams with pride making her whimsical chime, knowing she has done her part for the environment by using salvaged glass to create her piece.

    Materials:

    two 4" squares and six 1" x 5" strips float/window glass
    16" of 18-gauge copper wire
    30" thin copper wire
    4-6 square inches sheet copper
    beads
    kiln shelf primer
    non-ammonia glass cleaner
    methylcellulose glue
    stamp pad with ink that is permanent on glass
    glass kiln
    kiln shelf
    old scissors
    small round-nose or jeweler's pliers
    wire cutters
    glass cutter
    razor glass scraper
    green plastic Brillo pad
    soft brush (goat’s hair sumi brush)
    lint-free towel
    rubber stamps

    Note: We came up with these wind chimes while working with earth-friendly reclaimed salvage materials. So we get our scrap glass from a neighborhood frame shop. They can’t use their small glass scraps, and they can’t recycle them either.

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    Figure A
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    Figure B
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    Figure C
    Steps:

    1. Prepare your kiln shelf. Scrape old primer off with razor glass scraper and rub with Brillo pad to clean. Stir the shelf primer thoroughly. Apply shelf primer (about five coats, each time brushing a different direction). Put in kiln and turn on "shelf drying program"--which is short and not very hot. This dries the primer on the shelf (prop open with a small brick so the moisture can escape). Open the kiln when done so it will be cooling.

    2. Cut five 2-inch pieces and one 6-inch piece of 18-gauge wire using wire cutters. Bend each small piece in half with your small pliers to form a "U"; then bend the ends or curl the ends out (figure A). Set them on the table to be sure they are pretty flat. Bend the 6-inch piece similar to a letter "E." Also place this on the table to be sure it lies flat.

    3. Cut sheet copper, with the scissors, into the pattern of your choice (figure B). It should be no more than 2 to 3 inches across either direction. Also cut little (about 1/2" x 1/2") pieces for the chimes, perhaps squares or triangles (figure C).

    4. Cut the glass. You need two 4" x 4" square pieces and six 1" x 5" strips. Be careful!

    5. Wash the glass using the ammonia-free glass cleaner and a lint-free towel. First spray some on your hands and wipe them to get the oils off your hands. Then spray each piece of glass lightly on both sides and wipe. Be very careful! Be sure the glass is wiped dry.

    PHOTO

    Figure D
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    Figure E
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    Figure F
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    Figure G
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    Figure H
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    Figure I
    6. Set one 4" x 4" piece and three of the 1" x 5" pieces in the kiln. Leave at least 1 inch clearance between each piece. These are the bottom layers of each wind chime component. Put two drops of Glass Tac glue on each 1" x 5" strip, one at the top and one near the middle or bottom (figure D).


    7. Set one copper "U" shape on the top of each glass strip with the curved end half way off the glass. The two tips of the "U" should be in the glue (figure E).


    8. Set one little copper foil shape one each strip in the lower glue puddles (figure F). Set your larger copper foil shape(s) in the center of the 4" x 4" piece of glass (figure G). Put two drops of Glass Tac glue at the top of this piece of glass, about 1/2 inch from the outer edges.


    9. Set the last two copper wire "U" pieces on this piece of glass, curved ends off the glass and tips in the glue (like on the glass strips), and the copper wire "E" at the bottom.


    10. Set the second 4" x 4" piece of glass on top of the one in the kiln with the copper arranged on it. Be careful not to knock your wire "U" pieces out of place. Set the last three 1" x 5" strips on top of those already in the kiln. Again, be careful not to knock your wires out of place.


    11. Close the kiln and turn it on. The next day, open the kiln and take out the cooled pieces. Rinse them off and buff with the Brillo pad to get any loose copper flakes off (the copper wires sticking out of the glass gets flaky when fired in the kiln; the heat oxidizes a layer of copper off).


    12. It's time to print and bead. Emily likes to print on the back side because it makes the patterns a bit magnified when viewed from the front. So, flip your top piece and three chimes so they are face down. Print on them with rubber stamps (figure H), using an ink that is permanent on glass. This type of ink takes awhile to dry, so let the pieces sit.


    13. Cut three pieces of the fine wire to about 6 inches long. Take one of the chimes and attach a piece of the fine wire through the loop at the top by wrapping it. Do this to all three chimes.


    14. Put beads on part of the wire on one of the chimes (figure I)--about 2 to 4 inches of beads. Then wrap this wire to attach it to one of the loops of the "E" in the top of the wind chime. Cut off any extra fine wire. Do this with all three chimes.


    15. Cut about 8 inches of fine wire. Attach by wrapping it to one of the loops on the top of the wind chime. Bead 6 inches of this wire, then attach this wire to the other loop on top of the wind chime.


    We apologize no guest contact information is available.

  • ALSO IN THIS EPISODE:
  		• Cigar Box Purse
  		• Resin and Bottle Glass Necklace
  		• Feather Choker
  		• Fused Glass Wind Chimes