Project by Alison Lee of Manhattan, New York.
Alison has been obsessed with making things since she was 3 years old and made her mom a purse for Mother’s Day. Her skills have matured and expanded as shown in this project, one of her many chakra-inspired fused glass necklaces.
Materials:
ceramic tile
tile wash
fusible glass
glass glue
kiln
3/16" 26-gauge fine silver bezel wire
IT solder
acetylene torch with #0 tip
charcoal block
tripod stand with wire mesh top
#1 tip
flux
hard solder
medium solder
pickle bath
ammonia
water
file
sander
bale
burnishing tools
epoxy
beads
Steps:
1. Build your pendant on a piece of ceramic tile that has been treated with a tile wash. Cut glass to the size you shape you want and use small amounts of glass glue to hold your piece together as you build. Make sure your glass is fusible glass, all with the same COE factor. Once the glue is totally dry, after approximately 15 minutes, put the tile in the kiln. Follow your kiln’s instructions for fusing glass or use a fast rise to 1480 F degrees and hold for 5 minutes. When the kiln has cooled, remove the glass pieces. File off any sharp edges.
2. To make the silver bezel: Wrap 3/16-inch 26-gauge fine silver bezel wire around your glass bezel. Mark and cut the wire to fit. Cut a back sheet from 26-gauge fine silver that is 1/4-inch bigger then the glass piece on all sides.
3. Solder the silver bezel wire closed with IT solder. Use an acetylene torch with a #0 tip, working on a charcoal block.
4. To attach the bezel to the back sheet, place both pieces on a tripod stand with a wire mesh top. Using a #1 tip, flux and dry the piece. Use a hard solder to attach the bezel to the back sheet, heating only from below. Once the solder has flowed and the bezel is fully attached, place the piece in a "pickle" bath. Then put it in an ammonia and water bath to clean.
5. Next file and sand the bezel; then attach a bale using medium solder. Once the solder has flowed and the bale is fully attached, place the piece in a pickle bath again. Put it in an ammonia and water bath to clean. Dry and place the glass pendant in the silver. Using a burnishing tool, rub down the silver bezel to hold the glass pendant in place. For bigger pieces, use some epoxy on the back of the glass pendant.
6. String the pendant with your beads and stones.
Website: www.craftcast.com
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