Drilling Wet with a Flexible Shaft Tool
Q: I’ve purchased a Foredom flexshaft, and I want to drill some holes in glass, which I’ve seen done using a shallow pan of water to contain the glass and cool it. Is this dangerous for the tool, and would I run the risk of electrocuting myself?
What is a Glaze?
Q: What is a glaze?
A: In plain terms, a glaze is a very thin layer of glass formed on a clay pot during the firing processes, that is, during one of the times that the fragile clay vessel is heated to a high temperature (above 1800° F, 1000° C).
Are Glass and Glaze the Same?
Q: Are glass and glaze the same?
A: Sometimes, but not often. Glass itself dates back at least 50 centuries. Mix sand and some other dry minerals, heat in a fireplace, and you obtain a material often called a “network polymer” (a “mer” is a unit molecule and “poly” means many, joined together).
What Affects a Glaze Surface?
Q: What affects a glaze surface?
A: A glaze surface may be glossy, satiny, or rough (dry matt); the actual result will revolve around the silicon oxide and the alumina oxide contents, both in relative and absolute terms. A glass that contains 60% silicon oxide (silica, flint, quartz), plus or minus 5%, will usually make a good glaze.
How Many Materials are there in a Glaze?
Q: How many materials are there in a glaze?
A: If one examines many glaze recipes, one soon realizes that most of them contain ten ingredients, or less. These, in turn, are used repeatedly in different recipes for a given firing range (low-fire, mid-fire, or high—fire).
Cast Marble
Q: How does one go about making sculpture in “cast marble” or “bonded marble?”
Alternative Casting Materials
Q: I would like to cast something into molds (besides plaster of Paris) that would end up looking like white marble. Should I use polyester resin or what?
Concrete Textures
Q: I’m interested in experimenting with concrete to get different surface effects than the usual boring cast concrete look. Any suggestions?
Forton MG Plaster
Q: What is this Forton MG plaster you mentioned, and where do you get it?
Cheapest Mold Material for Clay Models
Q: I’m making models in clay that have lots of undercuts, and would like to take molds of them so I can make permanent sculptures in plaster or polyester resin. What is the cheapest thing I can use that won’t tear up the originals too badly?
Making Pictorial Mosaics
Q: How would I go about making mosaics like the Ancient Romans did?
Mosaic-surfaced Stepping Stones
Q: I want to make some concrete stepping stones with a mosaic surface. What kind of mold, concrete/aggregate mix, and setting technique should I use?
Difference Between Polyester, Acrylic, and Epoxy Resins
Q: Is there a difference between polyester, acrylic, and epoxy resins?
Carving Amber
Q: I’ve picked up some nice pieces of amber and I was wondering how to carve it.
Vitreous Enameling
Q: What do jewelers mean by “enameling”? Is it the same as regular paint, or does it have to be heated in an oven? Is it the same as embossing?