How to Make a Glass Paperweight
So you want to make a glass paperweight? Casting a glass paperweight is easy with reusable casting molds. This tutorial will demonstrate how to turn your fusible scrap glass into an artistic treasure.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- mold
- kiln wash
- fusible glass shards, frit and/or powder
- glass fusing kiln
-
-
1
Select a mold and prepare it with kiln wash. Colour de verre makes a nice selection of re-usable casting molds that can be used to make paperweights.
-
2
Fill the mold with glass shards, frit and/or powder in your desired pattern. In our frog and pyramid examples we used scrap glass leftover from various fusing projects.
-
3
Fire using the following schedule as a guide:
Ramp 1: Ramp from room temperature to 1000 degrees F in 4 hours
Ramp 2: Soak at 1000 degrees F 1 hour, to stabilize temperature
Ramp 3: Ramp to 1550 degrees F in 4 hours, adjust as needed to manage bubbles
Ramp 4: Cool to 1000 degrees F as fast as possible, venting kiln if possible
Ramp 5: Soak at 1000 degrees F for 1 hour, to stabilize temperature before annealing
Ramp 6: Anneal to 800 degrees F over 12 hours
Ramp 7: Cool to 500 degrees F over 6 hours, then turn kiln off
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Never leave a kiln unattended while firing.
Be sure to use fusible glass of the same COE.
Related Searches
Resources
Comments
-
Dorothy Sander
Apr 08, 2009
This looks like a fun project. Learning how to make a glass paperweight would be fun! 5*
-
goodselfme
Mar 25, 2009
What a lovely piece of art this glass paper weight is when finished.
