|
Fusing Wire Inside Glass Jewelry
This
is part two of a multi part tip on fusing wiring inside glass
jewelry. Click here to go to part one, which discusses the
characteristics desired of a wire used in fusing.
Here's a list of some common wires that can
be fused, along with some comments on each:
Nichrome (nickel chromium) -- generally
favored, due to it easy workability, ability to hold up in the kiln
and afterwards. It does turn dull after firing, but can be
cleaned up with a brass "battery" brush.
Copper -- somewhat soft to use, and exposed
parts tend not to hold up that well. May tarnish or change
color. Some twisted/braided copper can work better than single
strand copper, but test first.
Sterling silver -- will work, but tends to
scale and needs to be cleaned after firing. Can react with the
glass and change color. Somewhat soft.
Fine (pure) silver -- works better than
sterling, but even more prone to react with the glass (can turn
yellow). Some glasses (french vanilla, certain reds) will also
change color when exposed to silver.
Stainless steel -- very stiff, hard to
work with, but can be fused if desired.
Gold or platinum -- will work, but very
expensive.
Click
here to continue with a discussion of ways to keep wire in place
until it fuses between the layers of your glass.
-------------------
Copyright 2005 Brad Walker.
All rights reserved.
|
