Glass weaving

[rgilbert]

I have woven glass bowls with both harder and softer glasses with no problems at either end of the hardness spectrum. I use a rippled piece of stainless steel to form the strips, then weave them together.

If you are concerned about how the hardness affects the wearability/usability of the bowl, I haven’t had problems there.

There may be someone who can talk to the specific benefits of each type of glass– I really haven’t encountered too many issues except to remember to adjust the temperatures for the specific glass. Oh, I have had some concern with Bullseye and refirings– sometimes I will fuse a specific element in the strips. The second firing has sometimes come out devitrified. I think it may well be a firing schedule issue rather than the glass since I don’t consistantly have the problem.

The one issue I had with using stained glass (rather than glasses that are specifically meant for fusing/melting) is to be careful about the iridescent coatings on the glass. Because some are created with hazardous metals, I worry about leeching into the food that could be placed in the bowl.

I know I probably didn’t offer anything of use, but good luck with your project.