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using bottle glass

updated tue 24 nov 98

 

amy parker on fri 20 nov 98

I have used some glass frit with great success in the bottom of ashtrays.
Friends of mine use this and/or busted-up wine bottles, etc., in the bottom
of clearly non-functional bowls (think spikes inside). This is at cone 6 ox.

Is it "safe" to use just melted glass in a "functional" (think wet food) bowl?
Are there any special considerations? Fritted glass VS "recycled"?
Any horror stories about the glass shattering out of the pot? My ash trays
are clearly designed for "butts", especially cigars - you can't mistake them
for any other kind of pot, and I am not worried about anyone wanting to
serve food in an ashtray, but I would like to use this technique for more
functional things!
amy parker Lithonia, GA
amyp@sd-software.com

Joseph Herbert on sun 22 nov 98

There is a long history of using cullet in folk pottery in the American
southeast. Ground glass is the basis of most of the glazes used in Carolina
and Georgia crocks and jugs of earlier days.

The problem that Amy presents is one of degree more than anything. Stacking
glass pieces in the bottom of a form may have no adverse result if the fit
between the body and the glass is good. If the glass has a larger coefficient
of expansion than the body, the force applied by a thick coating of glass on
one side of the form could break it -- perhaps spectacularly.

Joseph Herbert
JJHerb@aol.com

Mike Flood on mon 23 nov 98

We tried that in our studio, except we used fragments of stained glass.
We only used this in decorative work since the glass was very crazed,
and wouldn't be very sanitary for use with food. Also, the crazing was
so obvious that you could feel the cracks when you rubbed your finger
over the glass portion of the item. I'm not expert, but food and
cracked glass don't strike me as a good combination.

Bridget McDermott Flood
fireworks studio
St. Louis, MO