Greetings and an Introduction

[Roheryn ni Galghandhrei t'al'Djinn]

I am loving reading all the crafty stuff. I would love to do more but between work and horses, sewing keeps me busy enough.

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

I am loving reading all the crafty stuff. I would love to do more but between work and horses, sewing keeps me busy enough.

I'm glad you are enjoying it, Roheryn Sedai, I love sharing what I do and what I know. I must admit that I don't know much about horses, but I know they are a lot of work! I have several friends with horses, and even though I don't ride I love to watch equestrian events in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism, a creative living history group I belong to). Do you have pictures of your horses up on the board somewhere? I'd love to see them.

 

[Roheryn ni Galghandhrei t'al'Djinn]

You can shorten it to Roh.
And yes, there is a thread called Horsey People! In Health and Fitness in the Discussion Halls where I have posted lots of pics of my horses.

I've wanted to join the SCA, but no time or money for extra things.

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

You can shorten it to Roh.
And yes, there is a thread called Horsey People! In Health and Fitness in the Discussion Halls where I have posted lots of pics of my horses.

I've wanted to join the SCA, but no time or money for extra things.

Wonderful! I must admit I would never have found it because I don't tend to go to threads called "Health and Fitness"

I get the whole "out of time and money" thing. I have always wanted to do all-the-things, but alas...

 

[Satrim Kha'os]

Hahaha! I did say!

Well, in stained glass, the glass is usually bought already in sheet form. Then you cut it according to the pattern you've chosen or drawn, and use lead or copper foil to put all the pieces together, soldering them in place. After cutting them the pieces can be painted with special paints and fired in a kiln. That is how you get the detail in most ecclesiastical stained glass, and that is what I trained to do.

Making the glass itself is another process entirely, but one I know a bit about. Glassblowers in the middle ages would gather some molten glass on a blowpipe and, after blowing it into a round shape, open the center of the end and spin it, forming a circular "sheet" of glass, which was then annealed and cooled. The glass was cut around the center part for use in windows, but sometimes the centers themselves were used decoratively in panels of stained glass.

Later on other techniques were developed. Modern handmade stained glass, referred to as "antique" is often blown into a long cylinder which is then opened and flattened in a big oven. This produces rectangular sheets of flat glass without the distortion in the center that you get from the blowpipe in the earlier method. Around the turn of the twentieth century, artists like John LaFarge and Louis Comfort Tiffany created many new techniques and began what is now considered "art glass", creating new recipes for special glass as well as new ways of working it. They used molds and did some hand manipulation of glass, as well as doing some pretty crazy things in the panel construction itself in order to get some amazing effects.

Could you blow glass in your backyard with a torch? I'd say no, not without some other specialized equipment. Glassblowing is what you should research if this is the part of the process you are interested in. There may be ways I don't know to turn a forge into a glory hole or a furnace, but you would need someone more knowledgeable than I to help you with that.

Could you make stained glass in your yard (or home)? Certainly. Small pieces can be done with a minimum of tool investment. You would need a worksurface you could nail into, some glass, lead or copper foil (depending on what technique you want to use), a glass cutter, and depending on whether you use lead or foil, tools for cutting that. And some flat sided nails, like horseshoe nails. Then you would need a soldering iron and some solder. Small kits may be available at hobby shops, I don't know about Queensland, but in the US you can get tools at the hardware store, hobby shops, or a stained glass shop that sells to hobbyists.

It can be a toxin-laden affair, that is certain. I have heard of lead free materials, but I do not use them. I mainly use lead alloyed with antimony, lead/tin solders, and the paints are highly toxic, so my kiln is never used to fire anything else, like pottery that I might want to use for food. Glass itself can be dangerous in that it can cut you, but with care, attention to what you are doing, and the proper protective equipment and ventilation while working, it is safe enough.

You open one flood gate, I open another I hope this information is useful, I am happy to talk about this all day. Have I created more questions than answers? Again, fire away!

Toxic stuff :eek That would be an issue for me(little brothers, dog, I live right next to a busy park).
Say my forge could manage to melt sand, would it cool into a clear glass or would it tinted? Like Australia's 'red soil' which is just because of a high oxidised iron content.

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

Toxic stuff :eek That would be an issue for me(little brothers, dog, I live right next to a busy park).
Say my forge could manage to melt sand, would it cool into a clear glass or would it tinted? Like Australia's 'red soil' which is just because of a high oxidised iron content.

Probably tinted from whatever minerals were present. If iron is present in the sand, the glass will be tinted green. Ideally, you would make glass from pure silica sand and some soda and add material to color your glass purposely. You need a respirator to deal with silica sand, as it produces a fine dust. It isn't something I've done from scratch, and I would not recommend experimentation without instruction from someone in the craft.

 

[Fern Al'Thorn]

Welcome to TV!!
I am sure you will find a lot of active discussions once you hit the citizen mark. We like to talk.
:welcome

 

[Dovienya el'Korim]

Whoa You're going to feel right at home in the Craft discussion thread :joy I love reading all of the crafty stuff as well, although I haven't tried nearly as many things as you!

I enjoy knitting, crocheting, and sewing. I also make soap, and love baking (bread, specifically), and canning and "jamming".

Welcome to TV.net, and feel to reach out to chat or ask questions!

 

[Ignis al'Caleum]

Welcome! I'm new here too

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

Welcome to TV!!
I am sure you will find a lot of active discussions once you hit the citizen mark. We like to talk.
:welcome

Welcome! I'm new here too

Thanks Fern, I am really looking forward to it!

Thank you, Ignis, and welcome to you as well!

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

Whoa You're going to feel right at home in the Craft discussion thread :joy I love reading all of the crafty stuff as well, although I haven't tried nearly as many things as you!

I enjoy knitting, crocheting, and sewing. I also make soap, and love baking (bread, specifically), and canning and "jamming".

Welcome to TV.net, and feel to reach out to chat or ask questions!

I am huge on baking bread. I've been doing it for years, and have done bread for a few feasts over the years. Right now I'm recovering from shoulder problems and redoing my kitchen. I am really looking forward to getting my hands on some dough Soap! I have always wanted to make soap. I'd love to learn about your process sometime. Canning, too, I don't really know much about that at all, but it always seemed to me to be a terribly useful thing to know.

By the way, I adore your title

 

[Satrim Kha'os]

Probably tinted from whatever minerals were present. If iron is present in the sand, the glass will be tinted green. Ideally, you would make glass from pure silica sand and some soda and add material to color your glass purposely. You need a respirator to deal with silica sand, as it produces a fine dust. It isn't something I've done from scratch, and I would not recommend experimentation without instruction from someone in the craft.

Green, I thought it would go grey or reddish or something. Cool!! Soda? Baking soda? carbonated soda?o

 

[Ilverin Matriam]

Welcome to Tar Valon Cynayne :joy

damn some skillz you goooooot !!!! And that dress! Amazing

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

Sodium carbonate. There are other additives, even pure silica sand won't necessarily produce perfectly colorless glass, so additives are sometimes necessary. I don't know the full list or how to know what it used, but I can tell you a little more about how color is produced.

Introducing metals and metal salts to the glass and heating it will cause your glass to be colored. As I mentioned before, iron creates a green or brown, depending on how much is present. Forms of cadmium, lead, sulfur and even silver make yellows and ambers, Copper can make greens, blues and even a red depending on what form of it you use. The really amazing reds of ancient glass are made with gold. Purples and violets are made using salts of manganese and nickel. Cobalt for deep blues.

It's very interesting chemistry!

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

Thank you, Ilverin Sedai! I am quite proud of it, I just wish there were more opportunities to wear it

 

[Satrim Kha'os]

Now I do love red, but not enough for gold

 

[Faeril Munlear]

Welcome to Tar Valon, Cynayne!

 

[Ealandrelle Melyma]

I've just started baking my own bread - it is fun! I'm not generally a Baker, but I recently was diagnosed with coeliac disease and the pre-made bread is gack :x. I've made a few loaves in oven, and then a colleague gave me a breadmaker at the weekend. I miss getting stuck into the dough, but for convenience it's awesome

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

Now I do love red, but not enough for gold

I know, right? There is a modern "cathedral" type glass sold that uses modern chemicals to get a pretty decent red color. The biggest downside for me is that it isn't heat stable. I can't express how awful it is to paint up a bunch of beautiful pieces and fire them, then open the kiln and find they have all turned amber. It can really screw up a project. For regular, non painted work, though it's great.

 

[Cynayne Nilonne]

Welcome to Tar Valon, Cynayne!

Thank you, Faeril Sedai, it's lovely to meet you!