using opals and glass blowing together ?

[bluesoldierart]

anon know how to use opals with glass ? i def could use some help

[Louie HaHa]

The way I use them is to seal off a little tube, like 12 or 9 mil, let it cool for a second then drop your opal in the tube. Then you just gather the glass (front to back, of course) and you end up with an encased opal. From there the world is your oyster.....

[jes]

Louie dose it just like i do too...

I dont know how much you know but I would use Gilson created opals not opals that are actual opals. You can get these kind of opals for boro or pyrex considering that is what kinda glass you are working with from your friendly lampworking distributor. Hope that helps, and dont be afraid to use the search function here on the forum.

PS please show some pictures of what you come up with.

Jes

[Louie HaHa]

Definitely use Gilson.

I bought some from: http://www.profoundglass.com/current_gilson.html and they were nice.... moved my shop and I can't find the buggers though, kinda pissing me off.

[Eric S]

anyone know how to use the search? i mean its unlikely that in a forum of thousands of glassblowers that anyone has discussed opals in the last 10 years, but may just maybe.....

[Louie HaHa]

There's always one.... you know, there are times, even when using the omnipotent search that the results just don't match that well. I don't know about this thread exactly, just from my own personal experience. I know I'm rather new to this site, maybe like a year or something, but I swear there is almost always a person that has to give the other one crap for not searching. Usually followed by, "dude, I searched for 2 hours and couldn't find it". If it's of no interest other than to say, "dude, use the search engine", then why waste your time typing it. It's beneath you. Move on.

Nothing against you Eric S. Just an observation of reading through many a-thread.

I just saw the post and responded, about 4 seconds used of my most precious time and life. Not trying to harp on someone else's thread started 6 years ago or whatever.

[Eric S]

yeah it just makes sense to keep discussing topics in threads that are already going. lots of them have GREAT information, and lots of the people that left that information arent here much anymore to post it again. SO much has been discussed on the topic of opals that its unlikely that someone will out of the blue throw out a really new valuable nugget into this thread, and even if they did it should be going into another thread that already has good info so it can all be found together when someone searches for it.

[Louie HaHa]

I get that, but sometimes the search doesn't find what you are looking for. So the great information isn't found, hence new threads starting. Not trying to start beef Eric, I just found it funny that another thread I'm looking at has another "use the effing search engine" response. I couldn't help myself.

[OrganicOdins]

mods should just delete those "use the search" threads

[phortwantie]

In the time it took to complain that he didn't search, you probably could've found some of those old threads you are talking about, and put the links on this thread to point him in the right direction. Would probably be alot more helpful.

[LarryC]

I just did a search about using opals and got 115 threads.....

[phortwantie]

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?128-Opals-Thread-Collection

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?37787-encasing-opals

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?25002-Opal-Help

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?30913-opal-frustration

How many were relevant though? Here are a few ^

[LarryC]

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?128-Opals-Thread-Collection

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?37787-encasing-opals

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?25002-Opal-Help

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?30913-opal-frustration

How many were relevant though? Here are a few ^

See ya do know how to use the search :)

[menty666]

I used it last night looking for some info on condensing tubing. I wound up slogging through 4 pages of results and found a couple of other interesting threads in addition to the actual information I needed.

Use the damn search box and pick through the results.

Control+left click opens them in a new tab, just pop off a few you think might be relevant and then go look at them.

Most of the time you'll find the info you need AND some interesting stuff besides.

[TlkQ]

The new trend is hilarious. They see people getting flamed for not searching so now the threads start like :

"I already searched for hours and hours and can't find anything. How do you make color changing glass?"

[faded]

i like when someone actually uses the search then bumps the thread. next thing you hear is "ZOMBIE THREAD, KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!"

[TlkQ]

^ Great point.

[menty666]

i like when someone actually uses the search then bumps the thread. next thing you hear is "ZOMBIE THREAD, KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!"

Yeah, rather than adding something new they try to answer a question from 4 years ago.

But when someone continues a decent discussion or asks about a related point, that's pretty cool.

[jes]

I replied to this thread before watching Andrew Browns demo at the Glass Roots Art SHow

Now the only way to encase gilson opals with boro is to punty up to it and coilpot some clear around it then take off any scum or airbubbles and then put it in some glass.

I have tried this and it is making them so nice and clean, crisp and vibrant!!!
Just had to write back and share for anyone who is still dropping them down a tube, its like wasting beauty. You gotta try encasing them :- )

[Louie HaHa]

Jes---nice tip... I'm definitely going to try that. I just gotta find my effing opals...

[menty666]

Isn't dropping them down the tube and pulling the air out while melting the tube around the opal...encasing it?

[jes]

Isn't dropping them down the tube and pulling the air out while melting the tube around the opal...encasing it?


OH thanks,

I thought I was clear that flame polishing them and then encasing them while punty'd up is far far superior to encasing them with a tube and not flame polishing them.

Do you overstand now menty ? I see where I could have been mistaken and hope this helps clear things up!

sometimes I aint the best typer or speller or punctuationsist or sentence putter togetherer so I dont wanna be mistaken and hope to give good sound advice, infact I learn allot of things here on the forum and would like to share so others can learn from what I have learned too.

ciao

[Neko]

Does anybody else use this method?

[hashmasta-kut]

Just had to write back and share for anyone who is still dropping them down a tube, its like wasting beauty. You gotta try encasing them :- )


cant really see how there could be any difference. you cleanly encase one either way just as much beauty will shine through. coilpotting as opposed to tube encasing can impart no magical qualities of beauty, i dont see how...

[TlkQ]

He said in his last post that he flame polishes the opal before hand. You could still flame polish it and drop it down a tube. I've never stuck an opal in the flame

[hashmasta-kut]

ya i guess thats true, i havent flame polished them, but i have stuck them in the flame some, not enough to smooth them.

[OzOpals]

Hey there everyone, *some* info in this thread has been handy... and others, well, I'd say a slight waste of time...

This is my first thread reply to any discussion within TMP, so please be kind :)

I buy, sell & cut opals, but mainly concentrate on cutting & polishing these beautiful gems & find it very hard to part with the little fella's once their done!

Last night I was imagining / envisioning ideas of what to do with all of my thousands of opal chips etc, & I thought I came up with the most original idea of putting them into glass! Well, after a little googling I was wrong...

What I was searching in Google that lead me to this thread was setting / encased opals in glass (as if anyone has put opal into a naked flame, you'll soon see that the piece explodes before long, not a great idea!) so my dilemma was wondering if anyone had melted glass, or encased opal with melting glass around them & found that they cracked?

Anyways, as I am extremely new (like tonight) to glass working, I would like to discuss this a little more in depth with everyone whilst catching up on glass melting / shaping & moulding 101 for dummies in the rest of the threads on this site!

I've got some interesting ideas & I'm really interested in creating some art pieces with my opals set within glass!!! This is actually quite exciting!

Cheers.

[istandalone24/7]

are you using Gilson synthetic opals? true opal will crack...as will other types of synthetic. it needs to be a Gilson opal.

btw i'd love to see some pics of your cut and uncut stones....i dig looking at that shit.