Last Updated: Aug 24, 2018     Views: 598

Thank you for your question!

I have not found instructions for fusing glass to window glass with a torch. Do you know the name of the artist?

Jim Friant creates pieces from old windows, but he uses an adhesive to bond the pieces (colored glass shards, bottles cut in half, etc.) to the window glass. Let me know if you would like to contact him for more information. 

Victor Trabucco creates vines and flowers with a lampworking torch and attaches them to window glass. However, I do not believe his sculptures are fused to the window glass with the torch. https://www.buffalocrystal.com/Architectural%20Gallery/wall.html   The panels are sandwiched between two pieces of glass for safety: https://www.buffalocrystal.com/Architectural%20Gallery/detail.html

https://www.paperweight.tv/VistStudio/VisitStudio.html Trabucco home: https://www.buffalocrystal.com/index.html

I found these examples online (a few are shards bonded to window glass - mosaic style): https://www.pinterest.com/traceyrwoody/window-pane-ideas-glass-melted-beads-stained-glass/ and https://www.flickr.com/photos/80130473@N07/

Are any of these similar to your artist's work?

Are you familiar with fusing glass?

To fuse glass in a kiln (or with a torch), it is important to find glass that is compatible with your old window glass - and that can be extremely difficult. This book gives basic information about coefficient of expansion:

Bray, Charles. Ceramic and Glass: A Basic Technology.  Sheffield: Society of Glass Technology, 2000, pp. 146-152. 

The Warm Glass website has a wealth of useful information about compatibility of glasses and more: https://www.warmglass.com/Glass_compatibility.htm.

They discuss window or float glass:

"One final type of glass that is often used for kiln-forming is "float" glass.  Made by "floating" molten glass on a bath of molten tin, float glass is better known as common window glass. It is inexpensive and widely available. It also works well in the kiln, but care should be taken to test for compatibility if different brands and types of float glass are mixed together. If at all possible, cut pieces to be fused together from the same glass sheet.

Although some colored varieties of float glass are available, it is most commonly found in a clear (often slightly greenish) formulation.  It tends to slump and fuse at slightly higher temperatures than most art glass (about 75 to 100 degrees F higher), and can be prone to devitrification. Its COE depends on the specific formulation used and can be as low as 83 or as high as 90, but it generally ranges from 85 to 87."

It is possible to add color using enamels on the glass. For example, Thompson Enamels, www.thompsonenamels.com, has a line of enamels that is compatible with float glass (their 7000/8000 series).

When using a torch with glass, it is also important to keep a piece evenly warm or the glass will be shocked and crack.

This is a very cursory introduction to fairly complicated concepts.

Please let me know if you would like more information about any of these techniques.

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