Polishing Large Pieces of Bulk Glass

I have obtained several large pieces of different colors of bulk glass.
They are irregular shaped between the size of a baseball and softball.
The pieces have sharp edges an many are covered in scratches and flaked
edges.

I am using these in some yard art in which I wrap the pieces in copper
rod in small sculptures. I have used the glass as is, but I am
interested in trying to soften the edges and getting a polish on some
of the surface. Minor imperfections are no big deal, I just don't want
to crack the pieces or have them slump.

Would fire polishing be possible? I am thinking that because of
different sizes and colors of the pieces the trial and error to find a
working procedure would use up all all my glass. Are there basic
guidelines I can follow that might work? I have done no glasswork
before, but have access to a kiln. The owner of the kiln has done lots
of enameling, but no work with large pieces of glass.

I would appreciate your comments.
Thanks,

Barry

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have obtained several large pieces of different colors of bulk glass.
They are irregular shaped between the size of a baseball and softball.
The pieces have sharp edges an many are covered in scratches and flaked
edges.

I am using these in some yard art in which I wrap the pieces in copper
rod in small sculptures. I have used the glass as is, but I am
interested in trying to soften the edges and getting a polish on some
of the surface. Minor imperfections are no big deal, I just don't want
to crack the pieces or have them slump.

Would fire polishing be possible? I am thinking that because of
different sizes and colors of the pieces the trial and error to find a
working procedure would use up all all my glass. Are there basic
guidelines I can follow that might work? I have done no glasswork
before, but have access to a kiln. The owner of the kiln has done lots
of enameling, but no work with large pieces of glass.

I would appreciate your comments.
Thanks,

Barry

it would be hard to firepolish these.

a: firepolishing means taking them up to the 1300-1400 range and watching
them to see when they are done.
b: that is above slumping temp
c: being thick, they would take a long time to anneal
d: being different thickness, they would take differing times to anneal.
you'd have to anneal for the thickest, which could be 24-48 hours at an
extremely slow rate of cooling, because they are so thick.
e: you don't know what temp to anneal them at, since you don't know what
glass you have. you could do a test to find this out with one of the chunks,
but you'd need a flat thin piece to do so.

what you have sounds like slag glass. Your best bet would be to rig up a
tumbler and use a coarse abrasive grit for a long time or try an industrial
size grinder to polish off the edges. They won't be shiny after this, more
of a frosted look, but i suppose you could polish them back up to a shine
tho it's hardly worth the trouble! heat ain't gonna do what you want to do
with what you're working with. I have a bunch of pieces left that i used in
displays if you need more..... they are sharp! You can find this by the
pound on the roadsides of NC at the rock and mineral shops. m

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have obtained several large pieces of different colors of bulk glass.
They are irregular shaped between the size of a baseball and softball.
The pieces have sharp edges an many are covered in scratches and flaked
edges.

I am using these in some yard art in which I wrap the pieces in copper
rod in small sculptures. I have used the glass as is, but I am
interested in trying to soften the edges and getting a polish on some
of the surface. Minor imperfections are no big deal, I just don't want
to crack the pieces or have them slump.

Would fire polishing be possible? I am thinking that because of
different sizes and colors of the pieces the trial and error to find a
working procedure would use up all all my glass. Are there basic
guidelines I can follow that might work? I have done no glasswork
before, but have access to a kiln. The owner of the kiln has done lots
of enameling, but no work with large pieces of glass.

I would appreciate your comments.
Thanks,

Barry

Thanks for your comments. I think the best thing to do will just leave
them as is.

-Barry

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have obtained several large pieces of different colors of bulk
glass.
They are irregular shaped between the size of a baseball and
softball.
The pieces have sharp edges an many are covered in scratches and
flaked
edges.

B.C.W.:

Lapidaries either use rotational or vibratory tumblers with grit
progression to
bring stones to a full polish. Check Ebay. If your tumbler has a
vulnerable lining,
you may want to use a hand-held grinder to knock off any sharp edges
before
proceeding. John Sinkankas authored more than one book on lapidary
procedures which should be available at your library or by loan
through them.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey