About Lampwork

 

Glass rods are melted and wound on a mandrel (Metal Rod) using either Moretti (Effetre) or Bullseye glass, there are other brands of glass, however these are the two types of glass I use. This glass comes in long rods and their diameters range, not usually exceeding a quarter inch for bead making. The glass begins to move at around 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, and the glass is workable (it can be shaped or molded) at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. There are many different tools used in flameworking, usually made of stainless steel or graphite. Graphite tools are used because they don't stick to the hot glass. Stainless steel tools will stick to hot glass while in the flame or when its at it's hottest temperatures, however, they are very effective in shaping glass when properly used. Each of the glass beads are individually flameworked (torch-blown) and properly kiln-annealed overnight.

 

By annealing the glass beads, they are guaranteed hard as rocks, durable enough for everyday wear with long lasting heirloom quality. When a glass bead is finished, the hot bead (while still on the mandrel), is placed in a kiln heated at 960°F. The annealing process releases the stress from the glass and slowly cools the beads down to room temperature. Cooling the glass beads too quickly will cause them to crack.

 

               

                            Glass starts off as rods ready for melting                                                                                    Some of my tools 

The History of Lampwork

While the age of lampworking is unknown, it was developed well before the invention of any torch, burner, or furnace. Glassworking was rumored to have been discovered by someone accidentally dropping glass into a campfire. From there they used a "small fire" for any form of glasswork and developed small beehive shaped furnaces in the ground. These small furnaces have been recorded in many ancient civilizations and they seem to have dominated glassmaking before the birth of Christ. These glasswork techniques spread throughout the ancient world from Japan to North Africa.

The Romans were known to have used these beehive furnaces or kilns, and are responsible for making some significant changes to their design. They were the first to add more exhaust vents and more options for side access to these kilns. More tools were experimented with and refined.

Just before the birth of Christ, someone thought of using a hollow pipe to extract glass instead of glass rods. It caused a bubble of gathered glass. While glass beads were still used the old way with rods, glass blowing dominated the glass forming technique for the next thousand years. Italians achieved the highest technical achievement around the world. In 1921, the Italians were sent to Murano (An island off the mainland of Venice, Italy), due to the fire hazards of Glasswork.

As Europe entered the Renaissance, a new use for glass was developed. Angelo Barovier, working in Murano, invented Crystallo, a clear soda glass in 1450 AD. There was a new need for clear durable vessels as chemical science was developing. This was the best glass for the job. The pipe glassblowing technique wasn't suitable for making these small objects. It was discovered that forcing a small narrow stream of air into a flame from an oil lamp created sufficient heat to work with the small pieces of glass. By the beginning of the fifteenth century this technique was spread throughout Europe and Lampworking was born.

Although the tools continued to become more sophisticated, the basic material, glass, has remained essentially the same as when Crystallo invented it. This glass is commonly referred to today at Moretti Glass, or Effetre.

In 1921, a scientist from the glass factory in Corning, New York, invented a new glass more resilient when heated and cooled, called Pyrex. It was 15 percent lighter and much stronger than soda glass. However, it required a much higher and more powerful heat source to work with the glass.

It was found that adding oxygen and natural gas produced the heat and power needed for pyrex and the traditional oil lamps were replaced with new oxygen and natural gas burners which clamped to the lampworkers workbench.

Today, equipment and tools have continued to become more sophisticated and new tools are experimented, however, many of the original tools from Murano are widely used and are still the most effective.