Aventurine Recos

[David Patchen]

On a lark I used some (free) Oceanspray green and blue aventureine to make murrine. (It was on CMOG's dime so I was game to risk it). I got it back to my studio and a couple months later, cut it and it cut fine so I got the sense compatibility wasn't wildly off.

I made some work with it and liked the effect although the blue had a haze on it--either from surface devitrification or something else. The green remained nice. Image attached.

I'd like to use more aventurine and avoid the blue haze, but after reading prior threads on the stuff it seems like it's often incompatible. I was hoping Reichenbach's blue and gold would be more likely to be compatible vs. Oceanside's, but I've read about that stuff not fitting.

So--those who have used aventurine frequently, what works for you with fit and maintaining the effect? Please, only respond if you've used it a lot--not just once or twice--anything can work or fail once or twice.

[Kenny Pieper]

David a simple ring test will give you a much more definitive answer than asking others experience with all their variables! With the fit issue anyway. Nice piece!

Just on a side note we have a pretty large mineral and gem festival here in Spruce Pine every year and there is a fellow that usually has a booth with 55 gallon drums full of gold adventureine. $10lb.

[Pete VanderLaan]

Originally Posted by Kenny Pieper

David a simple ring test will give you a much more definitive answer than asking others experience with all their variables! With the fit issue anyway. Nice piece!

Just on a side note we have a pretty large mineral and gem festival here in Spruce Pine every year and there is a fellow that usually has a booth with 55 gallon drums full of gold adventureine. $10lb.

*****
How's the fit on that Kenny?

David, I was going over some correspondence I had with Croucher decades back that was never Craftweb stuff. He mentioned what a disaster high Barium glasses had been on crucibles disappearing overnight and I was wondering how the batch at Public Glass was going? He was at 4% which is a lot.

[Josh Bernbaum]

Ring test a good recommendation for sure. But when murrine processes involved, ring test with the actual murrine and clear in what you're cutting I think will tell you even more. In your case, murrine on the inside of a small cylinder cased with clear. Dealer's choice on the axis-change first or not..

[Pete VanderLaan]

firing it more than once is an issue potentially. If the glasses were a mismatch early, I don't see it standing to reason that the issue would go away. I've seen lots of work that took months to express itself. Or, is it the case that the whole thing is oversight glass, I mean Oceanside

[David Patchen]

Originally Posted by Pete VanderLaan

*****

David, I was going over some correspondence I had with Croucher decades back that was never Craftweb stuff. He mentioned what a disaster high Barium glasses had been on crucibles disappearing overnight and I was wondering how the batch at Public Glass was going? He was at 4% which is a lot.

We've only been using Glasma since early Jan and I haven't noticed any additional wear on the crucible but it's pretty early. Public Glass is replacing the crucible and crown in Aug, so we will see. Other folks who have been melting Glasma for longer probably have a good sense of the degree of corrosiveness of the batch. Then again, if it was wildly corrosive, they probably wouldn't be using it very long. I've not heard much vs. glasses that are legendary like Crystalica.

[Pete VanderLaan]

cristalica deserves no legacy/ My notes from John predating craftweb archives regarding missteps using excess barium resulting in catastrophic pot loss over night in high alumina pots. I refer to it from time to time and invariably, it involves barium and boron. It comes up from time to time with varying ingredients. I should make large notes when I do see it.

Pots are not one size fits all. The trouble is that too frequently, one size is what you get. It didn't used to be this way. AZS pots in America are not available yet they would create headaches of their own.

[Josh Bernbaum]

In discussing a formula with John at the Penland class, I remember him warning to keep barium in a batch under 5%.

[Pete VanderLaan]

and.. earlier versions of GLASMA had a lot . We would see pot stones if some went above 2200F. It was changed I imagine. As much fault can be placed on the crucible makers as anyone. European refractories from Fastner are better pots although reports of problems with product since the fire have been out there. John indicated 4% to me but that was long before color classes ever existed.