Silver Glass 101 – Reducing Silver Glass Basic

I have been trying to answer as many questions regarding silver glass on forums as I can and realize that I should probably have all that information in one location for easy access. . . thus Silver Glass 101 is created. This is the first of many postings on how to work with silver glass, tutorials, annealing, etc. etc. Hope you find it helpful!

The Reducing Sequence

Step 1
Work in a neutral flame. Once you have shaped your bead, let it cool until the glow is gone (do the under the table test), marvering helps cool the glass faster.



Step 2
Create a reduction flame by reducing the oxygen, increasing the propane, or both. Depending on the silver glass used, your yellow candles vary from 1" (very slight reduction) to 3".



Step 3
Gently reheat in the reduction flame. The placement of the bead varies from just outside the tip of the yellow candles to 6-7" from the face of your torch. Different methods may be used: bounce the bead in and out of the flame or rotate the bead directly in the flame.



Step 4
Take the bead out of the flame and see the iridescence develop.



Step 5
Experiment with the length of the reduction time and/or repeating the steps 1 to 4 to create different effects.

Step 6
An oxydizing flame can be used to “erase” some of the reduction effects.



Experiment!
• using lighter and heavier reduction (so the yellow candles are shorter or longer)
• putting the bead closer, or further away, in the flame
• putting it in the flame less or more, as in quick flash or longer swirl
• reducing multiple times (as well as varying which part of the bead you reduce)
• alternating it between reduction and oxydizing flame

Note: Some glass allows you to “erase” ALL the reduction in an oxydizing flame and start all over while others will not.

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