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What, exactly, is frit?
Our fairy frits are ground 104 coe Effetre/Morretti furnace glass cane that is used for decorating flameworked or lampworked glass beads.
Why is COE Compatibility important?
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion or COE is the linear measure of how much a material elongates within a given temperature change.
Compatibility refers to types of glass which have the same coefficient of expansion - COE. When glass is heated it expands and when it is cooled it contracts. The ability to contract at the same rate is essential. When glass is incompatible breakage will usually occur.
It's tricky business mixing glasses of different coe's - use too much of one on another and your bead will break - even after annealing. We solved the problem for 104coe glass users by making our custom blended frit the exact same 104 coe as their base bead. That means that you can use as much as you want, or as little as you want without the hassle and worry of stress cracks developing in your bead. That means more room for creating glorious beads without any worry or limitations. Wasn't that nice of us?
Are your frits compatible with all 104 COE's glass?
Yes, 99% of the time, all of our frits are compatible with all other 104coe glass used in making the base bead. On occasion, some hand pulled or fussy glass might not like to play for whatever reason. But all our glass frit is tried and true before we put it on the market. If we happen find a special issue with a certain glass - we will certainly give you a heads up ahead of time.
Can your frits be encased?
Yep. We took all the worry out for you - use as much or as little frit as you need, and encase as usual.
About how much frit comes in your jar or sample packs?
Each jar contains 2 tablespoons or 2 oz. by volume of our beautiful frit. Each jar will last you quite a while!
Our sample packs are smaller so that you can test the colors and contain 1 tablespoon or 1 oz. by volume. More than enough frit to play with and whet your appetite for more!
What does "reactive" mean?
Some colors of glass will "react" with other colors or metal. Ivory glass, for instance, will always react when silver is applied by producing a dark black outline or halo where it comes in contact with the silver - producing a very interesting effect. Some colors of glass react strongly to other colors or to silver- some colors react only slightly. Ivory, turquoise & copper green in particular - react strongly to silver as well as to each other.
What is your processing time?
We are as excited to get our product out to you as you are. We try to process every order immediately and ship within 2 business days. No shipping on holidays or Sundays. Express delivery during normal business hours only. We ship anywhere in the continental US, Alaska & Hawaii at this time.
What is your return policy?
There are no returns/refunds on regular frit orders. Wholesale frit orders require a return authorization and are subject to a 15% restocking fee.
Books are not returnable for any reason. Any pre-packaged items and tools must be returned unopened and unused.
All returns must be made within 14 days of receipt of product for store credit only. Store credit is granted providing the returned item is received back to us in the same condition that it was received. Shipping costs are not credited or refunded for any reason. Contact us for return authorization at fritfairies@gmail.com.
How do I reduce frit or glass?
According to Arrow Springs:
"Glasses that are formulated and sold as a reducing glass will have a different and desirable look after they have been reduced. Their look before being reduced may still be desirable. Some glasses not sold as a reducing glass may also reduce, but usually with undesirable results. Reducing is achieved in the flame and is accomplished by subjecting the glass, while molten, to a reduction flame atmosphere.
One method of reducing the glass is to to simply cut back on the amount oxygen or increase the amount of the fuel gas while working the glass in the flame. Experiment with different ratios to find the best flame setting for you and your burner. This first method is less intimating and tends to yield a darker and less metallic look then the second method.
The second method is done by completely turning off the oxygen flow and increasing the fuel gas until it actually pushes off the face of the burner by as much as several inches. This makes a clean flame and will prevent soot from accumulating on the glass. Place the molten glass fully within the base of the flame. This large flame setting may seem hot to you, but in fact is not hot enough to keep the glass molten. The reduction process begins within a couple of seconds and is finished when the glass is no longer molten. Usually ten seconds or less, dependent upon how hot the glass started out. Because this flame setting is so cool, it can also take care of the flame annealing.
Practice this kind of flame setting before using it on your glass. Adjust the burner to this kind of flame setting with the glass not in the flame to prevent the glass from becoming dark as it tends to in the first method described above. If the fuel gas is increased too much the flame will blow out. Turn off the gas before relighting. Also, reduce the flame until it comes back in contact with the face of the burner before turning on the oxygen or it too will blow out the flame.
Any reduced glass put back into a neutral or oxidation flame will become unreduced and the process will need to be repeated to get it back. Darkness produced from the first method described is usually permanent."
Doesn't annealing take away stress cracks?
Stress cracks caused by differences in COE within the glass item cannot be annealed away, so you need to use glasses that are compatible within the glass item. This is not always easy when that special color you want to use has a COE different enough from the other glasses that it may cause the glass item to break if not otherwise nicely annealed. Given that you properly annealed the glass to remove manufacturing stress, and not considering thermal shock and impact shock, stress developed during cooling adds to the COE stress and can be all it takes to break the item.
Using the same coe of glass throughout your beadmaking venture will eliminate the possibility of stress cracks developing despite a proper annealing process. Our 104 glass frit on 104 base bead will therefore be compatible and take all the worry away.
Can I use your frit on 96coe glass?
Well, the tables get reversed on this one - Yes you can indeed use our frit on 96 coe glass - Just remember to keep to the old ratio of no more than 8-10% total frit to the volume of bead. If you use more - you must encase the bead.
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