Friday Night Fusing Clinic
September 8th, 2006 ... Liquid Stringer Medium (LSM)
LSM comes in a 8 oz. Bottle and is now $34.95. Mix in a little zip lock baggie equal amounts of LSM (say 2 tablespoons), and System 96 F1 powder sized frit. Add 15 drops of water per tablespoon of LSM (2 tablespoons = 30 drops of water). Mix again, then cut a small hole in the bottom corner of the baggie. Drain the mixture into a small squeeze bottle. Colour de Verre has a great set of 3, but they are a little expensive, at $16.95 a set. Put the cap on top and invery, to reduce any air pockets in the mixture. Mix up several colours at a time, and then apply to your glass.
It is best used on Spectrum's Double Thick Clear, or any previously fused glass, as it matures at a lower temperature than full fusing. Let dry overnight. Fire slowly (500 degrees F per hour) up to anywhere between 1350 to 1425 degrees F, peek to confirm, and hold to achieve desired look. Cake decorative tools are excellent for working with LSM. Artistic Cake Design on Wellington has a great selection. If you steal your spouses' tools for this purpose, better just replace them with new ones, as glass frit does not taste very good.
There is a very timely article in the latest Stained Glass News, Issue #73, on page 12 by Gil Reynolds, of Fusion Headquarters and Hot Glass Horizons. He describes "Cold Combing" using LSM.
