You don’t have to spend a lot of money all the time buying glass cabochons. It is now possible to
come up with your own customized cabochons and all the easy steps will be discussed
in this article. If you understand the important role played by cabochons as
far as jewelry is concerned, you will definitely put the information shared
below into serious consideration.
- Your initial step will be having a piece of paper placed on kiln shelf. All the glass pieces you will require must be assembled in advance as well as a glass cap sitting on the dichroic. The dichroic layer must always face up while the clear cap has to be large enough to fit on the base.
- Follow that with setting the right temperature on kiln and medium is the most recommended level. If the kiln you are using is manual, allow up to fifteen minutes but it can be lesser in case it’s automatic. The level to which your glass fuses will be determined by temperatures set and time allowed so be very keen on that.
- When satisfied that your material for making glass cabochons has fused to the right level, turn off the kiln and then have its door opened. That is important to allow temperature hit the 1000°F mark which is a bit stable. You can then give time for it to cool down until temperatures reach 978°F.
- At this point, turn the kiln on again and allow the temperature to remain constant for a period of half an hour. Such a temperature will help to lower any stress or strains that might have occurred when fusing was going on.
- Finally, turn off the kiln and give it time for the glass to cool down. Remove the glass and your glass cabochons will be ready for use.
The good thing with making your own cabochons is the
opportunity to personalize. It will make it possible for you to come up with a
design of your own liking and meet all the personal needs you have. When doing
this process, you need to be very careful because there are some minor hitches that
will end up having huge negative implications to your final glass cabochons. For instance, you
should try as much as possible to eliminate all air bubbles because they can easily
be trapped in between the clear glass and dichroic layer.
Furthermore, fusing might not be very successful if some
things like right temperature are overlooked. If that happens, you will
experience some dichroic seeping out of the clear cap which will compromise the
quality of your cabochons. The only solution to that will be making sure some
amounts of dichroic layer that exist on the edge of the glass have been removed
before embarking on fusing. It will go a long way in ensuring everything burns
out seamlessly.
The bottom line when making your own glass cabochons is attentiveness to details and upholding good work
ethics. It will kill off any chances of complacency getting in to affect your
final product.