Interested in Casting glass?
These materials and tools are what I usually use when teaching workshops. They may be helpful to you in setting up your own studio. Please note that this is a continuously evolving list:
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES & BOOKS:
- Bullseye's online video resources are some of the best for advancing your knowledge of kiln formed glass when starting out!
- Highly recommend Angela Thwaites book, Mould Making For Glass if you want to advance beyond basic plaster/silica molds. It has tons of different recipes and mold types for glass casting and is one of my favorites.
PLASTER/SILICA MOLDMAKING MATERIALS/TOOLS:
- Pottery Plaster #1 (Please note that this will likely be cheapest at your local ceramics supply store)
- Silica Flour (325 mesh) (Please note that this will likely be cheapest at your local ceramics supply store)
- If you don't want the hassle of buying separate Plaster and Silica, and you are okay with a little more expense, you can purchase a 50/50 pre-mix from Ransom & Randolph or a 50/50 pre-mix from Bullseye Glass.
- 35 mesh grog (Please note that this will likely be cheapest at your local ceramics supply store) and if you can get a couple of different sizes and mix them together, that helps with strength. Bullseye Glass also sells a grog mix with a few mesh sizes already mixed together.
- My favorite mixing bowls for most smaller molds: Norpro Silicone Bowls
- I prefer to build molds on acrylic sheets like these: Acrylic sheets
- Don't forget a digital scale to weigh materials.
- A surform is helpful to shave off rough edges before loading molds into a steamer.
- You'll also need a bubble level and some play sand for loading these into the kiln
- As you get more comfortable with Plaster/Silica molds, you may be interested in scaling up your glass castings; I'd recommend you start looking at more commercial products like the Ransom & Randolph investment mixes. As I work larger, I usually will use Mizzou or KS4 in my outermost jackets.
SILICONE/ALGINATE MOLDMAKING MATERIALS/TOOLS:
- I usually like to use Mold Star 15 Slow Gallon Kit or Mold Star 15 Slow Trial Kit when teaching workshops as it is really easy to use! If you are using silicone, make sure to use nitrile gloves!! You will also need paint stir sticks and lots of clear cups, but the sizes of cups/buckets will depend on what size molds you want to make.
- I recommend keeping some sulfur free oil clay on hand for moldmaking. These Chavant bars are pretty decently priced but you can also find them in slab form through Reynolds. I've found that the soft versions do not work well in humid/hot environments.
- Keep a can of the Ease Release mold release spray around to help with any objects you are unsure about sticking to silicone.
- I also love Alginate/Alja-Safe for quick turnaround and temporary molds.
- Equinox putty silicone is a great material for taking impressions from nature and pressing onto surfaces to get textures. Sometimes I'll order Poyo putty when on a budget, but it is a little trickier to get the mixture correct, since it is not a one-to-one ratio like the Equinox.
WAX MOLDMAKING MATERIALS/TOOLS:
- Victory Brown Wax or a Brown Microcrystalline Wax. If you need a large quantity, check out Douglas & Sturgess.
- I love this Wax Melter for melting down wax, it makes it really easy to pour larger silicone molds in one shot because of the spout.
- Get a nice deep ladle for ladling wax as well.
- An electric griddle is a very helpful tool for a wax working station
- Wax carving tools
- Soldering iron
- Rheostat for your soldering iron
- Having some silicone molds around for wax is essential. I like these pan molds, sheet molds, and muffin molds.
- This Wallpaper steamer is a budget friendly version for steaming out molds, but if you have the extra cash, this Dewaxer from Rio Grande is my favorite for smaller molds. They have a few different sizes of these, feel free to look through their website.
- For recycling wax, I like using paint strainers and a silicone funnel to get floating debris out.
- You'll need some leather gloves around the studio when working with wax and steaming out molds.
GLASS TOOLS:
- I love the Toyo Cutter and I think most glass artists love them as well.
- If working with sheet glass, try to get a set of running pliers with a spring, they are much nicer to work with if you are cutting lots of glass quickly, as the spring bounces the tool back open and allows you to be quickly ready for the next break.
- If using billet to cast, a ball peen hammer is helpful to break it up into smaller pieces after scoring.