Glass Fusing Glossary Terms

Glass Fusing Glossary Terms

Here is a list of some of the terms used in Glass Fusing. In future Blogs, we will expand this list.

Annealing - The process of cooling slowly a piece of heated glass to remove internal stress.
This is done between 1000 down to 600 degrees Fahrenheit

Art Glass - Colored glass used in glass fusing and stained glass

Bails – Arched hooplike pieces that are attached to glass pieces, allowing you to hang the glass piece on a chain or link it to another object.

Blank - A solid bottom layer of glass on which other pieces of glass are placed and positioned prior to fusing

Casting - The process of melting and pouring frit or molten glass into a mold to achieve a particular shape

Coefficient of Expansion (COE) - The measured expansion of heated glass

Cold Working – Working with sanding, grinding, drilling, or sandblasting to change the Art Glass in its natural state.

Combing – Heated glass in a liquid state is manipulated by pulling or "combing" a blunt point through the surface

Confetti – Thin shard of glass used to add shading and design

Devitrification - A crystalline substance growth that appears as a dull finish or scum on the surface of some glasses when heated to above 1000 degrees F.

Fiber Paper - A blanket type of thin ceramic fiber used to protect a kiln shelf or mold in fusing. Often used for making channels

Firing Schedule - Details of the times and rates of heating, soaking and cooling during a particular firing cycle.

Fire Polish - Heating glass to the point where the edges round slightly and the surface has a glossy, wet appearance. Often used as a technique to retain a shiny surface to glass after it has been ground or sandblasted

Float Glass - Commonly known as window glass.

Frit - Small granules of glass that has been broken or ground in pieces ranging from fine powder to fine, medium, or coarse.

Full Fuse – Heating and melting two or more pieces of glass into one single piece of glass.

Furniture - Various posts and shelving used to support and separate the glass within the kiln.

Fuse - Heat bonding pieces of glass together.

Fused Glass - Refers to specially designed glass that has been fused or melted together in a kiln

Kiln – Thermally insulated chambers, usually made out of fire bricks

Kiln Wash – This is a refractory powder that can be mixed with water and painted on kilns, kiln shelves and molds to prevent glass and accidental glaze drips from sticking.

Lamp Work - any glass working technique done using the direct flame of a torch.

Mold - Used for glass slumping, and fusing. They can be used to make jewelry, plates, bowls, etc. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes in which glass can be shaped by slumping into or over.

Pate'-de-verre - A frit casting technique; a paste of powered frit is placed and spread in a mold and heated to the point where the individual granules fuse into a solid mass.

Peep Hole - Small hole(s) in a kiln designed for viewing the contents of the kiln chamber.

Pyrometer - A high-temperature thermometer hike device that measures the heat inside a kiln

Sagging - When heated glass starts to soften, it slumps and sags under its own weight.

Slumping - A Technique of heating glass and shaping it over or into a mold.

Soak - Holding glass at a particular steady temperature for a given period of time

Thermal Shock - Glass breakage caused by rapid or uneven heating or cooling.

Thermocouple - The temperature sensing probe of a pyrometer. It's inserted into the kiln to measure temperature

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