Channels in Jewellery Items

The principle in forming channels in fused glass is to keep the space open with something that will survive the firing and can be easily removed.

You can use kiln washed wire, mandrels, or tooth picks which you can pull out after cooling. These tend to leave a residue of the kiln wash behind. So this is best used on opaque items.

You can use rolled or cut fibre paper, which can be washed out after cooling, leaving a clean hole. This is works well on transparent items.

Both these methods tend to leave bumps over the channel. So you can make a three layer piece. Cut the middle layer short enough to allow the element to keep the hole open (toothpick, cut piece of fibre paper, wire etc.) to be placed with enough overlap of the top layer to catch the bottom layer. In this kind of setup you need to make the top layer a bit longer than the bottom layer. Make sure you are generous in the length of the "hole keeper" so if the glass (now possibly 9mm) does expand you do not trap the material inside.

Of course on a three layer set up like this you could use thin glass which would give you about 6mm of thickness thus eliminating the spread due to volume. In this case you would need to use fibre paper or wire that is about 1.5mm high/thick. It is probably best to have a thin piece of glass on each side of the “hole keeper” to ensure the glass does not retreat due to lack of volume.

You can experiment with a layer of standard and two of thin in various combinations to find the one you like best.

Channels for Jewellery

One way of providing attachments for chains is to make a channel in the piece. This is most often done by placing something between the glass pieces to maintain an opening for the chain to slide through. The materials can range from toothpicks, coated wire, rolled ceramic fibre paper and many other things which will stand up to the heat for the required time.

One of the requirements is to prevent needle points and drawbacks of the glass. There are a number of ways to do this. Some of them are noted here.

One method is to make pattern bars with a channel through the whole width of the bar. Then you need to cut the bar into strips (leaving the channel material in place), do any edge work required, and fire polish.

When creating a single piece from cut glass parts, you need to ensure the upper piece of glass extends beyond the lower piece by at least 3mm to allow the glass to bend over the channel and touch the lower piece. A little more than 3mm will allow the upper glass to curve over the bottom piece and create a rounded top with no evidence of the joining of the two pieces of glass.

Another method is to use two pieces of 2mm glass with full pieces above and below. The narrowest piece of glass will be about 3-4mm and placed at the top of the pendant. The largest piece will be long enough to give a 2mm gap between the two pieces. This is kept open by inserting two pieces of 1mm fibre paper into the gap. Then cap with the top piece of glass. All the glass can be of 2mm thickness, as the three layers will give the desired 6mm thickness.

Finally, a tack fuse firing can help to avoid the needling that can occur at the channel, as the glass is so much thinner than the 6mm required for a full fuse. This means that you can do the work in stages. First fire the elements to the desired state, then combine them for a tack fuse when creating the channel.

If you use a clear middle glass, you can create a depth by having a design on both the bottom and top layers of glass.

Channels for Jewellery

There are many ways to attach jewellery to the wearer.

One of these is to create a channel in the glass to allow a chain or jump ring to be placed through the piece. This is done by stacking the glass around a narrow strip of thick fibre paper – 2mm or 3mm – thick enough to allow the chain or wire to pass through.

Channel formed with 2 layers and fibre paper

This can be built with layers of thin fusing glass. These are normally 1.5mm to 2mm thick. Volume control is important, as enough thickness of glass is required to stop it contracting. The piece might be constructed with a 3mm base, and several thin layers to make a total thickness of 6mmm to 9mm.

For the channel, cut a narrow piece of thin layer about 6mm to 8mm for the top. Then cut another short enough to leave a channel of the desired width. Fill that channel with fibre paper. Then continue to build the upper layers. These layers should be around 6mm to keep the glass around the channel from drawing in.

Pendant formed in the manner described above