What Is Fused Glass?
The beautiful architectural glass we produce here at CBD Glass is made using a variety of techniques. These include bending, casting, engraving, and fusing. Now, all those techniques may have looked familiar to you except for the last one. You may be wondering, what is glass fusing?
In this post, we’ll explain more about this technique as well as how it’s applied to the myriad of customizable glass items available at CBD.
What Is Glass Fusing?
If you know what fusion is, then you can essentially guess what glass fusion is. To fuse something is to connect two of something into one. Glass fusing is essentially the same, taking two glass items and uniting them.
This is done by using an electric kiln at a temperature that may be up to 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit! That temperature is sufficient to break down the stiff structure of the glass until it’s malleable.
Instead of linking the glass at the ends, the pieces are typically placed over one another and fused that way.
Now, this doesn’t work for any two glass items you might happen to have handy. Instead, they must have similar properties, such as viscosity and coefficients of expansion. Not to get too technical, but coefficients of expansion, also known as thermal expansion, limits how an item may be affected in terms of its volume, area, and shape when exposed to higher or lower temperatures.
Some glass may begin to melt long before reaching 1,600 degrees. If that’s the case, then it wouldn’t be sufficient to fuse this with a separate glass item that has a higher melting point. The stability of the new glass item would be in question.
Examples of Glass Fusion in Action
Where can you see examples of fused glass? Our portfolio here at CBD Glass is full of projects that show off this technique. Our multicolored glass is sometimes painted, but other times it’s fused together to create that one-of-a-kind effect we’re so well-known for.
Some of the decorative glass railings we’ve done for past clients feature long glass panels the length of the staircase with a swirling rainbow of colors that can also be achieved by glass fusion.
If you’ve been reading this and thinking about how you’d like to use fused glass for your new home improvement project, we’re listening. Here at CBD Glass, we will customize your project inside and out. Every last facet, from the thickness of the glass to its size, shape, and color is up to you to decide.
Fused glass would look great in just about any room in the home. Imagine a colorful countertop that becomes a conversation piece whenever the family’s in the kitchen. Perhaps you’d like a bathroom backsplash or vanity in a special hue. Maybe you like the idea of a bright staircase or long glass panels that brighten up any room in the home (and the office!)
Whichever idea appeals to you most, we’re ready to hear about it. You can contact us today via the online form on our website to get a quote.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_fusing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_expansion