Fused Glass Mosaic Stones

Turning Reclaimed Scrap Glass into Cabochons

fused mosaic glass stones for custom jewelry

I was a glass artist for almost 20 years. Over that time I accumulated a lot of scrap glass. Some from my own workings, some from other artists. I love taking what has been discarded, and turning it into something beautiful.

Step 1: Gathering My Glass

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I choose the colors I want from my scrap stash, and cut and crush it even smaller.

Step 2: Setting up the Fusing Mold

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I line a section of steel pipe, that I got from my local welder’s scrap bin, with kiln paper and strategically place the scraps that I’ve chosen. The paper keeps the soon-to-be molten glass from sticking to the steel while in the kiln.

Step 3: Fused Glass Pucks

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After about 20 hours in the kiln, the pucks are removed from their molds and cleaned up.

Step 4: Cutting the Glass Pucks into Disks

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I reveal the inner designs by cutting the glass pucks with a wet saw, into 1/4″ thick disks.

Step 5: Shaping the Rough Stones

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I then choose the areas of design that I like, and cut the rough shapes from the disks.

recycled jewelry from crushed glass

Step 7: Grinding and Polishing

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I grind the stones, through at least six grits of successive grinding and polishing wheels, into their final shapes. Sometimes I stop at a matte finish, while others I take to a high shine.

It’s a time consuming process that took me some time to work out, but I love the final outcome.

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