How to Use Fusible Glass Bails
Use Glacial Art Glass's fusible glass bails to easily attach a loop to your fused glass pendant, ornament, or art piece - no more drilling or messing around with fiber paper! Available in both COE 90 and COE 96.
Buy COE 90 Fusible Clear Glass Bails Here | Buy COE 96 Fusible Clear Glass Bails Here
2 ways to Fuse Bails:
- Place a small piece of glass spanning your work and the bail, for example a dot or piece of frit.
- Or slide the bail under your work for a hidden attachment (use this method if your work is 2 layers of 3mm glass thick or more).
- Make sure the slit side of the bail is facing your pendant.
- Fuse to 1430°F-1470°F (775°C-800°C). (Fast firing - adjust lower for slower firings)
- Avoid exceeding 1485°F to keep the bail hole open.
- If firing above 1485°F, fire your work separately and attach the bail in a second firing.
- If firing below 1430°F, fire the base and bail together at 1430°F or higher first, then proceed with lower temp firing.
- Bails can be used as design elements, not just hangers.
- More Details and tips below the images!
Buy COE 90 Clear Dots Here | Buy COE 90 Clear Frit Here
Buy COE 96 Clear Dots Here
Image Gallery:
Fused using the dot/frit method:
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Fused using an element of the design:
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Fused by sliding the ends of the bail underneath the glass art:
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Examples of decorative bail uses:
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More details:
We recommend fusing the bails at 1430°F-1470°F (775°C-800°C). The top temperature for the samples in this article was 1485°F (807°C) - this created a slightly "overfused" look (but the bail hole was not completely closed up and was still usable). Above 1485°F, you run the risk of the hole fusing closed. If your piece requires a full fuse above 1485°F, consider firing it without the bail at first, then do a second firing at a lower temperature to attach the bail.
An important note about temperatures: These temperatures were tested by firing quickly in a small kiln, and held for 10-15 minutes at the top temperature. All kilns fire differently, so any schedule is likely to require some fine tuning for each specific kiln. Also, in addition to the top temperature, the speed and hold time matter very much. Slower firing will create greater heatwork, and longer hold at the top temperature will also do the same. The fastest way to get the perfect temperature is to keep splitting the difference between two temperatures (if one is too high, and one is too low) until you get very close to your desired result, then make small 3-5 degree adjustments from there if you want further improvement. The ideal temperature will change with any changes to the firing speed, hold time, type/color, thickness, and amount of glass.
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Our clear dots (in COE 90 and COE 96) or clear frit (COE 90 only) are the most simple, straightforward way to attach a fusible glass bail to your piece. Think of them like a drop of glue you're placing between the bail and your fused glass art piece.
The only trace the clear attachment will leave is a small raised glass bump at the point where the bail meets the rest of the art piece - but if you want the connection to be even more hidden, it's easy to attach the fusible bail with an element of your design! As long a piece of glass is overlapping the bail and the edge of your art piece, you can use anything else you'd fuse on top of sheet glass.
Another way to attach a bail is to just slide it underneath the sheet glass base of your art piece. (You may want to use glass tac to hold any small elements in place so they don't slide off when raising one edge. Keep in mind that glass tac will burn off during the firing, so wouldn't work as well with elements that can roll off.) This method results in a more subtle bail attachment. It's also the best method for attaching bails to pieces that are significantly thicker than the bail, for example a piece that is 2 layers of glass thick. This is because it's harder to place a small piece of glass spanning both your art piece and the bail.
But a single attachment point isn't the only way to use our glass bails; play around with them as part of a hanging chain, or as a visual design element.
If you're looking for an effortless way to hang your work, or looking for a new shape to play with in your work, add Glacial Art Glass's fusible clear glass bails to your glass art studio today! Available in COE 90 and COE 96, in packs of 5, 20 or 100.
Buy COE 90 Fusible Clear Glass Bails Here | Buy COE 96 Fusible Clear Glass Bails Here