Cold working is the tedious art of cleaning up your glass artwork for the final presentation. There are a number of ways to do this, most of them involving machines, diamond bits, tools and pads.
The old-school method is using a water drip with various grits and abrasives to grind the surface of the glass smooth.
Pro’s: Fairly inexpensive. I picked up a 24″ wheel for a couple hundred dollars on Craigslist. The grits are inexpensive as well.
Con’s: It’s messy and really easy to break the edges of the work you are polishing on the wheel.
Here’s a picture of the wheel:
The grit is place in the hopper and water is dripped over it onto the wheel. The resulting mix is called a slurry and acts as both lubricant and abrasive between the steel and the glass. Here’s a short video showing it in action:
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- Requires ability to adjust firing schedules
Related Articles:
Coldworking and Fire Polishing