Why make (Reduction) Frit Stringer?

[Rosenquartz]

I've just been watching the first half of The Secrets of Stringer Control DVD by Corina and seen the bit on pulling stringer from reduction frit. I understand why you use reduction glass and why you'd want to have stringer of reduction glass to decorate your beads but I don't understand why you'd pull stringer from frit rather than from a rod? Could somebody please explain.

[Mary]

It's really furnace glass, for blowers, so it used to be hard to get except as frit or humungous lumpy rods like baseball bats. No real need to do that now, as you say.

[flowerjasper]

as mary says it is easier to get in frit or huge lumps!

iris green and straw yellow stringers look fab going round your beads,
or for doing faux boro,


s

[Trudi]

or youmay have bought frit and not have the rods. A lot of frit can have a lower COE so you may only have it as frit rather than as rods!

[squirsygirl]

and you can dip a hot glass rod of one colour, into the frit for some lovely effects.  But watch the c o e.

Kirsty

[Rosenquartz]

Thanks all. So there's nothing to be gained by breaking rod ends into frit just to pull into stringer. And not a lot of point buying frit just to make stringer if rod is available. And it seems with all the fancy reduction glass rods available now there's less need. I guess the source I've been reading could well be a few years old now - and the Corina dvd is from 2004.

Cheers