I wanted to talk about how stringers are made … which I use all the time in my glass art, like in the designs above … and then I accidentally discovered that the word “Stringer” actually has several meanings. And that seized my attention. You know me!
Of course, all ‘glassies’ know that for us a stringer is a thin circular (hair like) strips of glass – they come in a range of thicknesses, 1mm and 2mm thickness, and a limited number of colours are also now available in 0.5mm thickness. They look like this:
Then I discovered – good old Google! – that a part of a staircase is also called a STRINGER. Here’s a diagram to show you which part. A STRINGER apparently is a long horizontal member used to support a floor or to connect uprights in a frame. An inclined member supporting the treads and risers of a staircase. So now you know!
To be honest, I don’t quite understand which part of a staircase is the actual stringer. Can you fill me in?
Similarly in aviation a stringer is called also a longeron, that’s to say a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened. Pretty important little item!
Then again, a stringer in journalism is a freelance journalist, photographer, or videographer who contributes reports, photos, or videos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work. Did I ever tell you I was a news producer on current affairs radio back in the day? We had lots of stringers.
When you build a boat, you need to build stringers in there too. The main purpose is to offer structural support on a boat and they are situated underneath the boat deck. Stringers in older boats are usually made out of wood. The wooden stringers are then laminated or can be covered in fiberglass.
Bored with stringers yet? I’m not! A fish stringer is a line of rope or chain along which a fisherman can string fish so they can be immersed and kept alive in water. A rope stringer is the simplest type of fish stringer. It consists of a line of rope or wire with a stringing needle made of metal or hardwood at one end.
And a stringer is also a person who flirts with other people but is not actually interested in them at all; ie, someone who just strings people along. Sadly, we’ve all known a few of those in our lives.
Tanks and stringers help you manage your perspiration and body temperature better. … It is very important to go for a tank or stringer that has soft sweat-wicking fabric. This will help you do even do those intense workouts without having to feel your sweat on your own body! Here’s some stringers …
A stringer in the surfing world is a thin piece of wood running from nose to tail of a surfboard. And by the way, huge congratulations to Owen Wright in winning a bronze medal in surfing for Australia the other day – his is an astonishing tale, and well worth reading.
A stringer is also a small screw-hook to which piano strings are sometimes attached. Really, who knew?
Enough stringers, already! Unless you know others?
In my world, where we use glass stringers, they are enormously useful to create beautiful designs, add texture and interest to glass art. But I’m beginning to think that every area of the world uses the word stringer somehow. If you know of any other use of the word, please let me know!
Here’s a gallery of some of my favourite glass pieces that I’ve made with glass stringers. You can always commission something from here that you’d like me to make for you. Just drop me an email at [email protected] and I’ll be delighted to get back to you. We ship all over the world.
There are millions of different ways to use stringers in glass. I’ll come back to this topic again soon.
As always, thanks for reading and all the kind messages.
love
jenie
PS Here’s a fun little video for glassies on the use of stringers.
Tags: art design glass art glass stringer glassies Owen Wright stringer stringers warmglass uk
