First Kiln Selection

Glass fusing works best in top fired kilns.  Glass casting and some tall work are best with side or bottom elements too.  Compromises can be made of course.  The comparison of glass and ceramics kilns is important to understand.  

Kinds

Most of the following types of kilns are available for glass purposes.

Front loading.  These are good basic, multi-purpose kilns with good viewing properties.

Bell kiln.  This is where the whole of the heating chamber lifts up from the firing bed.  This is more common with very large kilns and is usually combined with lifting gear.

Clamshell kiln.  This is where the firing chamber is hinged, usually on the long side.  This kiln provides access from three sides. It can become too large to reach to the back of the kiln, so these tend to be rectangular.  The lid can also become too heavy for ease of movement and support.

Top loading.  Often called a coffin kiln, there are very good for casting or deep work, but are hard on your back while loading.  They need peep holes at appropriate levels to be able to monitor progress of the firing. These tend to have smaller floor areas than the clamshell.

Car kilns.  These are those where the firing chamber lifts like a bell kiln, but has the firing base on rails or tracks to move multiple firing bases under the firing chamber.

Modular kilns.  These are normally rounded kilns where each ring is controlled separately and can be placed on top of one another.  This is good for large heavy castings, as the refractory and glass reservoir can be placed on the base and the rings built up around the work.

All these kilns come in a variety of sizes.

Choose a kiln relevant to your current work.

The first thing you must decide is the kind and scale of work you intend to do in the near future.  It is too difficult to predict how your work might progress based on experiences with your current work.  It is better to by a smaller kiln that is ideal for the current work and then move to a different kiln, if necessary, or a kiln for different styles or scales of work.

The general advice is to buy as large a kiln as your budget and space and electrical installation will allow.  This remains the case with some precautions.  Think about how often you will fire - daily, a few times a week or a few times a month.   Think about how long it will take to fill the kiln.  A large kiln can take days or even a week to fill with small works. This would really limit the variety of things you could do in that period.  You would have to wait to slump until you had enough things fused to fill the space.  Indeed, you would need to have more moulds than if you had a smaller kiln.

I’m sure you can envisage a time when you will want to work larger than at present, but your first kiln will not become redundant.  It will continue to be useful throughout its long life.

Factors in the choice

Size. As already alluded, the size needs to fit with your current style and scale of work. 

Access.  How big a kiln can you get through the doorways?  How much bigger than actual external dimensions will the packaging make it upon delivery?  It is no use buying a kiln that must be taken apart, or all the packaging removed, to get it into your studio.  Of course, the wider the entrance(s) to your studio the easier it will be to get a larger kiln.  If you really need to have a large kiln, you might have to alter or move your studio space.  You also need to think about the kind of access to the studio.  Does the kiln have to come along the side of the house? Is the path paved or gravel? Stairs? Lift size? Parking for the delivery vehicle?

Space. The kiln also needs to fit into the space you have.  You will need about 15cm all around the outside dimensions for safety purposes.  This applies to ceramic kilns also, even though they routinely reach higher temperatures. The skin of the kiln does get hotter than is comfortable for your hand, but normally not hot enough to burn paper. You can reduce the front to back storage space by putting the kiln on wheels.  But the 15cm saved is not worth the time required to once again ensure that the kiln and shelves are level each time you move it. 

Accommodation also needs to consider access around the kiln to place work in the kiln, especially if you build elements in place on the shelf. 

Location within the studio is important, as the kiln needs to be near a power supply and in a place where it is away from the movement within the studio.

Power supply.  The nature of your power supply will also determine what size of kiln you should buy.  Note both the wattage and amperage required for the kiln and determine whether your household supply can cope with the energy requirements.  Usually a kiln can be run on household supply until it reaches the 1 metre² size, where three-phase power is required to have efficient use of the electricity.

Wattage. Kilns below the 1 metre² (approximately 1 square yard) in size have a need for at least 0.6 -1.2 watts per cm², or 4-8 watts per inch².  Once the kiln is larger, more power is required per area to accommodate the greater mass of the kiln.

Insulation.  All kilns require insulation.  This can be fibre or light weight brick, or a combination of the two.  These insulating bricks can be red hot internally, but only warm to the touch on the outside.  Generally, the refractory fibre – whether board or blanket – requires less energy to heat and cools more quickly in the critical devitrification range.  Most often the kiln floor will be made of brick to provide a firm base to support the kiln furniture.

Features

All kilns come with a range of features, many of them relevant to the size, but not all have the same ones, or the ones important to kiln forming.

Viewing ports.  These are variously called vents, ports, bung holes, etc.  Their importance is at least three-fold. 

·        These provide an opening(s) for you to view the progress of the firing, so you can add more time or heat, or skip to the next segment when adequate heat work has been completed earlier than expected.

·        They provide a means of venting the kiln.  This is important in the burn out of any fibre paper binders, and in allowing enough air to promote the oxidisation and maturation of the hot enamel colours.

·        These openings allow the kiln to safely cool more quickly at lower temperatures, say 300°C, but lower for thicker or more delicate pieces.

Opening.  The way the kiln opens is an important consideration.  Some kilns do not allow the kiln to be opened at all during firing.  This is not a desirable feature on a glass kiln.  It is important to have a switch that will turn the kiln off after a certain degree of opening, so that no contact can be made with a live element. 

·        A front opening kiln allows maximum flexibility to view the progress of slumps, drapes, tack and full fuse kilnforming.  It should have a switch to turn off the power to the elements after a certain degree of opening.

·        A top loading kiln allows you to add glass during a casting process, but is not suitable for working the glass during firings – E.g. combing, manipulation of a slump or drape.  This type of kiln occasionally has no allowance to open the top without turning off all the power to both the controller and the elements.  Avoid this, or have it changed.

·        A clamshell or bell kiln allows maximum accessibility during the loading phase and the forming stages.  Although a lot of heat is dumped forward, it is the easiest to use for combing and other manipulation of the glass during the firing. Again, this kiln needs a lid operated switch to cut the power to the elements when opened beyond a certain point.

Controller.  Although essential, controllers are often given as options, especially on smaller kilns.  There are at least two reasons for this.  There are a variety of controller styles and costs.  The buyer may already have their own controller, or wishes to specify the kind.  Controllers are significant costs involved in smaller kilns – sometimes being at least one-sixth of the price.  In general, the more features a controller has, the more it costs.

Controllers are often classified as “three-key”, or as full number pad.

·        The three-key controller – even if they have many more than three keys – is one where the numbers must be cycled through by holding an up or down arrow to change the numerical information.  This includes the programme number, segment number, time, rate, temperature, and sometimes other information. 

·        The full number pad controller will allow direct entry of numbers at each segment of the programming.  It will often have additional features, such as calculating the firing cost or kilowatts used, elapsed time, additional capacity for more saved programs, ability to control different areas of the kiln heating, etc.

Extras 

There are often things which will be worth considering purchase along with the kiln, but are not usually included in the base price.

Stands.  Smaller kilns range from table top - which do not need stands at all – through medium sized – which have optional stands – to larger ones that come with the stand integral to the whole kiln. Unless you intend to move your kiln about, it is not necessary to buy one of the metal stands. Even so, most of these stands come without wheels, so check that they do have wheels already attached.  If you will not be moving the kiln, you can use a wooden table with a refractory fibre board between the stub legs of the kiln and the table surface.  If the kiln does not have stub legs, you can set it on 4 house bricks. 

Kiln furniture. This consists of the refractory props and dams that will be needed in kilnforming.  The most essential are short (2.5cm) kiln posts to support the shelf.

Shelves.  Most shelves require a mullite/cordierite shelf to fire on.  This is a robust shelf that does not have the quartz/crystobalite inversions that ceramic shelves and tiles used for shelves have.  It is a good idea to buy one of these to fit your kiln at the time of purchase. Smaller kilns can use fibre board or vermiculite board as the shelf.  These can be purchased later.

Extractor fans.  These are available on many kilns. They are unnecessary on smaller kilns as they cool quickly anyway.  Larger kilns in a production environment may need quicker cooling, and these arrangements are very useful in those circumstances, but not others, as most kilns will cool in 8 – 16 hours without drawing air through the kiln.

There are a lot of other considerations in buying a kiln, but these are among the important ones, especially in selecting the first one.

Multi Stage Slumping

Deep slumps cannot be done in one slump. Usually, multiple slumps are required to get an even rim with even thickness along the sides.

Special three stage moulds have been developed for deep slumps. The set is expensive even if you have the shallow starting mould already.

When deep slumps are tried in a single stage, uneven sides, hang ups at the edge, needling at rim, and distortion of the image are common in addition to some thinning and significant distortion.

Do it yourself

This leads to investigating whether it is possible or reasonable to try do it yourself methods.

The DIY process involves using two moulds and filling the deep mould with powdered separator.

·        First stage – slump the glass blank into a shallow shape first.  The starting diameter of the blank will need to be about one third larger than that of the finished vessel.  This can be determined by measuring the diameter of the deep mould and adding one third. This means that if your deep mould is 300mm, you will need a 400mm diameter starting disc and an equivalent size of mould. Fire this slump at your standard slumping schedule for large shallow pieces.

·        Second stage – Add powdered kiln wash or whiting to the deep mould.  Fill the mould to half or two thirds of the volume.  Smooth a shallow depression in the powder.  It should rise to meet the curve of the mould shoulder, even if it does not fully match it. This firing is probably the most critical in the DIY process.  The shallow shape will be considerably larger than the diameter of the mould on which you are placing it.  This means that you must fire slowly and you should peek frequently.  As the glass begins to slump, the outer edge will begin to rise at first.  As soon as the outer edge begins to relax, you must advance to the annealing segment.  If you allow the rim to sag, it will not sit very well in the mould at the next stage.

·        Third Stage – This may require more than one firing to achieve the intermediate shape.  In preparation, remove about half of the powder from the previous firing. Shape the remaining powder to a smooth curve. Fire the glass, again watching and advancing to the anneal when the rim begins to flatten.  If the glass has not touched the powder at the bottom, you will need to do another firing.

·        Fourth stage – Remove all the powder from the deep mould. Place the glass and fire.

Keep the kiln wash powder for future use. Its composition will not have changed as you have not fired it to tack fusing temperatures.  Dispose of the whiting, if you used it.  It may be fine for further use, but since it is cheap, it is not worth the risk of it sticking to the glass in subsequent firings.

Remember that long – low and slow – slumps are required at all stages of creating a deep slump.  As a comparison, think about the hours required for a free drop to form and still keep the glass at the shoulder thick.  Deep vessels require long hours of watching just as aperture drops do.

Fire Polishing

Polishing of glass can be done in the flame, in the kiln, by acids or by grinding with successively fine abrasives depending on the nature of the piece and the equipment available.  Fire polishing in the kiln is widely popular as it utilises existing equipment, avoiding purchasing additional cold working equipment. This post indicates some elements about fire polishing in the kiln. 


Fire polishing is the technique most often available to kiln formers. This is the process of heating the glass to less than a full fuse to achieve a smoother texture on the glass. It is often used after sandblasting or hand sanding a piece in order to give a smooth shiny surface to the glass without extensive cold working with successively finer grits to get a polish. It also can be used to give a variety of textures from a sealed but almost unchanged sandblasted surface, through a satin-like finish to a very subtle difference between full polish and slightly textured surfaces in the same piece.


Fire polishing range

The temperature range that this occurs between slumping and tack fusing. The normal range is 650C to 750C depending on the glass, the soak time and the speed of advance.  The purpose of this kind of firing is to get the surface of the glass hot enough to form the desired surface without soaking long at higher temperatures, as this is also the devitrification range (700C - 760C).  Normally there would be a minimal or no soak at the top of the temperature range.

When to fire polish As this temperature range is above the slumping temperature, fire polishing should be done after fusing and before slumping. As this will be the last operation before forming, you also should do any work to shape the edges and deal with any other imperfections, before fire polishing. After doing any grinding or other work on the edges or surface of the piece, thoroughly wash and polish the piece dry.

Methods
You can take the fused piece that has been treated to remove the devitrification up at the same rate as for slumping the piece to the tack fuse temperature.  The higher you go, the less soak time is required. Of course, the higher you go, the longer you are in the devitrification zone.  

Some people advocate a quick fire polish.  This is achieved by firing at a relatively slow rate until a low slump temperature is achieved.  Then fire very quickly to the tack fuse temperature with no soak and return to annealing temperature as quickly as possible.

The quick fire polish does achieve a minimum of time in the devitrification zone, but it eliminates all subtely in the surface.  A long soak of up to 90 minutes at a moderate slumping temperature will give a satin appearance to an abraded or sandblasted surface.  A shorter soak will seal sandblasted work without eliminating the texture of the sandblasted image.

In all the cases of fire polishing you need to peek at intervals to determine when the desired surface has been achieved.  This requires careful placement in relation to the place from which you will be able to peek at the surface.  For a fully polished piece, you will see the reflections of the elements.  For more subtle textures, you need to think about what you want to see, peek, close the lid or observation port and think about what you saw.  If it is not yet what you want, peek at another interval in the same way, until you observe the surface you want.

Combining fire polish and slumping It is sometimes possible to fire polish and slump at the same time, but this is a risky technique often leading to changes in shape or an uprising of the glass at the bottom of the mould. It is possible to fire polish glass as low as 630 with a long soak – 60 minutes or more. If you are determined to fire polish and slump at the same time, it's essential that you watch the piece very carefully to prevent over-firing.

Fire polishing already slumped items Similarly, re-firing already slumped items to a fire polish rarely succeeds. Distortion of the piece is more likely than achieving a fire polish on an already slumped item.

Again, in these more difficult circumstances, you must observe at intervals to ensure you do not over fire and distort your piece.

Schedules
The reason that no indicative schedules are given is that different glasses, and different lay ups require different firing conditions.  These are dealt with elsewhere in the blog.

Alternatives Alternatives to fire polishing include acid polishing, which can present a health hazard, and is normally an industrial process. The other common method of polishing is to cold work the piece. This often requires specialized equipment, but can be done by hand if you have the time.

Smooth Kiln Wash on Shelves

There are a number of ways of applying separators to the kiln shelf.
These go by a variety of names - kiln wash, shelf primer, batt wash, etc. - all are separators to keep the glass from sticking to the shelf. They are all combinations of alumina hydrate and china clay (or kaolin or EPK) in various amounts.  The china clay provides a high temperature binder for the alumina hydrate which does not stick to glass.

These are some examples of glass separators.  The Primo Primer has very little china clay, and is easy to remove.  It is particularly good for small casting moulds.

    

The object in applying the separator is to achieve a smooth surface a possible. Remember there will always be some texture because of the particle size of the wash.  For the smoothest surface, use the finest powder you can find.  You can, if you want to spend the time and effort, put the powder into a rock tumbler with ceramic balls to get an even finer powder.  Avoid shelf primer that is intended for ceramics, as it is coarser than that sold as a separator for glass.

It also is important to prepare the mixture some hours before application to ensure all the particles of the powder are wetted.  Immediate use often leads to a gritty surface.

There are several methods for applying the kiln wash to the shelf.  The two I use are spraying and brushing.  Which I use depends on circumstances - spraying requires more set up time.


Spraying the separator onto the shelves can give an even coating without brush marks, runs or ridges.  In this example a mould is being sprayed.  To ensure an even covering on a shelf, it should be horizontal and leveled so the kiln wash is evenly distributed.  Numerous light passes with the sprayer is best, as in air brushing.

Applying the kiln wash with a very soft brush such as a hake brush in a variety of directions will ensure full coverage. 

The brush should lightly touch the shelf and provide a number of thin layers.  Applying in four directions - horizontal, vertical, and the two diagonals will ensure full even coverage. There may be some residual brush marks.

To reduce the application marks further, you can brush or spray hot water over the still damp kiln wash. This helps to remove brush marks or the stippling that often comes from spraying and brushing.  It is important that the shelf is perfectly level for this operation.


Another way to reduce the texture after the shelf primer dries is to lightly polish the kiln wash with a ball of old nylons or rub a flat piece of paper with the palm of your hand over the shelf.  Be sure to remove the dust that may be left behind from this polishing.


Boron Nitride

Another separator that has become popular in spite of its expense is boron nitride, often referred to by the trade name Zyp.  This is a high temperature lubricant for industrial kiln operations that has been adapted for the generally lower glass forming temperatures.  This is not suitable for kiln shelves, as it completely seals the porous surface of the shelf.  It is difficult to go back to the cheaper kiln wash separator as the water of the kiln wash solution will not be absorbed into the shelf, leaving a patchy coverage of the kiln wash.  Although both separators should be renewed after each firing (above low temperature tack fusing) the boron nitride is much more expensive and cannot provide a smoother surface than the shelf already has.  My recommendation is that boron nitride use should be confined to moulds or other surfaces where the glass may slide or move in the forming process.

Adding Colour to Slumped Pieces

Sometimes an already fused and slumped clear piece needs colour for interest, definition, etc. The problem is how to do it without altering the fused piece.

You can use cold paints. Both acrylic and oven baked paints can be applied, but often they are unsubtle, harsh colours.  These are not permanent.

You can apply enamels.  These can be the ones produced for glass fusing, if fired carefully. The curing temperature of 780°C means that you need to fire slowly to about 600°C and then quickly to 780°C with no soak and AFAP to annealing.  This fast rate of advance is to preserve the shape as much as possible at temperatures above that required for slumping. This will need to be done in the mould, of course.

You can more safely use traditional glass stainer colours, which are also called enamels, although they are slightly different from the traditional ones.  These cure between 520°C and 580°C so can be fired as normal in one steady climb to the top temperature with no soak and quickly down to annealing. To be sure the shape is retained, the glass should be in the mould during the firing.

Use of frits and powders requires the higher temperatures that will distort the piece unless fired in the mould. When firing to tack fuse in a mould, you need to be careful that you do not damage the mould during the higher temperature firing, nor get the separator incorporated into the powder.  If you can place the powder or frit on top of the glass, you will get a better result at a lower temperature as the frit will heat and spread more easily on top than on the bottom. 

In general, it is not recommended to add colour to slumped pieces with frits and powders.  It is hard on the mould, and risks the glass sticking to the mould. Even if successful, the slumping mould will have to have the existing kiln wash removed and new added to avoid the kiln wash sticking to the next piece to be fired.  

It is better to slump the piece to flat, if possible, and then add the frits and powders before fusing.  Then slump again.



These notes show that it is important to assess the flat piece critically before proceeding to the slump.  This can mean setting the piece aside for a few days to review your impression of the fusing result.  This little time elapse can give you a fresh view of what the piece requires, if anything. 

Grinding to Fit

In copper foiling, a considerable amount of work goes into getting the pieces to fit with just enough space to accommodate the copper foil and a thin space for the solder fin to join both sides.  This of course, promotes consistently narrow solder lines without the solder melting through to the opposite side.

Grinding to pattern

Many times it is necessary to grind to fit pieces together with this degree of accuracy.  Those who draw onto the glass or stick pattern pieces to the glass, often grind to the template or the drawn lines.  This can lead to inaccuracies in relation to the cartoon.

The object in scoring and breaking the glass is to be as accurate as possible.  This reduces the amount of grinding required.  It saves time. It makes the whole process easier.  Still, we all have to grind relatively often.

Grinding to cartoon

In my view, when grinding to fit, you should be trying the piece out against the cartoon, rather than the template or the drawing on the glass. This will tell you how well the current piece fits in with the rest of the pieces you have already fitted to the cartoon. 

The cartoon drives the assembly of the whole piece.  Thinking you can just make small adjustments as you work along, creates increasing difficulties in making the whole fit together.  If you follow this principle of fitting to the cartoon, you are judging the accuracy of the piece against the cartoon lines, rather than any template or drawing on the piece of glass.  This means that the fit will be correct and the whole will go together with the minimum of difficulty.

Centering Holes for Drilling

When using larger core drills, it is not possible to see the centre point for drilling. So a different arrangement for marking the place to be drilled is required.  This example is to locate the hole for a clock spindle accurately bewteen the points marked by the stringers.


Find the centre point and extend lines at right angles to each other across the centre point.



Then measure the radius on each arm and make a perpendicular mark on each of the radial arms. Depending on how long those lines were, you have something approaching a box.

Approximately center the drill over the center point. In this case it is a portable drill, but the principle is the same for a pillar drill.

Lower the drill bit over the hole. The radius marks allow the drill operator to see the edge of the hole and use any two of the marks to centre the drill bit within the hole.


This procedure ensure the accurate positioning of the hole.  This is especially important when fitting to existing fixing points rather than making new ones.

Over Annealing

 I hear the comment "you can't over anneal" all the time. Is it true?

My response to this may be controversial, and I do expect there will be some dispute with aspects of what follows.

My view of the statement “you can’t over anneal” is that it results from a lazy approach to thinking about the process.

The short answer is, in my view “yes, you can over anneal”.

• ·         Lengthy anneal soaks can induce stress in certain circumstances. More later.
• ·         Excessive annealing soaks waste time and money.
• ·         Annealing is more than the soak.  It is a combination of equalisation of the heat within the glass (not just temperature) and the gradual cooling of the glass to below the lower strain point to ensure the glass does not incorporate differences of temperature of plus or minus 5°C.

There is both tradition and research to assist in determining the length of the anneal soak.  The tradition seems to embrace 30 minutes anneal soak for each layer of glass. The research has been done by Bullseye and they have developed a table to assist in accurately determining annealing soaks for thick glass. 

Although this is for thicker pieces, it will inform users of the relationship between thickness and annealing soaks.  The table starts at 12mm thick, but you can extrapolate that a 6mm flat piece cooling from both sides will need a one-hour soak, an initial cooling rate of 110°C, a secondary rate of 200°C.  It is safe to turn the kiln off at 370°C, as the kiln is unlikely to be able to cool faster than the 330°C suggested (although I programme to room temperature). The temperatures used need to be altered for glass other than Bullseye, but the rates remain valid. My advice is to use the research, rather than tradition.

Other considerations include the nature of the kiln.  If your kiln has significant temperature differentials across the shelf, long annealing soaks will incorporate those differences during the annealing cool and result in a stressed piece. You do know the temperature distribution within your kiln, don’t you?  This Tech Note #1 from Bullseye will give you the information to test for the temperature distribution. Using this information will enable you to avoid the cool spots when placing your pieces and utilise the areas where the heat is even.

Economy is another reason that it is possible to over anneal.  Soaking at the annealing temperature uses a significant proportion of the electricity consumed in a firing.  This means an overly long temperature equalisation soak will use more electricity than necessary.  It also uses more kiln time than necessary, by delaying the anneal cooling and the following natural cooling rate of the kiln.

It is possible to under anneal

You need to learn about the effects of your project on annealing requirements, because it is possible to under anneal.  The research on annealing is based glass of uniform thickness. The most popular style of kilnforming appears to be tack fusing of one degree or another.  This is unfortunate for the novice, as it is the most difficult of styles to anneal adequately. There are a lot of factors to consider when setting the annealing schedule. 

I feel this is the origin of “can’t over anneal” thinking.  Instead of thinking about the specific annealing difficulties, many seem to just add more time in a generally random manner.  The post on tack fusing considerations (the link above) is designed to help in thinking about the requirements of the lay-up of your piece. The cumulation of factors can easily treble the annealing soak and slow the rates by three times. In some extreme cases, the annealing time can be extended by as much as five times.

What is the anneal?

Another problem is that most often annealing is thought of as merely a soak at the annealing point of the glass.  It is much more than that.  The annealing point is usually the temperature at which the heat within the glass is equalised in preparation for the anneal cool.  This is because the annealing temperature is that at which the glass will most quickly anneal.  Since the anneal is temperature sensitive, the equalisation of the temperatures within the glass will be most successful at getting a good anneal throughout the cool.

For two-layer flat fused items, the annealing point can be used as the heat equalisation temperature.  The soak is to get the glass to be + or - 5°C throughout the piece. 

Sometimes, especially with thicker or more difficult pieces, the annealing is done closer to the lower strain point. The reason for this is to save time in the annealing cool.  If you look at the Bullseye annealing chart, you will see how slowly thick pieces need to be cooled, so starting 35°C below the annealing point can save many hours of cooling.

Once the glass has equalised in temperature, the object is to cool the glass at a rate that ensures the internal temperatures do not vary more than plus or minus 5°C across and through the piece.  The rate can increase by approximately twice after the lower strain point has been reached (approximately 55C below annealing soak).  This second stage rate should take the glass to around 370C, where the rate can again be doubled to room temperature. 

Difficult pieces

Tack fused and other pieces with uneven thicknesses require more care in the annealing to ensure even cooling of the whole without a greater variation in temperature than +/- 5°C.  As said above, tack fusing is one of the most difficult of styles to anneal adequately.  The blog entry for tack fusing considerations indicates some factors that increase the requirements for more careful annealing.

As an example, I cite a piece 6mm thick, with two layers of rectangular and pointed pieces that are just barely rounded.  This adds five factors of complications for the fusing - two levels of tack fusing, rectangular pieces, pointed pieces, laminated tack fusing.  This number of complications increases the practical thickness to 21mm – 6mm of flat base, 3mm each layer of tack (6mm), 3mm for rectangles, 3mm for pointed pieces, 3mm for laminated fuse.  Because this is tack fused, the next practical step up in the table needs to be used. That is the one for 25mm, which requires a four-hour temperature equalisation soak, and 15°C per hour initial anneal cool rate.

Glass other than Bullseye

I have so far talked about Bullseye.  It is possible to apply these times and rates to any glass of which you know the annealing point.  The annealing soak can be set above the lower strain point, which is approximately 55°C below the annealing point.  To be safe, a point 35°C below the annealing point is used.

E.g., if you are annealing a 12mm slab of float glass, the annealing point of which (in the UK) is 540°C, you chose a temperature of 505°C to do your two-hour soak, followed by a cool rate of 55°C for the first 55°C and then 99°C for the second stage cool to 370°C.  The final cool of 330°C per hour to room temperature remains the same too.  So, you can see the rates and soak times remain the same regardless of the glass type.  It is only the temperatures that change.

A summary of this can be seen here.

http://glasstips.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/over-annealing.html

Bullseye chart for Annealing Thick Slabs

http://www.bullseyeglass.com/images/stories/bullseye/PDF/other_technical/bullseye_annealing_thick_slabs.pdf

More information on long annealing soaks in a video at 13:00 minutes.

Unfamiliar terms can be searched for on the blog: www.glasstips.blogspot.co.uk

Pot Melt Formers

There are several suppliers of stainless steel and ceramic formers for pot melts.  They are not always necessary.

If you only want a circle, you do not need a former at all.  The shelf must be kiln washed and level.  The glass will pool in a circular manner ranging in thickness – thickest at the centre and 6-7mm at the edge. The variation in thickness depends on the time the glass is kept at the working temperature after the pot has emptied.

If you are wanting a thicker melt, you do need a dam of some sort.  You can purchase what you want, or you can make some from the materials you have at hand.

You can make a rectangle or square melt from existing straight dams.  You need to make sure the dams are kiln washed and lined with 3mm fibre paper.  You do not need to cut the dams to a predetermined length.  Instead, you can arrange them so that one end of the dam starts at the edge of your rectangle.  The next dam is butted at right angles to the first at the length wanted.  The other pieces are fitted similarly, until the last one passes the end of the first, so that they are butted together.  Then line with the fibre paper.  If you feel the dams are too light, you can back them up with bricks to prevent movement.

Using fibre paper, fibre board, or vermiculite board you can make any shape of melt that you can cut out of these materials.  If you don’t have refractory board, you can make your former out of layers of 3mm fibre paper.  It is possible to make a template for cutting of the multiple layers.  Cut your shape from the required number of layers of fibre to be as thick as your pot melt will become, according to your calculations.  Pin these layers together with stainless steel pins to be sure they do not move or float with the glass.  If you like, you can weight the layers of fibre paper with kiln furniture.

If you have refractory board – fibre or vermiculite – you can cut the required shape from them.  If you do not harden the fibre board, you do not need any further separator.  But you can line the shape with a thin fibre paper to ease the release and refine the edge.  Vermiculite always needs a separator, as it sticks to glass.  You should line the vermiculite board to get an easy release from the glass.

Using refractory materials releases you from the restrictions of commercially available forms and allows your imagination to take over.  It may not be cheaper than the bought ones, but will have the greater feeling of achievement.  In addition, you can develop all sorts of forms and depths not thought of by the commercial suppliers.

Volume control

Glass has a surface tension (viscosity) that draws the glass toward 6-7 mm thick at kiln forming temperatures. 

To test this out, prepare three stacks of glass squares.  They all should be the same size.  Record the measurements. Place them in a stack of one, a stack of two and the last of three squares.  Fire them to a full fuse.  Compare the sizes of the original to the fired. Note the expanded size of the three-layer stack, the same size of the two-layer stack and the reduced footprint, and dog-boning of the single layer.

Credit: Paul Tarlow

Glass in a single layer behaves differently from the thicker set-ups. When the glass is hot it begins thickening at the edges. The viscosity of the glass is drawing from both from the edge and from the centre.  This means the footprint of the glass is getting smaller. The result is needling. The glass retreats leaving small threads where the glass was held in the small imperfections in the separator’s surface. 

If you do not need a full fuse, you can reduce this needling effect. Reduce the temperature and extend the soak.  This means that the glass does not expand on the heat up so much, and the greater viscosity reduces the needling effect.

If you need a thick piece of a certain size, you need to dam the glass to overcome the tendency to expand.  With experience, you can get to know how much a three-layer (or more) set up will expand and cut the glass accordingly.  In this way, you can often do without dams. There will be some thinning at the edges and a rounding of the corners.

An excellent document on volume control is the Bullseye Tech Note 5.  


Note that this 6mm rule applies at normal kilnforming temperatures.

At higher temperatures, the viscosity is less so the glass will become thinner than 6-7mm.  My experience has shown that at around 1200°C the glass will spread to about 0.5mm thickness.  This is just to point out there is a relationship between temperature and viscosity, and therefore thickness. As the temperature rises, so the viscosity reduces. This relationship allows the glass to become thinner.  At normal kilnforming temperatures, the 6mm rule applies, at higher temperatures it does not.

Further information is available in the e-book: Low Temperature Kilnforming.

Dressing the Came

This is a different kind of dressing than what you do in the morning. It relates to how easy it is to slide the glass into the channel of the came.

If you have consistent difficulty in sliding the glass into the came, you should consider dressing the came before use. Dressing the came consists of running a fid or other hard material along each of the four flanges of the came. In doing this, you are pressing each flange in turn down against the bench or other smooth surface.

Dressing the cames gives a slight bevel or ramp for the glass to slide over the edge of the came and into the channel of the came. You can dress the whole length at once, or as you cut the pieces off from the main length. Dressing shorter pieces is less likely to bend the came away from the straight.

Peeking

Observation is desirable for learning and essential for several processes.  How you do that is important to the safety and health of your eyes and skin.  This post gives some guidance on the protections required.

Each observation should take a fraction of a second. It is called peeking to distinguish it from looking or watching. There is a method to doing this. Think about what you are looking for before you open the kiln. Pop open the kiln to record with your eyes, close the kiln. Think about what you saw. If necessary, repeat.  But only after you have thought about what you saw.

Do not spend time looking into the kiln.

Think about the necessity for observation before buying your first or next kiln. 

The best kilns are those with generous observation ports, both in number and size.  These allow you to peek into the kiln without disturbing the heat distribution within the kiln.  Two or more ports are best, as you can shine a light into one of them to illuminate the interior of the kiln at lower slumping temperatures.

If you do not have ports you will need to open the kiln. This is easiest to do with top hat kind of kiln.  The top hat kiln keeps a lot of heat in the upper portion of the lid, making the amount of heat dumped less than on other kinds of opening.  You can peek in at the level of the shelf, so minimising the amount of heat being dumped.

The problems with lids opening so you have to peer down into the body of the kiln, and with doors opening to the front, is that you are dumping a lot of heat directly at yourself.  You also are losing a significant amount of heat from the kiln.  The large air exchange also will disturb any dust in the kiln and that may fall onto your work.

It is possible to make ports in your kiln by drilling a large diameter hole in the side of the kiln and through the insulating material (assuming you do not have side elements).  This post gives some ideas.

In all the cases where it is necessary to open a lid or door, you must close the kiln slowly and gently to minimise disturbance of the air within the kiln.

The effects on the glass of peeking at various temperature ranges varies between the rise and the fall in temperature.  This post 

gives some ideas of the effects.