Glue in Kilnforming

 

There is some general guidance on using glue in kiln forming processes.

Avoid Glue Altogether

Do not use glue of any kind if at all possible. First look at other ways of stabilising the pieces. You can place clear frit or powder around or under the unstable pieces. Of course, if you are firing to less than a contour fuse, this will show. If the pieces are rolling, you can grind a flat spot to keep them stable.

Use Minimum Amounts

Use as little as possible if there is no other way to stabilise the pieces until you get them to the kiln. Use weak glues. Dilute the glues if water based. Place only a small dot of glue at one place.

Use Care in Placing

Place the glue at the edge of the glass pieces, not underneath. This allows the glue to burn out cleanly. Placed in the centre, the glue burnout is trapped under the middle of the glass. This leaves a black mark or a big bubble.

Avoid Glue with Additives

Use no glue containing additives. Many of these additives will remain after the adhesive part of the glue has burned off. These will promote devitrification.

Some Popular Glues

PVA also known as wood glue, white glue, carpenter's glue, school glue, Elmer's glue in the US, or PVA glue. This boils at 112°C/234°F.

         

Super glue and other cyanoacrylate glues have a boiling point 54-56°C (129-133°F).

Lacquer and hair spray have boiling points around 189°C/372°F)

Aloe vera gel has an ignition point of about 232°C/450°F. So, its boiling point is even lower than CMC.

CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) includes wallpaper paste, Vitragel and most fusing glues. These have boiling points around 260°C –270°C (500°F –518°F).

Xanthan gum is a thickener sometimes used as a kilnforming glue. It boils at 311°C/592°F.

Proprietary kilnforming glues are generally without additives and diluted from the concentrate with demineralised water. They also boil off in the same range as CMC.

All commonly available glues evaporate well below the “sticky” range of glass. You cannot rely on them to hold the glass in place until the glass tacks together with the heat.

Quickly fired glue - wet or dry - boils. Sometimes with enough force to move the glass significant distances. So, slow down the initial ramp rate.

The general observation is that if the glass will not stay in place without glue, it will move during the firing.

Glue is only useful to stabilise pieces in moving the whole assembly to the kiln. Where possible, build the piece in the kiln without glue at all.

Best of all, use no glue.

Glue boiling

People often find that their glued pieces shift in the firing.  Sometimes dramatically. This can be from placement or boiling of the glue.

Almost all commonly available glues evaporate well below the “sticky” range of glass. 

The boiling points of some of the popular glues:

PVA (also known as: wood glue, white glue, carpenter's glue, school glue, Elmer's glue in the US, or PVA glue)  

Boiling point: 112°C (234°F)

Super glue (and other cyanoacrylate glues) 

boiling point 54-56°C (129-133°F)

Lacquer (hair spray)

Boiling point: 185 to 189°C (365 to 372°F)

CMC  (carboxymethyl cellulose includes wallpaper paste, vitragel and most fusing glues)

boiling point: 260–270°C (500–518°F)  

melts at 274°C 

Aloe vera gel  

ignition point: ca. 232°C therefore, its boiling point is lower.

This shows the popular glues used in kilnforming are not effective above 300°C and many with much lower boiling points.  This means that glues only hold glass in place when cold. Glues may be useful in getting items with many pieces into the kiln, but they will not hold them in place until the glass becomes sticky.  The glass, in general, needs to be at or above the slumping temperature to begin to stick together.

If glue doesn’t work, what can I do?

Other means than glues are required to support the moveable items until the glass become sticky at around 620°C (about 700°C for float glass).

If placing frit supports is not possible without showing, such as in a tack fuse, you can use mechanical means. Two of these are grinding flat spots on rolling pieces; and placing supports under the balanced items. Other support and damming methods will depend on the nature of the project.  In general, if the pieces will not stay in place without glue before placing in the kiln, the pieces will move in the kiln after the glue evaporates.

This evaporation can be so fast as to be called boiling.  Glue boils off in the kiln whether dry before firing or not. Sometimes there is enough glue or rapid enough heating to cause displacement of the glass by the force of the boiling. Just as in boiling water, the evaporation can be explosive.  The force of the built-up pressure of glue trapped under glass can move small pieces relatively large distances.

How do I avoid boiling the glue?

• Use as little glue as possible.
• Use it at the edges of the pieces.
• Do not place it in the middle of large pieces.
• When you do use glue, advance slowly to at least 300°C allow the glue to evaporate, rather than boil.  I’d suggest a rate of 50°C per hour would be slow enough to avoid the boiling of sparingly applied glue.

Best of all, use no glue.

Quickly fired glue - wet or dry - boils.  Sometimes with enough force to move the glass significant distances.  Avoid gluing as much as possible and use sparingly when needed.

Glueing Glass Pieces

The best solution is to avoid the use of glue completely. If you cannot, use as little as possible and make sure it burns out cleanly.

The glues to which kiln workers have normal access, do not survive to tack fusing temperatures. Therefore they can only be considered as a means to get the glass assembly to the kiln. The glue will not hold the pieces in place until the glass begins to stick, so the pieces must have a stable placement. If not, the pieces will slip, roll and move once the glue has burned out.

The second requirement of glues is that they burn out without leaving a residue.

Glues that have been used with little or no residue include:

Powdered CMC that can be disolved in warm water

-CMC (carbylmethylcellulose). It is a cellulose based binder used in a wide variety of industries, including food. For our purposes, it is also used in the ceramics industry and is often called glaze binder. It is a main constituent of "glas tac" from Bullseye. This can be made up into a viscous solution to catch and hold frits and other sprinkled elements in place.

- PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate) is water-based glue. It is sometimes known as school glue. It can be diluted to about 10parts water to 1 part PVA. This is sufficient to hold the glass pieces together with only a drop for each piece of glass. It does not work so well for small sprinkled elements.

One of many brands of  Ethyl Cyanoacrylate
 glue

- Super glue burns off with no concerns about cyanide. It should be used sparingly and also works best for pieces of glass.

One of many hair laquers in pump spray bottles

- Hair lacquer is normally applied as drops at the edges of the assembled pieces and so can be used to hold pieces of glass as well as sprinkled elements.

In all uses of glue the principles to remember are:
- Use the minimum to hold pieces together while getting the work into the kiln.
- Put the glue at the edges of the glass or where its combustion gasses can escape easily.
- And in all cases, you need to test to see if a residue is left on the glass at full fuse when using a new glue.

An alternative to glue is frit as described here.