USING A CRUCIBLE DRIP

For situations where you want an exceptionally detailed, clear kiln casting with as little distortion or demarcation lines as possible, you might want to try the crucible drip method of kiln casting. This approach, which requires a kiln with relatively high clearance, involves placing the glass to be melted into a crucible with a hole in the bottom.  

Most crucibles are made out of clay or a similar material. You can buy crucibles, or you can use a clay flowerpot (which already has a hole in the bottom) as a crucible. Note that clay flowerpots will only last a few firings. In most cases, crucibles are not coated with kiln wash. This allows some glass to stick to the crucible, but it avoids potential contamination from the kiln wash.

To help ensure a clear casting, the crucible should be filled with larger, rather than smaller, chunks of glass. Since not all of the glass will flow out of the crucible, you should use a bit more glass than it will take to just fill the mold. When loaded, the crucible should be suspended above the mold, so that as the glass melts it drips into the mold.  

Click here to go to the final way to fill the mold, "Pate de Verre."

Click here to to go the next step in making a Kiln Casting, "Firing the Casting."