WarmGlass.com

I've had good success using Penetrol as a coating over copper patina and rusted steel (at least for interior use). I apply a couple of thin coats using a brush. It's a gloss finish, however. I know Keith Clayton uses electroplating on some of his glass, so maybe he'd have some good advice in this re...

I had a project similar to this a few years ago, two large panels of fused glass for a university. Their designer had wanted these mounted on white mat board, but 1) nobody makes mat board as big as these panels were and 2) mat board didn't seem like the best material for a public space. I ended up ...

Good advice from Kitty. Also, get yourself some graph paper and record a time versus temperature plot, recording the temperature every ten or fifteen minutes. Make a note of the types of glass used and a little sketch of the pieces on this graph, as well as info about the end results. Then when you ...

Radio Shack or another electronic parts supplier might well have a switch that would do the job, if this turns out to be the problem. If it's the motor itself, you can also get replacement motors, but these sometimes cost about as much as a new grinder. With the grinder unplugged, try turning the mo...

I've found it pretty useful, but it does work only on translucent or transparent glass, and I've found a good light source (such as a light table) is needed. You can see the stress risers fine this way; they appear as white areas. An interesting aside here... the Pantera sports car was constructed s...

A belt sander with a sanding frame might work, too. Dusty, though...

You can use carbon steel (disc blades, for example) but it will rust. Sometimes this doesn't matter, and I can get away with cleaning and re-priming my disc blades, cultivator sweeps and and other farm machinery parts between firings. But sometimes, you need a nice smooth surface that doesn't rust, ...

Check with Kokomo; I recall seeing some very large sheets at their factory.

Reactive Metals Studio (http://www.reactivemetals.com or 520-634-3434) has titanium and niobium findings as well as other interesting metals and tools. They even carry anchor lube, which I suppose is naval-related, too.

Having the kiln on casters is a definite advantage, and if you can build your own mobile stand (or know someone who can do this for you), then you can have the kiln at the height you want which will make it easier to load and save wear and tear on your back. When I built the stand for my GL24 I used...

The latex-silicone doesn't have much silicone in it, so I'd definitely go for the 100% silicone.

All of the high-temp gloves I've come across are pretty big. If you could come across some Nomex flying gloves, you might try wearing these inside your high-temp gloves to give you a better fit. While the Nomex gloves come in small sizes, I don't think they'd be sufficient by themselves. Another opt...

I've encountered devit with red and cobalt blue Bullseye stringer, but not with the sheet glass. This probably reflects the temperatures I'm using. The stringer seems to devit evenly, which results in a matt surface. This seems to happen only at temperatures above 1400F or so in my kiln. I was wonde...

There are a couple of us fusing fiends in Warren County, which is not too far away, and Sharon Owens at Inspired Fire (just west of Lafayette) is now offering a basic fusing course. I taught the first class a couple of weeks ago and we had a good reponse, so maybe we'll see more people becoming invo...

Most of what I do with DTI/Wasser involves using this glass on top of Bullseye, GNA, etc. Since the DTI/Wasser melts at a lower temperature, than the other glass, going to 1350-1430 degrees F or so will give me the effect I want. Now and then, I'll cap the DTI/Wasser with Bullseye thin clear if goin...

Wasser will often yield poor results when fired at higher temperatures; at least this was true for the old Wasser and I imagine it's true for DTI/Wasser, too. Since many of my pieces are fired in the 1350-1400 range, I've had good luck with both the old Wasser and the new metallic colors (gold, sliv...

Stainless steel is best, but you can use other types of steel, too. Since non-stainless steel will rust when heated, you may have to remove the rust and shelf primer after each firing. I'd avoid plated steel or galvanized steel, as you can get toxic outgassing from the plating. Even stove pipe (supp...

I use 5/32" nozzles with my Glastar foot switch, and don't have any problems so long as the pressure differential between the two regulators is large enough (I use 30 psi). I've had my switch for several years and haven't had any problems with the plastic tubing: it seems to be pretty rugged st...

When reinserting pins I've found that putting a slight bend in the pin (at about the center of the long part) makes the pin fit tighter. This "spring fit" technique helped keep the pins from falling out in my ten year old Paragon, just like putting a very slight bend in a door hinge pin wi...

I use the open-weave stuff (similar to Fabricut) that's used to sand drywall, but only to clean up any remaining kilnwash after I've scraped it off. An 8" drywall taping knife makes a good scraper: just a few passes and the shelf is mostly cleaned off. Very little dust, too.