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I am using stainless steel molds and since the first fire, they continue to peel each time afterwards. Is this common in stainless steel. It is getting into my glass. When is peels, is this the same thing as spall? Thanks for the info. Mike Hawkins (hoknok) pronounced Hock-Nock as in Brock ( for tho...

My kiln has six holes on the side that can be opened up to let the heat leave faster. These holes are also called vents. I also have two small holes drilled in the back of my kiln with hoses connected to it that run to a fan that "vents" the fumes through my wall, to the outside so I do no...

having been self-employed off and on for the last 20 years, I have found a good method for health insurance. It's by joining your local Chamber of Commerce. Health insurance is one of the benefits as well as all the contacts you can make at functions. I have a family so my policy runs on the average...

Thanks Jerry!, I now have a great excuse to buy me a compressor.... :lol: As for the name, mispronouncing it without hearing it first has been common for 20 years. It sounds like "hawk-knock", a form of Hawkins I guess. Its what my art directors called me back then and it stuck. Good or ba...

Hey Ted, hope your vacation was sweet!

I am surprised to see no mag on casting? Maybe you can start one.

Hello and welcome to the board. Give us more details, types of glass you are using, slumping, casting? The size of your project and do you you need to repeat it. The books you mentioned are great and all lay the basics of mold making. Do a google search for glass, mold, casting and see what happens....

I have an electric potters wheel with a 12" base. I want to purchase several diamond sanding pads and attach it to the top plate. Since the potters wheel can get wet, I will rig up a way to drip water onto the spinning wheel. Does anybody see any problems with this? Also, What do you guys recom...

Hey Amy, can we see a photo of you and your raincoat working. How funny and cute. You are devoted to insanity. We all need insanity to a degree, its what keeps us sane... Working in a cubicle in dilbert world is true insanity!!!

tell us more about the kiln? Who made it? What is the size? I am rebuilding on old kiln and also refurbished my large kiln about 7 years ago. Some times the kiln is so far gone its cheaper to make a new one from scratch!!! I have two books on kiln bguilding. The Kiln Book and Kiln Building. Both cam...

I have made two molds from a product a South Eastern refractory company has mixed for me that they claim is more updated than Cement Fondu. It is made up of Calcium Aluminate and various meshes of TAB. Once mixed, I take it to 300F to burn out the water. I made two different castings of two inches d...

I like the idea of clay also.

Ceramics will last much longer and you can also have the texture too. You can bisque fire the clay molds yourself if your kiln goes above 2250F. You can also make many copies of the same master clay mold.

Amy, with that many holes to drill, could you not farm it out to a commercial glass company? On big operations or time consuming tasks like yours, I usually find it cheaper to farm it out compared to my time to do it manually. They will usually have the bigger and faster machines anyway. I will also...

There is a product for the refractory industry for patching up cracks that has a plastic/clay like feel. Coming from a clay background, I was curious as to how good such a material would be for making molds? It has a high content of Alumina bonded with phosphate and silica. I am hoping to be able to...

Gabbert GB-12 works OK. Coe unknown. 25% lead. last check, $0.20 a lb. PLus shipping from WV. Spectrum IS COE 96, and casts well, though it may be hard to get cullett in small (under a ton ) amounts. It does take 1500+ to get it really running, but good results, if your mold will handle it. Greg CU...

Do you add the colored frit to your clear glass to color the batch?
The art glass is so expensive, esepcially if I want to do large castings.

I am wanting to find an inexpensive source for castable glass. Yes, I know, who isn't.. but I thought I would ask. I am looking for glass with a coe of 90 in chunks, bricks etc. I will be using the glass for casting purposes. I have been to various suppliers websites but wanted to get other peoples ...

I just opened up my kiln this weekend and saw the results of my "experiments". The firing I had completed was for some ceramic tiles I was finishing for a client but since i had some free space, I threw in a shelf load of various glass test. I got some interesting results with the copper p...

Has anyone combined metal within glass with successful results in the kiln?

currently I have been using float glass and although "hit and miss" I have enjoyed some of my results.

Thanks Bert for answering my questions. I found your web site through the WetCanvas board and have gleaned so much info. I have been working in clay-metal-plastic for about 20 years and have swithched over to glass "experimentation" for the last two years. I am slowly incorporating glass i...

yes, I agree with Charlie. I can see building a kiln but the controler is critical. Unless you know enough info on electricity and wiring, I would stay away from it. Too many things can go wrong with shorting outs, improper insulation and wire gauge, safety shut offs, etc.... Though I admire your gu...