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okay, so a few more details... I've been using the same single-stage, oil-free, sixty gallon, Craftsman compressor for about 15 years. After I figured out what I was doing, I realized that I should have bought a two-stage, oiled compressor and was waiting until this one died before upgrading... need...

Kevin,

I'm sure there are a lot of details that I neglected to include.

Tony

I realize this is a tome, but I'll try to cover the decisions that must be made by anyone considering setting up sandblasting in their studio. By way of an example, I know a stained glass teacher who taught sandblasting for years with a Glastar cabinet, a Craftsman 20 gallon horizontal compressor, a...

My bathtub kiln, 42x26x13 raises the basement temperature maybe 5 degrees in the winter, but it comes back down by the next day. In the summer, there's more of a cumulative effect if I'm firing every day. After a week of firings in the summer, I turn on the vent fan.

Tony

I'm thinking blown or made in the torch with a thin, greenware skull pressed into one end of the vessel to leave the impression... The greenware could be broken out easily after annealing.

Tony

Fused mirror ends up as plain glass. The mirror coating burns out below slumping temperatures. I've seen people cut them into tiles for a backsplash, sandblast the back with a pattern, or stencil paint the front. Lots of ideas... Just don't add heat.

Tony

During slumping, a sandblasted piece will take on a satin sheen. At 1175, for example, the sandblasted area loses its powdery appearance as though the sandblasted surface had been sealed. At 1200, there is even more shine to the satin. The look continues to change as the temperature is increased... ...

I've see people use the thick plastic paint stencil sheets from Michael's or AC Moore with good results.

Tony

Where's my LIKE button?


Tony

With all due respect to Bert, Skutt is in the business of building kilns for the glass industry (us). I would contact them and give them a chance at correcting the problem with the thermocouple. I'm pretty sure they only use K-type thermocouples, and any K-type thermocouple should work. It doesn't h...

Call Covington directly.

They are very responsive and should do the repair for you.

Tony

Your math checks.

Tony

The 303 blade suggests using oil as the coolant, not sure if that just means adding oil coolant to the tank or it is all oil. Also the 303 blade is 8 inch diameter and the tile saw has a 7 inch blade. What is your experience ? I have a Husky Home Depot box type tile saw with a coolant reservoir tha...

Cynthia, I would love to see these in person. Please ship them to my home address.

Beautiful work Carol.

Tony

If its a full size Somaca, then it's a 106 x 4" belt. They are available from CR Laurence. They only sell to industry, but if you have one nearby, drive there and tell the salesman that you're a glass artist and you just bought a Somaca wet belt sander and want to buy belts. They may let you ha...

Fuse single layer dichro and the dichroic coating will roll over the edge as the glass pulls in.

Tony

It will distort in the heat. Stainless steel grows a lot as it heats up, and since you never have perfectly even heating in a kiln, it will twist and buckle in unpredictable ways... Sometimes violently. So, it's probably not a good investment.

Tony

Not sure what you mean by "press fit", but you can certainly slump a flat parallel borosilicate blank over a refractory mold to get a meniscus close to near net shape. It saves a lot of grinding and is how many large telescope mirrors are made. The problem arises in supporting the finished...

I agree with Steve. You need a separate firing since you lose all texture with full fuse temperatures.

Tony

Try a refractory supply or commercial boiler repair shop.

Tony