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Mike, Screen printing is a constant stream of problem solving. It is hard enough printing standard inks on a simple substrate like paper but when you are printing ceramic mediums on glass, you multiply greatly the possibility of problems. I have been screen printing for 35 years (25 years specifical...

I also read about the decals made by the studio in Minneapolis. What I wonder about is the color density of the decals. Do they look dense enough when they are used on clear glass being lighted primarily from behind the glass? I know years ago a four color printing system for ceramic colorants was d...

I have been using electric kilns for all of my glass paint firings and am satisfied with their consistency and reliability but I would like to introduce some reduction atmosphere techniques to my work. I am thinking of making something similar to a traditional flash kiln but I need more information ...

I will try a boric acid overcoat on the copper powder to see how it works. I am also trying out a couple of mica powders to see if they give me the metallic look that I am after. I have run into several sources for the mica powders (paints, cosmetics and fusing) and I was wondering if they are all b...

I am using system 96 for my base glass and powdered frits. The glass flux that I use is a lead based flux.

I am interested in using copper powder in my work and I was wondering if anyone out there could help me with a couple of questions. I have already tried mixing the copper powder with the glass flux that I normally use with ceramic stains but I find that it is not stable and results only in a light t...

I never use fiber. I quick heat the shelf in the kiln to 500 degrees, take it out and spray a thin mix of kiln wash on it while it is hot. I have fired these shelves at least a hundred times and have had no problems with them. I elevate the shelf a couple of inches from the kiln floor with small sof...

I use Corelite shelves in my Euclid clamshells. The shelves are 25.5 inches in diameter and fit nicely in the 29" diameter kilns.

I have them rolled to a slightly larger radius because it is much easier to push the sides in with the bricks than it is to somehow spread the mold if the radius is too small. The molds that I use that are like this are used for architectural glass and things like china cabinets. There are no welds,...

I have used sheets of stainless that I have had rolled into curvatures that are a slightly larger in radius than the curvature that I need. Then I block up the edges with hard brick until I get the desired radius. This gives you a nice straight edge in the bent piece. Most metal fab places have some...

Does anybody out there have a good source for rods (probably mullite) used for supporting kiln elements from a kiln ceiling?

I use Photoshop to do renderings of proposed pieces too. I use system 96, so I use a cd of the Spectrum glasses to give me what I need to do that. They have a cd that contains samples on jpegs of all of their glasses and they will send you that (or at least they used to). Together with those samples...

Thanks Bert, I will be mounting the timer/transformer/relay box on the wall a couple of feet away from the kiln. That should keep the relays safe from temps. I will also be putting a couple of indicator lights on each leg downstream from the timer/relay. If the timer is off and I still have power in...

Actually the back up safety for a traditional kiln sitter is a limit timer. You have to take into consideration the time it would take to meltdown if a kiln relay failed but a kiln relay failure is not my primary concern. I plan on using a timer controlled relay on each of my 240v legs to add a redu...

I have heated it up, sprayed kiln wash on it and then fired on it. It worked like any other stainless surface but it is more rigid than say aluminum foil and will not necessarily lay perfectly flat if the glass is not heavy enough. Also because of its flexibility, the kiln wash can pop off if not ha...

Thanks Lauri, I think you are thinking of a weekly timer. I think what I need is a digital "countdown" timer that has an upper limit of 4 hours and is programmable at least in 15 minute increments if not minute increments. If I can find one, I will step it down from line voltage to 24 volt...

Thanks everybody for the information and especially you Bert. I think that the Duralite info will help me quite a bit.

I have relatively simple firing schedules and therefore do not use digital kiln controllers but I would like to add some sort of limit timer to the kilns for extra safety. The limit timers that I find for pottery kilns all operate in conjunction with a kiln sitter that works with cones. I just need ...

Thanks again Bert, I appreciate the information about the backer board but I have quite a few of the mineral wool panels in reserve waiting to be used. I am pretty familiar with using dissimilar metals and problems that they present and I think that I can isolate the aluminum well enough. In the pas...

Thanks Bert, I will be lining the kiln with 2" of fiber frax and 4" of mineral wool so the cold face temp should pretty minimal and far below anything that will have an effect on the aluminum. What I have done in the past with blanket anchors and element holders is to use 304 stainless wel...