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Most of us who have discussed this irid pitting, have seen it after fusing. However, it is much more evident after you have slumped it. It may have been there before you slumped, you just didn't see it.

Lynne

Those kind of bubbles can also be caused by uneven thicknesses of glass in my experience. If they persist, the only sure fire solution is to fire on fiber paper (1/8" or thinfire). However, my worst spell of bubbles was indeed caused by a dip in the shelf. Did you slide a piece of paper along b...

Update on my mica bubble problem. This stupid thing still isn't finished and about the only thing I can think of doing is keep on firing till its right. While I fire it yet another time with micas on the back side I'll put a piece of silver irid in the kiln with irid removed and add some gold mica ...

Some molds thermal shock rather easily. That's a pretty slow rise. I usually go 300 to 400 depending on the size. But I've cracked lots of molds too.

Of course we can only relate our experiences with what we've used, but I do like the Clamshell design. Raking is a breeze, loading it is a treat. There's no worry about stuff falling off the lid. The controller is great. Downside is the price, and it isn't that easy to watch a dropout. I had them ad...

Well, I would think the shelves would dry out pretty good before the glass softens, but in my experience, if you put glass on wet kiln wash you will end up with kiln wash stuck on the bottom of your glass. Even if the shelf is dry, if you clean the glass and don't get it absolutely dry before you pu...

Neutral cure silicone is supposed to be safe for mirror, but I have only used it to caulk seams on mirror. To glue it to the wall I use something that is probably similar to "Liquid Nails" made by Franklin. It is a construction glue, but if you go into any glass shop in B.C. and ask for &q...

Do be careful not to get the UV glue on the edges of your mirror. It will eat the silvering. Actually silicone will eat silvering also unless it is a "neutral cure" silicone.

Interesting bit on the chemistry, but if you add even a drop of tap water to the cream etch, it won't etch anything. And I don't know about the not burning bit. I'm pretty sure it will burn very deep if you had strong enough acid, or left it on long enough. It just doesn't hurt right away. I'm told ...

Thanks everyone. The drift isn't so significant that I'm prepared to pull the thermocouple quite yet. It is one of those new solid tube kind (a Skutt Clamshell about a year old). It's possible that one of the firings was just a little different in terms of the glass than usual. Actually, the plate w...

In the last week, I've had to change two programs that I use frequently because the glass was slightly overfired. It's still such a minor thing, that the first time, I thought it was maybe just different glass firing a little differently, but the second one was a firing I've done many times before w...

I thought that my cream acid etching compound (like that used for screen etching) was hydrofluoric acid, not that other stuff. I am pretty careful with it (respirator, gloves, etc) but I didn't think it was all that dangerous. It seems to be pretty dilute and of course doesn't splash around because ...

I may be missing something, but the way I read the Hotstart manual, you can only change the "process" temperature and hold time. There are 4 ramps and the rate of firing is preset (choice of slow, medium or fast), and the annealing segments are preset. I don't see anything in the manual th...

I think you'll find most of Spectrum's transparents will test out, but the devit is a problem. When Spectrum was first getting into the fusing game, they put out their fusing clear, which stays nice and shiny. Without all the System 96 colors, we were using the stained glass colors and capping with ...

At one point, looking for the tall former, I made one out of rigidized fiber blanket. The glass sucked down tight to the form and I had to wreck the form to get the glass off.

Well, this getting older is a drag. I'm sure I knew what Spectrum used to iridize their glass but it just won't come to me. I know it's not as dangerous as the stannous chloride, but it never occurred to me that it might be a hazard when it burns off in the kiln. I've had good luck with the iridized...

So, the flower pot isn't subject to thermal shock, and you can go as fast as possible? My kiln will reach 1700 in a little over an hour - I won't find the pot in pieces at that rate? I'm not sure I understand about the clear causing too much blending. I'm thinking that opaque colors probably work be...

I think with thin layers of frits, being off a point or two doesn't cause big problems. As for what to do with float glass, texturing it usually produces some interesting results, drop it through some holes, slump it over carved shapes. The best part is it probably didn't cost very much (or nothing)...

Reslumping will only work if the reason for the lump is that the slump didn't really finish. I would expect that air would be trapped behind the lump and prevent it from settling against the mold. Put it in the mold and see if it is contacting solidly except for the lump. If so, forget it. You could...

Well, I think your second ramp is way too fast. It probably didn't give the glass enough time to settle nicely into the mold. I don't know if "bubble" is really the right word since the glass hasn't thinned (and bubbles don't usually form at 1250). It just didn't settle down against the fo...