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Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:39 pm
by jer99
I have my fusing schedules down for standard items. I now want to try something different and am having a little trouble nailing it down (pun not intended).
I have some pieces that I have made with straight type lines - triangles or squares. For one piece I have stacked three triangles of COE96 and am trying to have them remain triangles but smooth the edge and melt together slightly.
I have read that the temp to hit is ~ 1100F.
So I have tried the following with little luck:
Rate 400 up to 1000 hold X 8min
Rate AFAP up to 1100 hold X 20Min
Rate 400 to 850 hold X8 min
Rate 400 to 100

Doesnt seem to be doing much. I started with small time frames to no avail. I'm hesitant to increase the temp for fear of excessive "rounding"

Has anyone successfully done something like this that can point me in the right direction.?

Jerry

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:44 pm
by Valerie Adams
I've done a little experimenting with six and seven layers of Bullseye 3mm glass but in my kiln had to fire to about 1275-1300° to get them to stick. I don't have the schedule I used handy but I do remember there was gentle rounding (more like softening) of the edges. And, because my kiln wasn't quite level, the stacks leaned a bit.

I don't know Spectrum, but I'm guessing you're not going hot enough.

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:04 pm
by Morganica
It's not a temperature thing, it's a heatwork thing--not only how long you hold at the process temperature but how long you spent getting to that process temperature. (And of course it's also dependent on the characteristics of your kiln)

400dph to 1000 and then afap up to 1100 doesn't put a lot of heat into those three layers of glass, so you're leaving a lot for the 1100F to do in 20 minutes.

I'm with Valerie; either raise the temperature considerably or go slower and hold for a much longer time at 1100F, or (better still) try a combination of both. Slow down around 1100F to maybe 200dph (or less), get to 1250F and do your 20 minute hold there. Run a couple of test pieces, and adjust accordingly.

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:24 pm
by jer99
Thanks.
I'll give it a bit longer to ramp up, slow it down and go up to about 1350 for about 20 minutes
I'll respond back once I figure this out.

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:27 pm
by Laurie Spray
If you have a saw I think the easier way to go is to make a slab the thickness you want the then to cut them up and fire polish. nice flat edges, straight lines!
Just a thought!

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:36 pm
by Kevin Midgley
Good luck on the sawing when I didn't see a tack fusing annealing schedule in there. :-k

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:52 pm
by Laurie Spray
Yes....as Kevin says....make a slab, anneal well and saw!

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:43 pm
by Stephen Richard
jer99 wrote:Thanks.
I'll give it a bit longer to ramp up, slow it down and go up to about 1350 for about 20 minutes
I'll respond back once I figure this out.
Why not make a number of observations of the state of the glass from ca 1100F upwards? Then you will see when the glass conforms to your wishes.

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:35 am
by Barb R
Kevin Midgley wrote:Good luck on the sawing when I didn't see a tack fusing annealing schedule in there. :-k
I agree with Kevin -- Take a look at Spectrum's suggested firing schedules and adjust your annealing holds and ramps to match the appropriate schedule for whatever thickness of glass you have.

http://system96.com/Pages/FiringGuideF.html

Barb

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:35 am
by Barry Kaiser
Okay, I will jump in here with a totally different look at the problem.
First, since this is in the Jewelry section, I am assuming that the pieces are small (less than 2x2 inches)
Schedule:
AFAP to 1050°F hold 20
80 DPM to 1250 hold 25
AFAP to (top temp) hold 12
Off-Done (We crash to 900 twice) then close and wait until temp is 300°F

Top temp depends on the kiln and the type of glass. For our 8x8 the temp is 1420
For our 15x15, top temp is 1360.
We use Bullseye, so top temps can come down about 20 for Spectrum.

Re: Jewelry -stick and smooth, not melt

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:11 am
by jer99
This schedule worked out pretty well, I'm still experimenting:
200 degrees to 1000 hold X 30
100 degrees to 1300 hold X 20
AFAP to 850 hold X 8
AFAP to 100

Someone mentioned cutting and fire polishing. I have read a bit about fire polishing - how does the schedule look for that typically?