healing frit cap

[Bert Weiss]

I made my ridiculously tedious 2" x 2" and 1" x 8" dichro tiles. 1/4" fiber board dams Black base, irid against the shelf and dam, black strips 5/16" high around the perimeter. A piece of dichro, coating up dichro frit and crystal clear frit to cap. (my tests looked best with the dichro coating up, it yielded more depth)

Most of the tiles came out with little dimples where the clear frit didn't flow. Otherwise they are looking pretty good. the black border is handsome and the dichro centers are lively and sparkly. The frit gives it extra depth.

I fired 1 hr to 1000
.5 hr to 1240
.5 hr 1240 soak
.5 hr to 1475
.4 hr 1475 soak
anneal bert style for 3/8"
930 soak 2 hr
930 > 830 2 hr
830> 630 1.5 hr
630 > 230 1.5 hr

I took each tile to the belt sander (silicone carbide belt) and removed nubbies and sharp points on the edges and top.

Now I have to figure out where to go next. I can put them back in the dams. I have thought about placing a few pebbles of new clear frit over the dimples. Thought about whether or not some borax might not help them to flow better. I could fire hotter, maybe 1500 or 1525.

Worse case scenario would be to buy thin clear sheet and recap. They are quite thick already. The dams are only 1/4" thick and the glass is thicker than that now.

So what do the experts think?

[Barbara Cashman]

Bert, what glass are you using?

[Gale aka artistefem]

Bert......I'm no expert, but when I refired CBS dichro on BE (dichro inclusions in a clear frit casting) to the same high temps you're suggesting, the dichro lost it's color & sparkle!

I was trying to lose the small spider webbing that can occur when you frit cast. Didn't work and lost my dichro in the process.

[Bert Weiss]

Bert, what glass are you using?

The glass is BE crystal clear frit, black irid, and CBS dichro, blue/yellow and teal/pink, frit and sheet.