More Rocks

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Jerry

More Rocks

Post by Jerry »

I read all I could find about casting/draping/encasing rocks and wasn't happy with any of it. So I've put together a process that works well and answered the question; YES, you can cast/drape/encase rocks.

Pictures available via email; I haven't figured out how to post one on this board yet.

Jerry
Leslie Ihde

Post by Leslie Ihde »

Jerry, I would love to see the pictures you have mentioned. I kinow what it is like to struggle with a process and develop new procedures to get the effect you want. I'll be an appreciate audiance. Leslie :)
Kathie Karancz
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Post by Kathie Karancz »

:D All right!!!! I have 3 bags of rocks sitting close to my kiln just begging me to join them with glass inside my kiln. I tried once and have been a bit nervous about it. I would love to know anything you would be willing to share on this topic.
Kathie from Calgary
:roll:
Jerry

Rocks

Post by Jerry »

Well, the trick is to get the rocks dry before you try to cast them. Some rocks will split even after they are dry and it has to do with the things they have trapped in them; not much you can do about those, but the water you CAN do something about.

My trick is to toss them into a stainless steel mixing bowl without letting the wife see what I'm doing. Cover it with an old mold so if one of those babies DOES blow, your elements are protected. Now, fire them at moderate speed to your process temperature. Mine is 1500 for a double layer of Spectrum 96 clear. If they survive this firing, they will survive your casting. When you do cast you need to anneal based on the size of the rock. They do hold heat a long time so be conservative.

Got it? Let me know how it goes.

Jerry
Kathie Karancz
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Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Post by Kathie Karancz »

:shock: You know it really is amazing how things work!!! I am sitting at my desk at an Oil Company desperately trying to stay awake and then decide to look at the Board cuz I can't stand the paper anymore. Then there's this message from you and voila!!!!! I am alive and awake again.
Never thought about putting them in a bowl first and firing them by themselves.... dahhhhhh.... now why didn't I think of that??? So what kind of projects have you done?? I tried putting a rock on the bottom of a shallow mold and then just slumped some float over top. The result was a wonky bowl (which was fine by me). Do you do that, where you place the rocks in the mold prior to slumping?? What else do you do??
Thanks for all your help...
Kathie
Leslie Ihde

rocks

Post by Leslie Ihde »

I saw your picture, Jerry- it looks like you suceeded very well. I've fired rocks independantly before (independant from glass, that is) under a pot. One think I've found is that sometimes the rock loses it's color. I wonder if there's a rule of thumb for that- eons of geological formation equals what % color loss? Thanks for sharing. Leslie
Alice DeGraff
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Re: More Rocks

Post by Alice DeGraff »

Jerry wrote:I read all I could find about casting/draping/encasing rocks and wasn't happy with any of it. So I've put together a process that works well and answered the question; YES, you can cast/drape/encase rocks.

Pictures available via email; I haven't figured out how to post one on this board yet.

Jerry

Hope I am doing this right??? I would like a picture of your work :shock:
degraff2@msn.com
Paul Tarlow
Posts: 344
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:06 pm
Location: Helios Kiln Glass Studio - Austin
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Re: Rocks

Post by Paul Tarlow »

Jerry wrote:Well, the trick is to get the rocks dry before you try to cast them. Some rocks will split even after they are dry and it has to do with the things they have trapped in them; not much you can do about those, but the water you CAN do something about.

My trick is to toss them into a stainless steel mixing bowl without letting the wife see what I'm doing. Cover it with an old mold so if one of those babies DOES blow, your elements are protected. Now, fire them at moderate speed to your process temperature. Mine is 1500 for a double layer of Spectrum 96 clear. If they survive this firing, they will survive your casting. When you do cast you need to anneal based on the size of the rock. They do hold heat a long time so be conservative.

Got it? Let me know how it goes.

Jerry
Okay - I understand how you make sure the rock won't blow -- but (for encasing) how are you dealing with the difference in COE?

- Scared of exploding rocks in Austin
Jerry

Rocks

Post by Jerry »

COE may be a problem if several different types of rocks are encased. They are minerals and have their own expansion rates. How they would do jammed in together is anybody's guess. However, when I dry mine I put them all into a bucket in the kiln. If there was going to be a coe problem you'd think it would show up there.

Jerry
Alice DeGraff
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Location: Virginia, USA
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Post by Alice DeGraff »

Jerry please send me a picture of your rock in the glass. I would love tosee it thanks Alice De :roll:
Robert Burrell
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Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2003 10:53 am
Location: R.I. U.S.A.

Post by Robert Burrell »

Yea Jerry, I'd like to see a picture.
robert
Barbara Muth
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Re: Rocks

Post by Barbara Muth »

Jerry wrote:COE may be a problem if several different types of rocks are encased. They are minerals and have their own expansion rates. How they would do jammed in together is anybody's guess. However, when I dry mine I put them all into a bucket in the kiln. If there was going to be a coe problem you'd think it would show up there.

Jerry
Jerry, I guess I would wonder, if you are casting glass and rocks together, if the COE of glass were different from the rocks, that you would get cracking in the glass where it meets the rocks, much like what you would see if you were to fuse, say 96 coes and 90 coes glass together. You haven't had that happen?
Barbara
Check out the glass manufacturer's recommended firing schedules...
LATEST GLASS
Jerry

Re: Rocks

Post by Jerry »

Barbara Muth wrote:
Jerry wrote:COE may be a problem if several different types of rocks are encased. They are minerals and have their own expansion rates. How they would do jammed in together is anybody's guess. However, when I dry mine I put them all into a bucket in the kiln. If there was going to be a coe problem you'd think it would show up there.

Jerry
Jerry, I guess I would wonder, if you are casting glass and rocks together, if the COE of glass were different from the rocks, that you would get cracking in the glass where it meets the rocks, much like what you would see if you were to fuse, say 96 coes and 90 coes glass together. You haven't had that happen?
No, it hasn't happened. My guess is that the minerals in the rocks don't actually mix with the glass. Maybe if I increased the temp a few hundred degrees I'd have that problem, but I probably won't do that.

Jerry
Barbara Muth
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Re: Rocks

Post by Barbara Muth »

Jerry wrote: No, it hasn't happened. My guess is that the minerals in the rocks don't actually mix with the glass. Maybe if I increased the temp a few hundred degrees I'd have that problem, but I probably won't do that.

Jerry
is the glass fused to the rocks or are they loose?
Barbara
Check out the glass manufacturer's recommended firing schedules...
LATEST GLASS
Jerry

rocks

Post by Jerry »

The glass actually contacs the rock about 75% around. It encased the rock but not totally. The bottom of the rock is open and sits on the table, or floor, or what ever it's on.

Jerry
Luiza
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:50 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil

Re: More Rocks

Post by Luiza »

Jerry wrote:I read all I could find about casting/draping/encasing rocks and wasn't happy with any of it. So I've put together a process that works well and answered the question; YES, you can cast/drape/encase rocks.

Pictures available via email; I haven't figured out how to post one on this board yet.

Jerry
Please Jerry , send me the pictures
Luiza
glass1@uol.com.br
Tess Farley

Post by Tess Farley »

Jerry, your rock casting process sounds fantastic! Please send me a picture.

Thanks,
Tess
Katy Mattice
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 9:00 pm
Location: Florida and Wisconsin

fusing with rocks

Post by Katy Mattice »

Hi Jerry,
I would love to see you picture(s) also!
Thanks,
Katy Mattice
mkmice@charter.net
K.Mattice
Bonita (Nita) Crawford
Posts: 62
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:17 pm
Location: Montgomery, AL

Post by Bonita (Nita) Crawford »

Jerry,

I'd like to see a picture, too.

Nita

glassfire@troycable.net
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