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Any great ideas for making the Bullseye double curve #8643 16 inch long mold and the big 21 inch long double curve mold stand straight? I have spent more time than I like observing, sanding and fussing with the edge to get it to stop rocking. It is so long and the flat lap is too short with a tire for a splash guard. I have a water angle grinder, small tile saw and a floor model sander to use. All those power tools help me make more exotic rocking.

I do not have that kind of persistence. I do make "custon kiln posts" of a slab of clay vedged under 3 sides of a mold.

Get yourself a flat, waterproof surface such as a big piece of float glass, at least twice as long and a few inches wider than your piece. Also get a spray bottle of water, a couple of packs of wet-dry sandpaper, 220-grit or coarser, and some spray adhesive. Attach the sandpaper, grit side up, to the surface and spray it with water until damp, not drippy.

Set your piece on the sandpaper and hold it in the position you want it to end up in when stable. Push it back and forth, bearing down firmly. Don't let it rock, and keep on until it no longer rocks. You can also mix loose grit and water into a light slurry on your surface, and use that instead of sandpaper. It is a bit more efficient but the grit is harder to find.

I find the best solution is to keep my base edge lined up perfectly with the mold (assuming the mold is straight, of course!). I also keep the thickness the same along the bottom edge, to prevent rocking.

Hopefully Nina Falk will chime in here, as she's made hundreds of pieces using those molds and I don't think she does any coldworking after slumping.

Great subject. I have had this problem too and was wondering how to solve it on some menorahs I made. I fused a second piece to match the curve that was about a half inch wide and glued it to the back hoping that the double thickness would help ... and it did ... but not enough to make a difference.

Marian: Are you trying to keep the mold from rocking? Or the glass piece after it has been slumped into the mold?

David Jenkins wrote:Marian: Are you trying to keep the mold from rocking? Or the glass piece after it has been slumped into the mold?

I thought it was the glass, but I've been known to misread...

Why can't you just shim it like you do a rocking table??

Yes, it is the slumped glass piece that comes out uneven. I do a heavily textured fuse and the piece doesn't fall evenly into the mold. Before slumping, I trim the bottom and check that it lays on line with the mold by lining it up against another piece of glass. Three out of four are in need of cold work. Thanks, Morganica, the long emery sounds possible. I have many to work on. I am taking a piece over to a bigger glass saw in hopes it will do a quicker trim without destroying the whole thing.

I watched HIS Glassworks 'Specials' section and got a fairly good deal on an 18" electroplated diamond disk with minor imperfections. I use it to hand coldwork tasks such as this. I've used it numerous times to square up wave bottoms to take care of that annoying wobble, even if just slight as it rather quickly puts an even and flat bottom on the wave. Works like a charm for me and has a number of over similar uses. It cost a bit but I believe it should last for quite a while.