I've been asked to make 1/2"-3/4" thick flat paperweights in the profile of two different dog breeds. I'm thinking about frit casting using 1" Kaiser-Lee fiber board, cutting out the shapes while leaving at least 1" around all edges. It woud look like a thick dog-shaped drop ring. The finished pieces will be roughly 4" x 4". As I haven't done any casting to date, I have several areas of concern...
Firing schedule suggestions? Please....
Do I need to worry about glass seeping out under the bottom edges?
I am assuming I'll be able to re-use the molds. I've slumped using K-L without hardener or kiln wash, so I am assuming it will be OK here. Am I wrong?
Other suggestions or observations ... am I way off base in my approach?
Re the firing schedule, go to http://www.bullseyeconnection.com, click on Get Smart, scroll to bottom of page and click on Annealing Chart for thick Pieces. That will give you the info on annealing 1/2" or 3/4" pieces. For heat up, if you're using frit, you should be able to use a typical fusing schedule...take to about 1520 or so and hold for about an hour (less may be sufficient), then drop to 960 and begin annealing (assuming your using BE).
I've never used KL board so don't know about it. I'd do a test firing of a square to see if it seeps under the board. I kind of imagine it might. You could put weights of some sort (stainless steel maybe?) to hold it down. You could also attach the outline onto a bottom sheet of KL with SS screws to hold it down. that would probably be better than weights.
I was just in Fl and visited Petra Kaiser's studio. She said that if a piece of KL board is placed on another it will not move. If you are unsure about that, stick a few pieces of stainless steel wire thru both pieces, pinning it in place. The glass should not stick to the board, but to be safe I would use the premo hifire kiln wash as a precaution.
Diane Trepanier
Solfyre
Designer, glass, wire, beads, etc.
In her book "Introduction to Glass Fusing", Petra Kaiser mentions that they do frit casting in KL board coated with several coats of Primo Primer, and the more they use the mold, the smoother the glass turns out.
You might want to email Petra Kaiser at kaiserlee@msn.com for the answers to all your questions.
Lynn g
"Patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone." - Dame Edith Cavell
You can definietly reuse the KLB - but make certain that you use Primo Primer each time you fire. During her workshop at Viturm Studio Petra showed several castings she had made with KLB - and the older molds which had been primed many times with Primo Primer released the glass so smoothly that no grinding was necessary.
I strongly recomment her book for details on this method of casting.