Screen Melts

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Delberta D
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Delberta D »

Very QUICKLY... :shock: LOL I am going to use a glove and long handle plyers or something. I put the screen on bricks so I might even just be able to grab it out. :-k It should help with the little glass spikes that are sticking up too.
The Hobbyist
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by The Hobbyist »

I tried removing the sceen before the glass had completely emptied. The spikes will fall over and leave a line across the surface which may or may not look ugly. For me it was ugly so I never tried it again.

Jim
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JestersBaubles
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by JestersBaubles »

So.... I have never done a screen melt. I have a small 6" screen & frame, but have just never gotten the round Tuit to do it.

This is the first I have heard about glass popping off and getting all over the kiln. Does it happen every time, or with just certain gauges of screen, or??

Just curious (before I go off screen melting in my kiln).

Thanks, Dana W.
Stephen Richard
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Stephen Richard »

Dana,
It is not the glass that pops off, buy it is the metal that spalls, leaving bits of oxidised metal over the surface of the glass. This spalling occurs as the metal contracts, usually below the temperature at which the metal will stick to the glass.
If you choose high grade stainless for the grid, this will not happen.
Cynthia Morgan (Morganica) demonstrates on her blog a method of making a grid with high grade stainless steel rods and kiln bricks.
Steve Richard
You can view my Blog at: http://verrier-glass.blogspot.com/
JestersBaubles
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by JestersBaubles »

Ooohhh, never mind then. #-o

I completely misunderstood! (I knew about the spalling)

Dana W.
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by JestersBaubles »

Delberta D wrote: I should have grabbed the stainless steel screen out of the kiln before cooling because when you open the kiln there are shards of glass all over that popped off during cooling, they are not stuck but it is a mess and they get into the elements, then the next time you heat the kiln they will stick.
OK, I have not completely lost it!

Anyone else experience this?

Dana W.
Dairy Queen
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Dairy Queen »

This drop in this student's piece didn't need to be this high. The goal was to get it to fill up the translucent white onto which it was dropping, with a finished piece being consistent 6mm. I post this photo to show the use of clay instead of metal for drops. The hold required for leveling it all out to 6mm allows all but the tiniest film of glass to drop off the clay. All reusable. No clay in glass.
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Stephen Richard
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Stephen Richard »

Apologies, I did not take in that the initial post talked about glass all over the kiln - which I think is a bit of an exaggeration anyway. I have never had that happen. It could come from far too rapid a cooling, but then I think the glass on the shelf would have shattered too.
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Dairy Queen
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Dairy Queen »

SR,

If the kiln went up as fast as possible, glass pieces can shatter all over the kiln.

During the drip and annealing phases, the spalling of the metal can throw glass around the kiln.

DQ
ps. just use clay
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Stephen Richard
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Stephen Richard »

Dairy Queen wrote:SR,

If the kiln went up as fast as possible, glass pieces can shatter all over the kiln.

This does not seem to me to be a sensible scheduling of the firing, especially as this will fracture the glass. Why would anyone want to spray glass around their kiln? Also it will clearly disturb the arrangement of glass, and possibly cause glass to fall off the grid.

During the drip and annealing phases, the spalling of the metal can throw glass around the kiln.

The spalling of the metal normally occurs below the softening point of the glass, so any oxidised metal can be removed both from the glass at the bottom of the kiln and by vacuuming the interior of the kiln. Better, choose stainless that does not spall for the grid. Secondly, my experience shows me that where the metal is coated with glass (unless paper thin) it does not spall, as the oxygen cannot react with the metal, being coated with glass.

DQ
ps. just use clay

I have used clay as a support for glass. Although it normally it does not break, when it does, it leaves large chunks of ceramic imbedded in the glass. Its structural characteristics make is less than suitable for a mesh melt. It can and often is used as a vessel to contain the glass while it is heated to flow temperatures - a purpose its structure suits very well. However, to get the best out of a clay body, its characteristics must be respected (http://glasstips.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03 ... sions.html), especially slowing the rates of advance at around 225ºC and 560ºC to avoid damage to the ceramic. Advancing AFAP is inviting problems at some point with the ceramic body in the kiln.

So my recommendation is to find the appropriate grade of stainless steel grid, or use stainless steel rods as Cynthia Morgan does. In any case, the relatively thin rods can give a much more flexible approach due to their much smaller volume than clay.

Steve Richard
You can view my Blog at: http://verrier-glass.blogspot.com/
Mark Wright
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Mark Wright »

Stephen Richard wrote:Apologies, I did not take in that the initial post talked about glass all over the kiln - which I think is a bit of an exaggeration anyway. I have never had that happen. It could come from far too rapid a cooling, but then I think the glass on the shelf would have shattered too.
A mystery to me
Yes glass is all over the kiln! It does not stick to the melt or the kiln but it looks like an explosion. It will clean up with a vacuum unless some of it has stuck to the heating elements. I assume the wire grid is contracting as it cools and this shatters the thin glass webs that are still attached to the wire screen. It obviously happens on the way down but I don't know at what temperature.
If this does not happen to you I would like to compare notes on how to stop it. I use 1/2" SS wire screen from Brad and a firing schedule from his class on melts.
Stephen Richard
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Stephen Richard »

Perhaps it's because i don't try to get all the glass off the screen, so i have thicker layers of glass on the metal, often with stringers from mesh to melt.
Steve Richard
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twin vision glass
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by twin vision glass »

http://www.bullseyeglass.com/index.php? ... 1&start=40
These were my wire melts and although I did get abit of a mess after cooling, it is NO harm to anything. Just take a vacumm and clean it up. It does not fuse to the cool glass so no problem with metal bits in the glass. I use a dam system so it is pretty contained also , so think about that on your next go around if you are worried about shards pinging off and making a mess.
Leslie
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David Jenkins
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by David Jenkins »

Stephen:

How do you deal with the stringers from mesh to melt? Once you've separated the two, do you remelt to smooth out the resulting mountain peaks? Grind? Or what?

Thanks.
Dave Jenkins
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twin vision glass
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by twin vision glass »

Hi, well many ways to deal with them. Perhaps because I usually go abit thicker (trying to get the final piece to at least 3/4 of an inch or more) so that I can slice it sideways. I tend to take the glass abit lower and hold longer and will get stringers that I just nip off and when I re-invest in my large panels , it all gets melted in again and evens out. BUT I LOVE the "CLING ONS"( that is what I call them) and all the nipped pieces are kept as they are wonderful for designing with. They are lovely little design features for other pieces. :-k I just hate to throw anything away. Leslie
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Stephen Richard
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Re: Screen Melts

Post by Stephen Richard »

David Jenkins wrote:Stephen:

How do you deal with the stringers from mesh to melt? Once you've separated the two, do you remelt to smooth out the resulting mountain peaks? Grind? Or what?

Thanks.
I do it pretty much like Leslie.
It depends o what I intend to do with the item. If I decide to make a vessel, then I decide which side I want up and fire polish.
Note that I normally need to sandblast off the batt wash on the bottom, so I may fire polish twice.
Steve Richard
You can view my Blog at: http://verrier-glass.blogspot.com/
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