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Hi Havi, I too like the balance in the composition. I don't see the additional shrinkage in the second firing as a problem. Good old surface tension. If you want to minimize the shrinkage fire the the piece upside down on top of fibre paper. The weight of the glass will hold the wafers in place. You...

Hi Havi, More adventures with wafers. I don't see any reason why you cannot mark the kiln wash on the shelf with pencil prior to sifting on powder. A statement of the obvious... draw your pattern backwards because the wafer will be flipped over. You have a concern about thickness... I suggest going ...

Hi Havi, Wafers will shrink if they are heated above tack fuse temperatures. At high enough temperatures they will just rip apart. So you can determine the amount of shrinkage you want and use visual observations to control the outcome. I haven't fired wafers on top of thin fire but I do it with 1/1...

Marty, Congrats on the new studio. We renovated a 750q ft building as a teaching studio and it works very well for up to 7 people. 1) One strong recommendation is to have your kiln room separate from your work/design room. It keeps the heat and off-gas smells away from the students. 2) Have one wate...

Continuing on the book theme... and seeing we have librarians in our midst.... here are 12 books that I completed in December and January that collectively reminded of a library table after a busy day.

Cheers,

Bob

Sorry Havi, I quickly went back through the thread and can't find where I said the wafers would shrink 30%.I think the 30% might refer to the contraction I get with freeze and fuse. If you fire wafers to the the point that the powder just holds together then the shrinkage is minimal. Keep increasing...

Hi Havi, Yes you can. You might get some texture from the vermiculite. I don't know if you are looking for larger surfaces to make wafers on but if not I recommend using unglazed bisque fired tiles for mini shelves. They are cheap (I pay $60 for 50 tiles that are 6in x 6in) and easy to work with. Ch...

Thanks, Bob Of course I KNOW this work, and admire it! Good to know that this is the method you use, i.e. including wafers between layers of glass. May I ask how thick is the glass you use for that??? Havi it was 3mm sheet glass. I placed wafers, often several pieces overlapping, so that the wafers...

Hi again Havi, You mention .. My my idea is also to build coloration in the waffers, and with them, but I go more for the abstract ... I attached an image where wafers made from transparent powders have been layered between sheets of glass. The top of the piece was then cold worked to expose the gla...

Valerie, I just wet the wafer and then rub the kiln wash with the flat blade of a putty knife... save the vinegar for the chips. Havi... I find that wafers are very versatile. I really like the concept of building from components. If the wafer doesn't work out then you haven't wasted a lot of glass ...

Havi,

Reactions are possible with wafers but they really need to go to higher temperatures for loner periods of time to get the reaction to fully mature.

Cheers,

Bob

Havi, From the amount of contraction between the pre-fire and post-fire images I would say that you have fired too hot. The degree that the edges have pulled in, and the amount of glassy/shiny lustre are the indicators of overfiring. I suggest firing to 696C for 10 minutes and turn off. Also the col...

Tim... "novel" idea... very good... consider yourself ripped off. Here is another variation on the book theme. This is the first of my "songbooks". Like most of us I listen to a lot of music while working in the studio and Liesbeth and I love live music. Sometimes there is a line...

Paul, My thoughts are the glass is not properly annealed. The first suggestion would be to slow the ramp down from 482. The soak at 482 is to equalize the temperature. The cooling from 482 has to be slow enough to prevent reintroduction of a temperature difference between the interior and exterior o...

Hi Tim, In addition to Marty's list I have heard of Danish Tung Oil, beeswax, the stuff used to sheet water off glass in showers. I have often wondered about the sealer that is used for stone tile flooring. I asked Mark Bollick at HISglassworks about sealers and he said that tung oil will yellow wit...

Hey Jim,

From the perspective of your image it appears that the amount of "flowage" might be related to viscosity variations. Interesting.

Cheers,

Bob

I haven't been on WGBB for a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been working. Most of my work this past year has been on making glass books in a series called "Light Reading". I've been trying several versions of page formats and covers. Here is a stack made as a commission that I am pa...

Thanks Bert, I was looking for information/experience with just silicone adhesives. They are cheap and easily obtained. I have heard of people mounting wall panels on french cleats using silicone (I believe). I was all set to glue something up and enquired with the manufacturer who thought that the ...

Hi Bert, You are right about the one week cure time for Hxtal (I have a cold studio too). You can also cure the glue by heating it to 120F for 24 hours. I do this and it helps warm the studio as well. Has anybody bonded sheets of glass together with silicone (or a derivative product called Lexel? I ...

Hi Susan, Don't have an answer but a possible idea. Is the relay switch temporarily sticking in the on position causing the kiln to heat up and then releasing to enable the kiln to cool properly. Check when it starts the unwanted heating. Do the relay switches click on or off at all? It may be that ...