WarmGlass.com

I recently bought a Roland Stika SX8 - the smallest, cheapest one of the range. I'm very happy with it. It cuts pretty fine and intricate designs which I then etch into dichroic glass with etching cream. I've only been using it for about 3 weeks and so far so good. It comes with software which you c...

Sara - I will try to hold at 1420F for 20mins rather than 1450 for 10mins and see what happens. I use a Skutt GM10F kiln with controller. As for placing the etched image more centrally, i tried that with better results but I do want to have designs which start from the edge - besides, this has becom...

Tom - thank you too. I will also try firing at lower temperatures for longer. I visited your website and wow - beautiful pieces. Thanks to this board, I have access to artists like yourself - thanks so much.

For jewelry, what is your total firing time?

The idea is to start out with 1/4" (6mm) thickness of glass to avoid movement and distorsion as the glass seeks to get to its natural 1/4" thickness when it is fired. It does not mattter what thicknesses are used in the layers as long as the total thickness is 1/4". Best wishes, Tom ...

Barbara - I have a Skutt GM10F kiln. I get a great full fuse at 1450F held for 10mins. What schedule would you recommend for jewerly?

Barbara, Thank you for your detailed explanation - it definitely helps me understand where I'm going wrong. I do generally use thins in the three layers which explains the problem. So are you saying that to get the least distortion, either use two regular thickness layers or three regular layers - n...

Sarah - I bought this jewelry-making video by Vicki Payne and she said that for small jewelry pieces, about and hour and a half is all you need for full fuse. My results, other than the etched dichroic pieces are good. The other consideration is that I need to produce a lot of jewelry every day so t...

I'd like to know your firing schedule for fusing jewelry because I think I may be going wrong with mine : 1. Rate (degrees/hour) upto full fuse temperature. 2. Total time taken from start to end of full fuse temp. Here's mine: Ramp 1: Rate - 1200F to 500F Hold 5mins Ramp 2 : Rate - 1299F to 1250F Ho...

That's intersting - what rate do you fire at?

I fire @ 1200F to 1250F and then @700F to 1450- I hold for 10 mins and then switch off.

In total, my total firing time (excluding cooling) is just over 2 hours. How long is your total firing time?

Kitty - I like the lines the way they are too but I did this just to demonstrate the distortion. On other complex etchings, the image looks terrible because it pulls unevenly. I do grind down the edges if the jagged dichro shows through and then refire it. The problem is that I don't want to refire ...

The problem I'm having with making pendants / cabs with dichro is that the dichro layer distorts significantly after firing. The linked photo (stripes) demonstrates what I mean - First I etched the blue dichro with very straight lines that looked great. This was sandwiched between a layer of black a...

Lyn - beautiful jewelry. I love your etchings.

Patty,

I use 2 to three layers in total. By the way I love the ones you showed on your link. How do you cut such accurate circles?

Thanks for the replies.

I use only CBS dichroic glass so i don't think that's the problem. Any other suggestions?

Hi, I'm new here! I've recently started making jewerly with dichroic glass and I've noticed that after firing, the dichroic layer seems to crack (like gold leaf) and/or shrivel somewhat. It looks kind of nice but I'm also looking for a smooth finish. I make sure the dichro layer faces clear glass, n...