WarmGlass.com

I don't want to disavow this lofty perch but alas . . . I didn't make anything up. Everything I know and do came out of books. I read the books and they were totally incomprehensible. I started anyway and as I learned different things, those things in the books became clear. Only through doing was I...

When I started doing pate de verre I had no idea how to price it. Still don't really. My big joke is that I make my money on etched glass and throw it away on the pate de verre. It really doesn't matter if you go through fancy formulas, figure out overhead, etc. if the work won't sell at the price y...

I have experimented and I have theorized, but I'm not a scientist. The best analogy that I can come up with is literature. Writers don't try different combinations of letters trying to find new words. They don't try different symbols to find new letters. They combine what is common. All our molds ar...

Rodney I don't mind telling you exactly what I do. (Apparently I'm going to make you ask twice) But you missed my point. What I do probably won't work for you. What I do in my paragon kiln won't work in my home-made kiln. Every small change between what I tell you and what you use and do will will m...

I hate to get crosswise with people teaching. But I think we tend to get bogged down on the wrong details. If you can't mix your ingredients well, then you need to do a better job mixing. If your mold cracked under the weight of the glass, then learn to make stronger molds. If your mold cracks in th...

David I've made molds of plaster and talc. I've also tried plaster and anything else I could get my hands on. I just use plaster and silica now. I don't use face coats either. I try to keep it as simple as possible. Quartz inversion, in my opinion is a non-factor. If you dry the mold right, on the w...

There may be a temperature differential due to proximity to the coils. What is your soak temp? What kind of glass?

This is a description that I received from Henry Halem: The large molds are made in pieces, usually a large base piece and then smaller pieces that are usually pinned in with steel pins. The Czech casters that I have known do not use wax and therefore must remove the sculpture that has been invested...

Lauri When we do our bowls, oftentimes, the mold is so wet that it drips when moved from table to kiln. If the mold is more than 3 - 4 days old we soak it in water before we start filling. We do some other pieces in dry molds. I treat them the same in the kiln. I make one monolithic mold - no face c...

Lauri I checked a few references and heres what I think. Aluminum oxide in Europe is hydrated alumina over here. Hydrated alumina and EPK (kaolin) are combined to make common kiln wash. I have used that in a lot of molds either, 50/50, or sometimes with talc added. It does the same thing as silica. ...

David Surface quality is dependent on a bunch of different factors too, all related to time and temperature. You can't get a good surface without finishing. The only way is to cast at the lowest possible temperature for the shortest amount of time using the fewest pieces of glass. I don't think your...

Sorry David your post came in late and I had to work some today. The refractory cement gives it strength while at casting temperature. After the mold cools down the silca and plaster should be very weak. A face coat would also work but I don't like those. I try to cast using standard plaster casting...

I'm not going to argue with anything Kervin and Fenton say (at least I hope not). I usually hold my molds at 1100°. This is slightly above the inversion temp and I consider that part of the drying sequence. When you cast glass there are four distinct parts of the firing. 1. Firing the mold 2. Firin...

I would use 40 parts plaster/ 40 parts silica/ 20 parts refractory cement. Since your a blower, you may be familiar with different refractory cements. Try to find one more mortar-like. Uniform particles. But when it comes down to it, I just bought whatever was easy. I haven't cast Fenton what is the...

I would use 40 parts plaster/ 40 parts silica/ 20 parts refractory cement. Since your a blower, you may be familiar with different refractory cements. Try to find one more mortar-like. Uniform particles. But when it comes down to it, I just bought whatever was easy. I haven't cast Fenton what is the...

First off let me say I've hijacked Ellen's name and have forgotten to add mine. As far as your mold is concerned I would add some refractory cement to the mix. This adds to the finishing needed but really increases the mold strength at high temperatures. I'm not a fan of additives to molds unless co...

How much will the glass weigh? How is the mold configured for introducing the glass, i. e., large or small funnel-type opening? Or rather, how much glass will be exposed to the kiln after firing.

A couple of things in this thread about mold materials caught my eye. First, all our molds are binder/refractory (plaster/silica). The refractory is stuff that won't burn up. Silica - at the temperatures we cast - stays the same through the firing. Its a pile of sand at the beginning and its a pile ...

I have recieved two requests in the last several weeks. One from China (book) and now one from Turkey (magazine). Essentially both requests are for images and copy for publishing purposes. Free of charge I might add. Does anyone else get these requests? I happen to have a pen pal in China (Beijing) ...

Lauri I have used several different mold materials over the years. I think almost anything will work as far as mold materials. There are as many different mold formulas as there are casters. There is more because most casters know more than one. You need to find a firing schedule for your mold. It m...