WarmGlass.com

I use 170 grit al oxide I buy from Graingers. Most board members use 120 grit (I believe.) I don't do much blasting, mainly for getting that nice fingerprint-free leather-look on plates & bowls or to knock off a piece of kiln brick that drops on a piece before slumping. The 170 looks like powder...

Not nearly as experienced as you guys, but when I was having problems with flairs after years of no problems it was my breaking pliers. I'll often use them to pull off strips. When I checked the edge of the jaws they were concave. New ones did the trick.

Just in case you're using breaker/grozers.

Easy, easy! By cutting small squares and layering them 2-3 layers deep you can get nuggets of varying sizes. One quarter inch squares one layer thick will ball up nicely. You can stack larger ones 2 layers thick, alternating the stack so you have a "star." Really large pieces may need 3 la...

Duh!!! I should've caught the dichro in the middle, myself!

BTW, Judy, you might want to save the expensive dichro until you have the process down a little better. Glass is expensive enough when you are learning!!

When I use glasslines I fire uncovered to at least a tack fuse temp, sometimes more. When I add the top glass I add a bubble squeeze as usual. You are probably trapping regular bubbles by going to fast. Your top glass is sealing at the edge before the bubbles can find a path out. Try slowing down fr...

Welcome to the board, Judy! First, if you go back to the first topic in the newcomer forum and read it, you'll find we need quite a bit of info to help you. From the small bubbles that have risen and collapsed, and the large bubble, I'm guessing you are firing too fast and too hot, both beginner err...

Those are very attractive! I really like the teeny bubbles from the PDV.

I don't imagine many of us have any fingernails

I always enjoy seeing how you utilize pattern bars, strips and bits of this and that to create "living" pieces.

I do worry though that you are using tape (!) to hold a heavy piece of glass in it's temporary frame while photographing!

Pay attention to what kind of doors they have. Some come with "barn doors" that that open out. Others have a ramp that you pull down. The advantage of barn doors is that they take up less space when opening. The ramp is nice if you have room because you can roll things in and out easily. I...