another drape question!

[deena]

After having tried several times to drape a bowl I need help. I looked in the archives first but did not find an answer. The mold is ss about 12" in diameter. I am trying to get a lot of folds. Is thier anyway to cut the glass to make the folds more pronounced.

Thanks for all of your help, past and future.

Deena

[Bob]

Hi Deena,

The thinner the glass the more the folds.

Cheers,

Bob

[Lorelei]

Wouldn't it also help to cut the glass a fair bit larger than the bowl? Of course you'd have to elevate the mold on kiln posts, so as to not have the glass touch the shelf, but wouldn't that work?

[Jerry]

Should you decide to elevate the mold you will run the risk of having the glass fold UNDER the mold and trap it.

You might try flat fusing sections onto your piece first to get those sections to drop faster. The only other answer I know is to become very familiar with how the phase of the moon affects the stampeding elephants in Zambobwe! Get the picture?

Jerry

[Tom White]

Measuring the distance from one rim of the mold across the top of the mold to the opposite rim with a flexable tape measure will give you the maximum diameter circle that can be draped on that mold without folding over the edge of the mold if it is supported above the kiln shelf. Cutting your circle an inch or two smaller than the measured maximum will give you some margin of error and allow for stretching of the glass in the firing. In my experience the more glass exposd beyond the base of the mold and the thinner the glass the more folds in the finished bowl. A mold with a small base and rather fast curve to the sides will produce more folds in the glass than a mold with a wide base and more gradual curve to the sides.

Best wishes,
Tom in Texas