First post...huge bubbles...general glassy despair

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CeaG
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 6:00 pm
Location: Wilmington, NC USA

First post...huge bubbles...general glassy despair

Post by CeaG »

I'll attempt to be brief because I know you've all heard this before, but I'm having <yawn> bubble issues. After reading a bazillion posts on the subject and 1)making sure my shelf was thoroughly dry, 2)using the chad trick, and 3)firing excruciatingly slowly, I continued to have problems, so I began to wonder if I had one of those legendary evil shelves. (Further note: I have been using float and frit and I have an Olympic kiln with no controller.)

So I invested in a Bullseye shelf and kiln wash. They just arrived and I haven't used them yet. But visually, the shelf is even funkier than my old one. It's no flatter, and additionally has a great many dings and divots.

I don't know how a good shelf looks. Will the scarred surface of the shelf matter? Or is this as good as it gets?

Any advice/comments/condolences will be appreciated.

Celia
Geri Comstock
Posts: 340
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 4:16 pm
Location: Northern CA
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Post by Geri Comstock »

I'm puzzled as to your comment about the BE shelf you ordered. My 2 arrived in gorgeous condition. Perhaps you might want to contact them about it. It should be flat and not have any flaws.

As for evil kiln shelves, they do exist. I had some and once I switched to the BE shelves, I haven't have any more bubble problems. I'm still using the end of my HotLine high fire kiln wash but once it's gone, I'm switching to BE.

Good luck!

Geri
CeaG
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 6:00 pm
Location: Wilmington, NC USA

Post by CeaG »

Thanks for the reply. That's exactly what I wanted to know. My shelf is definitely not gorgeous. Neither side is perfectly flat according to the straightedge test, one side has a slight lip around all edges, and the other side has deep pits and a couple of what look like gouges.

I will certainly talk to the BE people about this.

Thanks again.
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