Newbie questions....

[MVgirl99]

Hi. I am a newbie... I ordered a kiln off ebay. Nothing fancy Cress 11X11X9 with a kiln sitter- should be here next week. I have been a stained glasser for years and have just recently ventured in glass tile design. I hope to create fused glass tiles to accent and compliment my tile designs

I have been trying to educate myself- coming across this bulletin board has been wonderful! I have read all the "newbie" posts.
I do have a few questions...
1. Are there any exceptions to the rule about only using COE 90, 96 or float? It will be too bad if I can't use my stained glass scraps...
2. It seems like it is suggested to stick to one of the COE values and not even to mix them- is that correct? Do fusers end up having a favorite COE?
Which do you think is generally preferable?
3. Frit... which texture is used most would you say? fine, med or large? I have read that bottles can be broken down into frit pieces- are bottles COE 90 or 96?
Does the COE values of frit matter or can they be mixed and matched?
4. Is the clear glass that is used for the base and cover of a project also COE 90, 96 or float? Does it have to match the glass in the design?
Can the type of glass used in frames(I have so much of that!!!) be used?
5. When a firing schedule is stated "50 degrees per hour to 250, and hold for 30 before starting my regular schedule", does that mean it will
take 5 hours to get to 250 degrees? if this is the case, then on a very manual kiln I would manually continue to increase the temp over 5
hours in the increments suggested? Which means before starting the "regular schedule" I am already 5 hours into it?

That's a start- I don't want to come across as too needy or high maintenance Thanks

[Stephen Richard]

Hi. I am a newbie... I ordered a kiln off ebay. Nothing fancy Cress 11X11X9 with a kiln sitter- should be here next week. I have been a stained glasser for years and have just recently ventured in glass tile design. I hope to create fused glass tiles to accent and compliment my tile designs

I have been trying to educate myself- coming across this bulletin board has been wonderful! I have read all the "newbie" posts.
I do have a few questions...
I will make a start at replying.
1. Are there any exceptions to the rule about only using COE 90, 96 or float? It will be too bad if I can't use my stained glass scraps...
It's not about Coe, but about compatibility. So use a single range of tested compatible glass, unless you do the the testing across the different manufacturers. Stained glass is not tested, but you can do the testing. You can foes pieces from the same sheet as they are by definition compatible.

2. It seems like it is suggested to stick to one of the COE values and not even to mix them- is that correct? Do fusers end up having a favorite COE?
Which do you think is generally preferable?
Each person has their choice. All are good products. The choice often comes down to ease of availability.

3. Frit... which texture is used most would you say? fine, med or large? I have read that bottles can be broken down into frit pieces- are bottles COE 90 or 96?
Bottle glass is not generally formulated to any fusing standard and certainly is not the same as any of the fusing glasses.

Does the COE values of frit matter or can they be mixed and matched?
Oh yes, the compatibility of Frits does matter.

4. Is the clear glass that is used for the base and cover of a project also COE 90, 96 or float? Does it have to match the glass in the design?
The base must be compatible with the rest of the glass used.

Can the type of glass used in frames(I have so much of that!!!) be used?
Yes. But only with other float glass.

5. When a firing schedule is stated "50 degrees per hour to 250, and hold for 30 before starting my regular schedule", does that mean it will
take 5 hours to get to 250 degrees? if this is the case, then on a very manual kiln I would manually continue to increase the temp over 5
hours in the increments suggested? Which means before starting the "regular schedule" I am already 5 hours into it?

I do not know what you are quoting. But no delay is required in starting the firing. The ramp rate needs to be slow to start with.
But it now occurs to me that you need to read the tutorial provided by this site before proceeding. Go to the main page where you will find it. Brad's book is best to read too.
That's a start- I don't want to come across as too needy or high maintenance Thanks

[MVgirl99]

Hi Steve
I just went to your website- nice work.
There is so much good info but my head is swooning ! The annealing info was interesting- can you direct me to more specific blog posts?
Thanks so much.

[Marty]

MV- start with a copy of Brad's book.

[bob proulx]

What Marty said, Brad is the owner of this site and has what is considered to be the best book for people who want to learn about glass fusing.
Bob

[Stephen Richard]

Hi Steve
I just went to your website- nice work.
There is so much good info but my head is swooning ! The annealing info was interesting- can you direct me to more specific blog posts?
Thanks so much.

If you use the search box at the top left of the blog you can search the blog posts for the items you want (if they are there, of course)

[MVgirl99]

Thank you- I've ordered the book!
Without having to wait for Brad's book, I am eager to know if there are any exceptions to the rule of using regular stained glass glass?
If it is for small projects like earrings... Does size matter?
Thanks for your input- I am looking forward to reading Brad's book

[rosanna gusler]

while waiting for the book , read this tutorial. it will get you started nicely. http://www.warmglass.com/tutorial glass fusing is a faitly scientific art form. in order to push on the 'rules' you need to know and understand them. welcome to the addiction. rosanna

[JestersBaubles]

To answer your question... Stained glass is basically float glass. You can use it for fusing, but if you have a sheet of red and a sheet of blue, you can't fuse them together (at least successfully). You can only fuse a sheet of stained glass to itself.

So... that limits what you can do. The stained glass will also be prone to devitrification (or "devit") -- which is a hazing/dulling of what was a nice, shiny surface. You can avoid this by using a devit spray (google borax devit spray and you'll find a recipe made out of Borax, the 20 mule team kind).

Fusible glass is manufactured to generally be compatible with other fused glass that is of the same COE. It is also manufactured so that it is less prone to devit than stained glass.

I hope this helps, Dana W.

[rosanna gusler]

no, stained glass is not basically float glass. float glass refers to the specific way that glass is manufactured. float glass, stained glass and fusing glasses are all soda lime glass. rosanna edit. most blowing glass and bottle glass as well.

[MVgirl99]

Thanks Rosanna. I just read all the tutorials- excellent. There is so much to learn and lots of fun experimenting up ahead! And yes I feel an addiction coming on!

[MVgirl99]

Thanks Dana
Your explanation did help... it's all starting to click!

[MVgirl99]

Also thanks Marty and Bob- the book is on order. All these bits of advice are so helpful.

[Judd]

A kiln sitter? No computer controller? Though I know people who do this, it seems a terrible pain in the ass.

[MVgirl99]

I wanted to start without too much of an investment... I'm sure it will be a pain in the butt but I can't buy an expensive kiln right now.
If I get addicted then I will buy a better one