New and kiln is getting delivered today!

[haleybach]

I am really new to warm glass but I'm a dive right in kind of girl so I have a Paragon 16 Clam Shell being delivered today the electrician was here Friday so once it arrives I'm good to go. On that front. Oh and the basic kit with a shelf and whatnot too.

I have a selection of Bullseye glass, frit, and powder. Kiln wash, fiber paper (why is it not called felt?) and thinfire (paper). Basic tools, a workbench, and such.

I have made tiles and a platter and a few small things at a local studio, so I can cut glass, know a little about arranging things, have attempted a few tecniques such as painting with frit, powder wafers, freeze and fuse. I've read lots of tutorials. Lots.

However I've never actually fired anything, that part has always just been magic. Lay something out, put my name and if I want a full fuse, soft, or tack on a slip of paper, and then come back a few days later to a magically fused piece.

Two related questions.

1) What is a good test for a first firing with a new kiln? What am I looking for?

2) What should else do I need/want? Or really what is a reasonable way to proceed, I want/need one of everything.

In the classes I've taken they have these handy little shelves that we build things on and I'm pretty sure are then put directly in the kiln. They almost look like unglazed ceramic tiles. Is that what they are?

I know I want to do on edge construction so I need, um, well what do I need? I plan to get my Father In-law to build me a strip cutter from fusedglass.org plans.

One of my challenges is pretty severe arthritis so anything that makes getting things from my workbench into the kiln easier will be a good investment for me.

[Tracy Fries]

I am also relatively new to the fused glass world..........and like you, purchased the Paragon 16 Starter Kit from Bullseye, have read just about every tutorial available and also purchased the plans and built the strip cutter on the fusedglass.org site.

Given your arthritis, one thing you will be pleased with is that now that you have your own kiln, in many cases you will be able to put the shelf into the kiln and assemble your pieces directly on the shelf inside the kiln and not have to worry about moving finished pieces from the work bench to the kiln.

It sounds as though your local studio operates much like mine - you might check to see if they offer a class on firing your new kiln. My studio was great about tailoring the information to my kiln and purposes. One of the studio hosts also recommended Brad Walker's book, Contemporary Fused Glass available on this website. I found it quite valuable and refer to it often. With your materials coming from Bullseye, you will get their TechBook, which has a great TechNotes on "Knowing Your Kiln". Once you've run your initial firing, this is a great exercise for understanding the temp ranges for your particular kiln. Enjoy!

[Lynn g]

First, put several coats of kiln wash on the floor of your kiln before you fire anything. This will protect it in case of overflow. (better safe than sorry)

While you're waiting for Brad's book to arrive. click on Bullseye Glass at the top of this page, and click on "Education". You will find many articles and videos there which will jump-start the learning process for you.

Welcome to the addiction!

[Lauri Levanto]

There is one little thing you urgently need.
The kiln diary.

You need a drawing or photo of the pieces you put in the kiln.
You need a list what glass colors you used.
You note down the firing program
When you open the fired kiln, you spend some time to admire your results.
Note down what was good, what needs improvement.

Remember that fatal errors are those you learn nothing of.
-lauri

I have twice attended a class. Both teachers distributed a copy of the firing program used. Insist that when you take a class

[David Jenkins]

If you're technologically comfortable with a PC, and an MS Office user, I'd highly recommend the use of OneNote for keeping records of your firings. OneNote will allow you to include text, photos, drawings, sketched annotations, etc. for each trip through the kiln. It will also make subsequent searching back through your records a breeze.

There are other note-making packages available - I believe they have been mentioned here in the past, but may have disappeared when the archives were lost. I think Cynthia Morgan uses one of the non-MS packages that has a good reputation, but can't recall its name offhand.

At any rate, discipline yourself to make notes each and every time. Starting off, it will seem like a pain, but the first time you have to refer back to previous records, you'll be glad you did.

[Morganica]

If you're technologically comfortable with a PC, and an MS Office user, I'd highly recommend the use of OneNote for keeping records of your firings. OneNote will allow you to include text, photos, drawings, sketched annotations, etc. for each trip through the kiln. It will also make subsequent searching back through your records a breeze.

There are other note-making packages available - I believe they have been mentioned here in the past, but may have disappeared when the archives were lost. I think Cynthia Morgan uses one of the non-MS packages that has a good reputation, but can't recall its name offhand.

At any rate, discipline yourself to make notes each and every time. Starting off, it will seem like a pain, but the first time you have to refer back to previous records, you'll be glad you did.

Actually, I use MS too, only Excel. I built a little spreadsheet calculator several years ago and posted it on my blog. http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2008/ ... ring-time/

Since then I've added casting calculators and such but the basic spreadsheet's the same. I just use a different worksheet for each new project. At some point I'll convert it to an app.

[haleybach]

Excellent advice! I've had kiln set up and firing programs included in two classes I've taken, but it was still unnerving to hit start the first time!

Kiln is all set up and I kiln washed the bottom.

The kiln came with two ways to open it, top or clam style. I thought I was choosing between those options and it was a nice surprise when I took it out of the crate and realized this. The shelf kit it came with is a really tight fit, I was worried I would hit the side bricks when I lowered the lid over it so I opened it from the top and placed the shelf. I'm using thin fire paper for now, I'm not so good at applying kiln wash.

I have an iPad and will look into apps that allow notes with pictures and has a good search function. I think the kids use Evernote at school and I know they take pictures of the whiteboard and include them sometimes. OneNote might have an iOS app, I'll check on that too.

I let everyone throw together some little two layer pieces out of scrap Bullseye. It took me an hour to put in the program (Sentry 4) for a very conservative firing. I read the manual through once and looked again while entering but couldn't find a way to correct a mistake aside from starting over, which is why it took so long to enter it. I entered the estimated time for a segment as a hold time, glad I caught the mistake when I reviewed what I entered.

I didn't start the kiln until this morning because it got late last night and I wanted to make sure I didn't do anything too brainless so it is cooking now.

I've realized my list of things I want to try is about a year long already.

High on the list is learning to use damns so I can work in three layers and do pattern bars.

Thanks for all the replies, this is such an adventure!

[JestersBaubles]

There is an excel spreadsheet on fusedglass.org that I find quite useful:

http://www.fusedglass.org/tools/excel_g ... calculator

I like that I can put in my schedule, put in the time to start, and know what's going to be happening when (without having to calculate it myself, lazy, I know...). It seems quite accurate. I also keep my firing notes in the spreadsheet.

Dana

[rosanna gusler]

go ahead and kilnwash your shelf. i have a shelf with glass dots nicely fused into it from an overfire on thinfire without kilnwash. rosanna

[Ed Cantarella]

I would suggest:
1. Purchase a HEPA vacuum
2. Purchase a respirator(fiber cloth, glass powder,kiln wash,etc.)
3. Purchase a good quality HEPA air cleaner for your studio.
3.Kiln wash the floor and walls of your kiln,STAYING AWAY FROM THE ELEMENTS. You'll be glad you did someday when a pot melt tips due to a dam bar breaking or a fused piece up on a drop ring goes pinq! and a piece of glass falls against the wall. Yes, you will need t.yo vacuum the walls and bottom with the HEPA vacuum for a number of firings until they quit giving off dust. But hey, you're smart to vacuum your kiln between firings anyway, rather than having kiln wash dust, thin-fire paper dust or fiber cloth dust getting on your hands and even worse your glass. Leaving fingerprints


And of course kiln wash your shelf. Do both sides and flip periodically - it will take a lot longer to get out of flat.

Ed