How do I minimize (or prevent) appearance of seams?

[Shelley Lewis]

I'm trying to fuse a 96 Coe 10x10 black base, small dichroic pieces in the middle, and a clear top. If I don't have some seams for air to escape, I get large raised bubbles. I really don't want seams to be apparent in finished piece. Any suggestions? My firing schedule is: 250 1150 45
250 1250 45
Full 1460 12
Full 960 60
150 700 0

[Morganica]

Pictures? Not visualizing what you're after....

[Valerie Adams]

Sounds like you're sandwiching the dichro between the black and the clear, which is a recipe for bubbles.

Without photos, I'm guessing you could cap your 10x10 black sheet with a 10x10 clear sheet, then arrange your dichroic glass over the top. Fuse to your desired finish.

[Shelley Lewis]

Sorry, I don't know how to resize my photo to upload it. Yes, I am sandwiching the dichro between the two layers. I've tried placing the dichro on top, but then the fused piece is not smooth on top.

[Shelley Lewis]

Hope this works...

[Valerie Adams]

It's definitely not going to smooth out with the glass between layers!
I can't tell how thick your dichro is. You might try using thin dichro as your third-layer design elements and then take to a full fuse. I get flat, smooth surfaces when I do that. But I'm also not using a lot of glass volume as a third layer.

You could pre-fire your dichro on an oversized clear piece, taking it to a near-full fuse, then trim back to size, place on the black and fire again.

[Shelley Lewis]

Thanks so much! Will definitely try thin dichro. What I'm using now is a mix of 1-3 mm. Sooooo much to learn for a newbie!

[DonMcClennen]

I would suggest you use 2 Firings (Hotter and longer holds) 1st firing dichro to black.. 1480F 20 min hold.... 2nd firing clear cap with chads.. 1480F 20 min. hold. should take care of bubbles!

[Shelley Lewis]

Thanks for the help! Still experimenting with my new kiln