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I was wondering if anyone has used a torch in raking to extend the rake time without having to close the kiln and wait.
Thanks in advance.

Kilns heat quickly, why not just close the kiln and wait? Seems like less trouble than torching it, plus, I would be nervous about getting a torch so close to a kiln, but that's just me.

Dana W.

I don't guess it'd be a problem as long as you didn't let the glass get down past the strain point, i.e., no part of the glass got cold enough to thermal shock. But it'd be a lot of work and probably not all that much faster than just closing the kiln back up, having a cool drink and letting it come back up to temp. It'd take awhile to heat with smaller torches--you'd be fanning the torch over an area for a few minutes to put enough heat back into the glass and compensate for the heatsink (the kiln shelf) underneath. And if you had a big torch you might have to worry about thermal-shocking the kiln shelf or boiling/shifting the softer glass.

One of the things you learn about raking and other kiln manipulations, BTW, is that there's an advantage to working with the heat dissipation, in stages: You have more control over the final product. With raking, in particular, you can make a few passes, see where that's going and allow your drips to relax in, then open the kiln back up and make corrections as needed, make the next few passes.

But if you've got the equipment and you want to experiment with it a bit, go for it. Let us know what happens...

Thanks for the input. I guess I am just too impatient. It takes about 15 minutes or so to get back to the 1600 realm. I thought maybe a torch (Like they use in hot glass) might be more expedient. Here is a pic of my latest experiment. I figure it may take me another year to come up with what I am trying to accomplish. I love impressionist work, that is where I want to be with glass.

having a cool drink and letting it come back up to temp.

That is the trick to it, getting loose. One Mojitos, two Mojitos, three Mojitos more. Unfortunately combing is off the radar for a while longer, maybe next Christmas. Anyway Ironman this game is all about patience which I've learnt time and time again but at all times a push is needed to understand the limits. I'd rather I understood better from all the failures than to have another calamity. peace, haydo