Pattern Bar Help....

Joanne Owsley · Post by **Joanne Owsley** » Fri May 16, 2003 2:06 pm

I made my first attempt at a pattern bar yesterday. It turned out OK, but I ended up with a spikey ridge running along both sides along the top.
What did I do wrong? Too hot maybe? I held at 1450 for about 30 minutes.
Thanks in advance for the suggestions

Jackie Beckman · Post by **Jackie Beckman** » Fri May 16, 2003 2:14 pm

You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I take pattern bars up to 1500, so it's not because you went too hot - it's just the nature of the beast. One thing that will help is cutting your fiberpaper dams a little shorter. The glass hangs up on it forming the little spikes. That said, we all get them to some extent. If you had access to a wet belt sander, you'd make a few passes and they'd be gone. Otherwise, even a pass or two on a little grinder will help, just make sure you break off big ones first so they don't fly around the room. When you slice them on your tile saw, you can square up your slab first and that will take care of them also, however, you'll loose a portion of your bar. Maybe next time put a layer of "sacrificial" clear around the whole thing, knowing that you'll be cutting or grinding it off.

Joanne Owsley · Post by **Joanne Owsley** » Fri May 16, 2003 2:24 pm

Wow, thanks for the speedy reply! I was thinking I'd just grind them off 'cause otherwise, it looks pretty cool. Maybe I'll work up the nerve to post a pic when I finish the piece...

Thanks again for the insight!

dave laporta · Post by **dave laporta** » Fri May 16, 2003 2:38 pm

to be even cheaper- get a diamond file and file it by hand- a couple of passes with a 100 grit file works nice for me.- dave