Am trying (so very hard :-\) to make flower murrini from a tute. I've made my lovely centre stamen cane, and my almost lovely petal cane, but am having huge problems assembling it all in the flame. Lots of dropped bits, pinging bits and quite a bit of inappropriate language too! I'm preheating each bit in the flame prior to putting it on, rather than using the kiln-but I can't get my head around the idea of picking up widdy bits of cane out of the kiln. Any ideas for a very small bench top pre heater for the bits of cane?
Has anyone tried to wire the cane pieces together and preheat them as a bunch in the kiln, then melt the ends of the bundle and stick onto a maria(?), then snip the wire off and then encase? I've seen pictures of complex millefiori that have been wired up, but assumed that they fused them? Any advice? Types of wire which will be ok in the kiln and also near the flame?
If you can find one, I've heard there are little coffee warmer pads that you put cups on to keep coffee warm are quite good for this sort of thing.
My kiln is a bit rubbish and the outside gets quite hot so I used to put a little metal plate (an old metal light-switch plate, but I am sure any thin metal plate will work) ontop of the kiln where it used to get hot enough to gently pre-warm things on that. Much easier taking things off the top of it than trying to find bits inside the kiln. Alternatively you could also find a little Pyrex bowl or petri dish and put that inside the kiln with the parts you are trying to keep warm.
Yes, agree with steampunkglass.
Also sometimes having a torch-top marver can be a good place to warm things up. Or shove them in the (actual food version) oven for a bit as that will help! Or use microwave kiln ...
Little George Forman grill?
Primark have a coffee warmer thing that goes into your computer i.e USB point that might help £2
" I can't get my head around the idea of picking up widdy bits of cane out of the kiln."
I used to use one of those chip shop ladle type thingies to hold individual petals in the kiln. They have very long handles. I just took it out of the kiln so I could pick up a petal then put the whole lot back into the kiln to keep at 520 C. Alternatively put your individual pieces into a cold kiln, arranged so that they are in the order you want to use them. Heat up the kiln and then use a long clear stringer (with just the tip molten ) to pick out each piece as you want to use it. It worked for me.
Some good ideas to explore, I especially like the stringer idea as my tweezers really don't like the shaped petal cane, so I could mount each one on a stringer. Coffee warmers could be a goer too, I'll trawl the net. Not many shops around here, so thank goodness for the internet!
I have used a candle plate warmer with a tile on top to keep things warm - cheap, but efficient :-) If you get good tea candles they last for quite some time.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chrome-Food-Warmer-Single-Round/dp/B004S126X6/ref=sr_1_8?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1393319292&sr=1-8&keywords=candle+food+warmer
If you are wanting to use wire to hold everything together then you could try copper 1mm wire. It's what I used in a class a few years back when we made giant bundles which were put in a kiln to tack temperature and then put in a furnace and pulled to make murrini. Here's a link to my review of the class if you'd like to find out more:
http://www.bigbangbeads.com/Big_Bang_Beads/Notes_on_Diana_Easts_Master_Class_Day_1.html (http://www.bigbangbeads.com/Big_Bang_Beads/Notes_on_Diana_Easts_Master_Class_Day_1.html)
You could also use a pair of warmed hemostats to pick glass up out of the kiln doorway.
Thanks for posting that Charlotte. I seem to remember you with another made up bundle at another class, possibly at Liquid Glass. now the Glass Hub, am I correct?
Yes - that's the class which Di ran there! ;) A very old review...
That looks like an AMAZING course!
Quote from: mel on February 25, 2014, 12:56:22 PM
That looks like an AMAZING course!
That's what I thought! WOW!
Nick
It was - I learnt so much which is why I wrote the review. Diana also had some info on her website about a class she took on mosaic cane with Jim Jones...but I can't find it now.