1st plate/dish

[sandmor1]

Hi
I am very pleased with how things are going so far although I am still using the factory settings on the kiln.

I would like some advice on a piece I am working on.

I cut the 30x30 Tekta in two and put stringers frit on before fusing in my Skutt Hotstart. ( Med/Full fuse)

After that I cut the 15x30 sheet into four  and put a square in the middle, covered it with a square of Tekta and fused again with Med/Full fuse.  The edges came out nicely rounded and the shape was good (approx 20 x 20 ) but the lines of each piece are clearly seen. They haven't fused together like they did when I made a 10x10 trial coaster.

I will be slumping this in a mould later, will that help or will that not be hot enough to make a difference?

I am happy enough with it as a first attempt but I need to improve.

Should I have fused it at slow rather than med ? I really don't want to move off from the factory settings just yet if I can avoid it.

Thanks for your help.

Sandra




Here's the photo

[Barnacle Bay]

Glass will generally pull in at the sides and other area if under 4mm even if it is placed on top of another piece, so it sounds like the pieces you put on top naturally pulled in hence that's why you can see the the lines.   Here is a small example I did the other day where I wanted the lines to show a 'cracked glass' effect, this has been slumped into a small oblong.  It was heated to full fuse, on the initial firing.  You can also see that it has pulled in even more on the outer edge where you see the clear as it is thinner (3mm).  If I wanted to keep the edge straighter I could have fired it to a contour fuse schedule, but the glass pieces laid on top would be more pronounced/raised.



To upload pickys, you need to first upload pics to a flicker account, I use Photobucket as I find it simpler to use.  Then when writing a post press the image button the one to the left that looks like a dart board above the smileys, then copy the direct link and paste it between the img HERE img from your online photo host.

Hope that helps a bit.

Lou

[Barnacle Bay]

are the lines similar to the above picky where they don't meet in the main area excluding the edges?

[sandmor1]

are the lines similar to the above picky where they don't meet in the main area excluding the edges?

No. There are no gaps at all. It is just as if the top glass was just set on top and looks as if wasn't fused at all apart from the fact that the outside edges are all nicely rounded.

Sandra

[Zeldazog]

If you're using the preset programs in a Skutt, have you adjusted for the fact that you're using Bullseye rather than Spectrum glass?

[sandmor1]

If you're using the preset programs in a Skutt, have you adjusted for the fact that you're using Bullseye rather than Spectrum glass?


I'm sure you will not be surprised to hear that I never even gave that a thought.

So I guess that means I will have to learn how to schedule the kiln....This should be fun....I don't think 

I have had a look at flicker but haven't quite worked it out yet.

Sandra

[Zeldazog]

If you're using the preset programs in a Skutt, have you adjusted for the fact that you're using Bullseye rather than Spectrum glass?


I'm sure you will not be surprised to hear that I never even gave that a thought.

So I guess that means I will have to learn how to schedule the kiln....This should be fun....I don't think 

Off the top of my head, I seem to recall that there were three programming options - full auto, full manual and something in-between - I can't remember which bits of the program you can alter though.

Don't forget to check if there's a difference in not only fusing temperatures, but annealing too.  I've never used Spectrum, so I have no idea - as soon as I got my original kiln, a Hotstart, I changed it to centigrade and manual programming immediately, as I had spent a year at evening class where I'd programmed the kilns at college a few times.

Here's the guide to posting photos, it explains Flickr (although I think that might have changed) Photobucket and how to link from another external site

http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=23036.0

[June]

Interesting you say that Dawn as it hadn't occurred to me our firebox pre-programmed schedules were for Spectrum  . However, I did quickly realise these programmes were not hot enough on a full fuse and we have put our own full and slump programmes in that we use in preference.

Re the stringer on your clear tekta, it does sound like they have tack fused rather than fully fused and that is why the stringer is raised. You may need to tweak the programme or put your own one in and see if that is better 

[June]

Oh and no, a slumping cycle won't fuse the stringer more as it doesn't get as hot as a full fuse. If you want it flat, you will need to fuse it fully again and you may need to tweak your programme settings. 

[flame n fuse]

the bullseye website has advice on fusing programmes, see Technotes 4 at this link  https://www.bullseyeglass.com/methods-ideas/index-of-articles.html

[MeadMoon]

Hi Lou,

You mention a "contour fuse" but I've never heard of that.  What is it?  Is it similar to a tack fuse?

[June]

Contour fuse is between a full and tack fuse, so maybe a little texture but not as much as a tack fuse 

[MeadMoon]

Thank you June!