First fuse, any last minute tips?

[Dmclax]

Hi!, I'm doing my first fuse tonight and I'm really excited!
I just wanted to check through my firing schedule and if there are any other details or requirements I have missed.
I have a paragon SC2, and I am firing clear bullseye glass.
My shelf has props and the glass has been placed on top of some thinfire paper..I am also considering to put some fibre paper under the shelf in case something happens, causing the glass to melt and run over the shelf.

How much space should I leave between my glass pieces? is the thinfire paper enough on it's own? and is this kiln schedule okay:

222C-677C hold 30 mins
333C-816C hold 20 mins
full-482C Hold 1 hour
83C-371C no hold
full-80C no hold

Thanks

[Nicknack]

Hi.  From personal experience, I would say that 816C is probably a bit high (I set mine to 803C), and 20 mins is quite long.  I originally set my kiln to 204C for 10 mins, and it flowed (not drastically, but more than I wanted.). The longer you leave it at the top temp, the more it flows.  I now set it for 5 mins, and make sure I'm there for the critical time.  I watch it through the window, and, as soon as the time is up, or it gets overcooked, I open the door about 1" for a minute or two, and, if before the time is up, do a Skip Segment (press UP arrow, SStP will appear, Press START, press START again).  30 mins at 482 should be long enough.

Thinfire paper ought to be enough on its own, and you don't need a great deal of space between pieces, BUT definitely be there at the top temperature.  Every kiln is different, but, if I'd left mine for that long at that temp, I would have had glass running everywhere!

Especially for the first firing, I would say BE THERE for the crucial time.  I wouldn't dare leave mine even now, just in case, but I haven't done too many firings.  I dare say when you've done loads, you get blase, and can just leave it to its own devices, but by then you know what your kiln will do.

I hope this helps.

Nick

[Zeldazog]

I'd agree with Nick that 816 seems a bit high if you're doing a straightforward full fuse with Bullseye - I usually do it at 797 - but that's after experimenting and seeing where my kiln fires at.

The advice I give to everybody is don't be tempted to fill up your kiln the first time - it only costs about 50pence to fire, a shelf full, even a small SC2 one, would be much more value of glass than the electric will cost.  Unless you're firing scraps, just fire one small piece, then if it *is* too hot, you've not wasted much glass.  Also, one smaller piece in the middle is far less risky if you *are* firing too hot...

If firing standard thickness (approx 6mm) I leave about 5mm usually

I only ever watched my kiln twice - the first time to make sure it didn't overshoot top temperature, and the first time I actually fired anything in it, I waited around until it reached process.... after that, its all a bit boring!

Don't forget to show us the results!

[Dmclax]

Hey guys, thanks for your advice. I have done some more research and yes I have changed the top temp from 816C to 804C, I have also changed to holding times, so I think it will be okay.
I only have a few pieces in the kiln but I think I will remove some just to be safe, the kiln is second hand, so I'm reasonably confident it won't overshoot...however, I am still going to watch it and I have some fibre paper on the bottom of the kiln just in case.

The results shall be interesting, I'm experimenting with encasing organic pieces. Will keep you posted, thanks!

[Nicknack]

Best of luck!!!!!!!!!!!!  I only watch mine for the few minutes at top temp, so it's not like wasting hours and getting bored.  I can work out about the right time to look, and after it's on the way down again I just leave it to get on with it.  Then wait for when I open it the next morning!!!!!!

Organic pieces?  Can't wait to see what you're doing!

Have fun, that's what it's all about

Nick

[Dmclax]

Hey all!

Here's a link to my blog so you can see the results, some great successes, others a bit odd, but still very interesting! And, most importantly a successful fuse! (p.s feel free to follow me

http://debbieclaxton.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/first-fuse/

However there was one issue, when I checked this morning, the display had a Ftl (fired too long) and I'm not sure why, this is my new revised schedule:

222c-677C-Hold 1 min
333C-803C-Hold 10 min
Full-482C-Hold 1 hour
83C-371C-Hold 0
Full-80C-Hold 0

I was wondering if the last ramp down to 80C was to much???
Before I saw this on the display, my dad had turned the kiln off thinking the firing was complete. I turned it back on soon after and it continued the ramp down and when it finished I found that message. do you think that caused it?

Either way the glass has fused perfectly.  Thanks for your help :)x

[Nicknack]

Glad it worked!!  One thing - I think it might be an idea to hold for 30 mins at 677C, not 1min, as it needs time for the temp to equalise all over the kiln before the next stage.  After the hold at 482 on the way down I would just let it cool down on full.

Love the fern

Nick

[jeannette]

Fern is nice, you often get some nice things from leaves
Following!

[MeadMoon]

Looks similar to my usual full fuse schedule for Bullseye in an SC2, except that mine has a 30 min hold at 677 (you definitely need more than 1 min here) and goes to 804 instead of 803 and I don't have the last seg at all - stop at 371 and allow to cool naturally with the door closed.

The error is probably caused by the rate on your last segment being too fast - the kiln cannot cool that quickly.

[Dmclax]

Thanks everyone for the response, I think the next firing I do I will change my schedule a little and see if there is an difference or changes. No harm in experimenting

[Les]

the fern looks fab !

[MeadMoon]

Yes, I forgot to say that the fern turned out very well.  I must try that - there are far too many ferns in my garden since they keep spreading spores every year, so one or two fronds won't be missed.  Did you say that it's a fresh (ie. not a dried) frond?  Wouldn't that give air bubbles, or did you use stringers or frit around the edges to help the air to escape?

[Dmclax]

Heya,
The fern was picked straight out of the garden and fused. Not dried at all, the other flower piece (which is on my blog) was dried and I think that's why it burnt away so much. I didn't use any stringers or tricks to avoid air bubbles, I guess I was lucky....I don't know if this had anything to do with it but the stem of the fern was sticking out one side of the glass, maybe that made the difference, because other pieces that were completely sealed and dried created more air bubbles.
Hope this helps and Good luck, I look forward to seeing your glass ferns

[Zeldazog]

After the hold at 482 on the way down I would just let it cool down on full.

You should always (if you can) have a controlled cooldown after this - annealing is a controlled cooling down process - the first stage of this is the anneal soak - the hold at 482 - which evens out the temperature across the glass, followed by the slow ramp down so that the temperature remains even throughout the annealing zone - otherwise cooling too quickly can put the stress back in.

Some kilns, depending on how efficient they are, might cool down quicker than 83 degrees per hour, so faster than Bullseye suggest for the annealing:

http://www.bullseyeglass.com/images/stories/bullseye/PDF/TechNotes/TechNote_4_2012.pdf

Elaine's probably right about the error message - it says about this error message on Paragon Web:

http://www.paragonweb.com/Kiln_Pointer.cfm?PID=58


Love the fern!!

[MeadMoon]

Well, I tried a fern frond between two 10cm x 10cm pieces of Tekta and got an unsightly bubble right in the middle.  The rest of it looks ok though.  Not sure where to go from here - whether to smash bubble, fill with frit & re-fire, or slump the thing and call the bubble a "feature" - a window through which you can see the original state of the frond