Fusing to less than 6mm

[doriwallace]

I am very new to fusing but have managed to fuse together some sheets of glass with frit and/or millefiori chips and then slump the fused sheets into small dish moulds.   I understand that fully fused glass wants to be about 6mm - i'm finding this a bit too thick for the size of dish i'm making.  Is there a way of fully fusing decorative elements into a glass sheet but maintaining it at 3 - 4mm thickness?

[jeannette]

Not as far as I can tell and that's only because I've fused a few times and I have read the glass behaviour stuff (as you must have done from your post).
The only way that I think you could do this is to add some weight on top of the glass - put an extra kiln shelf on the top with "some" weights on it and then you could flatten it out, but I expect it would be unpredictable as to how thick it would be and also the final shape of the piece.
Be interested to hear if it's possible as well.

[silkworm]

When I started going to evening classes in kiln work the tutor encouraged us to use float glass till we got used to cutting etc and I have a lot of pieces I made then using 2mm glass - they do not have as nice rounded edges but were not a total disaster. I have just made some little trinket dishes - two layers of 3mm glass plus frit and though they are nicely rounded after slumping they do look slightly clumsily thick so I would be glad to hear what advice is given.

[micpru]

I frequently fire pieces that are much less than 6mm.  I tend to use 6mm for pendants and jewellery as it keeps it's shape better when I'm using my full fuse program.  You can layer up on a 3mm piece but the top layer glass will not always "sink in" fully and this may just mean the dish will be a little bumpy which can add character.  Always fused the piece flat first and then slump into the dish mould after.  If the pieces are less than 6mm on a full fuse the  edges may loose their shape a little to but again this can add to the design.

Recently made some coaster using a 3mm piece and a 2mm piece and they can out beautifully.

I hope this helps and experimenting is the best bit.

x

[doriwallace]

Thank you for all your responses.  Just found this really useful tutorial

http://fusedglass.org/learn/project_tutorials/kiln_pressed_glass

[chas]

It really is a matter of experimentation and note-taking to avoid repeating mistakes... kiln differences, float/bullseye/ glass thickness, mould profile - all require taking into account: and then there's temperature and hold...

If it's any encouragement, we made shallow dishes/bowls from 4mm float, but had to stray significantly from the schedule supplied with the kiln (Nabertherm) in maybe a surprising way:

"as listed" 6mm Bullseye: up to 673deg and hold for 10 mins.
"as developed" 4mm float: up to 835deg and hold for 35 mins.

So, not very intuitive then!

Chas

[Moira HFG]

Thanks for the pressed kiln glass link, dori!
They explain the technique really clearly, and I love the result.