Stargazing

[Kev]

Thanks Barb..nothing ventured, nothing gained. If it flops, I'm not out any more than I was yesterday.

[Barbara]

So true and look at all that was learned from it.

[ct4mom]

keeping  I sure hope it works out for you.

[Kev]

Success!!!!!

The wound healed beautifully and is very hard to even see where it was.  Not sure I want to temp fate by trying to slump a previously injured piece. Since I was planning on using it for a coffee table tray kind of like a giant coaster..I guess one solid flat piece will work better anyway.

Thanks for all the advise....so greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll remember to slow down each progressive firing and to slow down the ramp up between 1250 and 1465.

You must really have to pile on that fine frit to get any color out of it. It's like it just disappears, which I was counting on in this case.

[Audrey]

Wow, I am so glad you had success with this after all your frustration. Good save.

[Kev]

Thanks Audrey! I'm glad too...there was a lot of glass tied up in that piece.

[Rebecca]

I like the blue and white better than the moon and aurora.

Rebecca

[ct4mom]

I love it this way too. I knew you could save this and it will look fabulous on your coffee table. 

[Barbara]

Success and worth it!  Nice Kev 

[Kev]

LOL..on closer inspection...it's rather ugly...I think I will slump it..if it breaks..oh well. I don't like the look of it flat on the ottoman. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[Stephen Richard]

I was told by a Spectrum guy once, the stop at 1000 was a place to let the glass become a little more uniform, but mostly to stop the free fall so the computer does not skip through the anneal cycle. With the wonderful new controllers maybe this idea is old, but this winter I did have my kiln free fall right through the anneal to 800F. It skipped that seg and It was a huge loss that cost me dearly.

Richard, do you have a meathod or chart for determining rates and temps, per thickness and diameter of the glass.

Unless the glass is near the side of the kiln, size does not matter much.  You can fire small things really fast, of course, but when you get to 200mm upwards it is the thickness that matters.  I wouldn't say I have a method, just a rule of thumb.  for 2 layers of 3mm I fire up to the bubble squeeze at 200-250C/hr; for 6mm solid I fire at 150C/hr; for 3 layers of 3mm - 200C/hr; for 9mm solid - 100C/hr; for 4layers of 3mm - 100C/hr; for 12mm solid -70C/hr.  these all assume full complete flat layers.  If you put stuff on top of these, go up at least one, or better two thicknesses for the initial heating rate.

Stephen

[Judy K]

Thanks :)

[Becki]

I was told by a Spectrum guy once, the stop at 1000 was a place to let the glass become a little more uniform, but mostly to stop the free fall so the computer does not skip through the anneal cycle. With the wonderful new controllers maybe this idea is old, but this winter I did have my kiln free fall right through the anneal to 800F. It skipped that seg and It was a huge loss that cost me dearly.

Richard, do you have a meathod or chart for determining rates and temps, per thickness and diameter of the glass.

Unless the glass is near the side of the kiln, size does not matter much.  You can fire small things really fast, of course, but when you get to 200mm upwards it is the thickness that matters.  I wouldn't say I have a method, just a rule of thumb.  for 2 layers of 3mm I fire up to the bubble squeeze at 200-250C/hr; for 6mm solid I fire at 150C/hr; for 3 layers of 3mm - 200C/hr; for 9mm solid - 100C/hr; for 4layers of 3mm - 100C/hr; for 12mm solid -70C/hr.  these all assume full complete flat layers.  If you put stuff on top of these, go up at least one, or better two thicknesses for the initial heating rate.

Stephen

Stephen, you're not far from the System96 recommendations...actually they're a bit more conservative.
http://www.system96.com/Pages/FiringGuideF.html

[Kev]

Here it is finished.

[ct4mom]

Looks like a good save from here.

[Kev]

At least it's functional now.

[Judy K]

I hope it holds together now. It looks fine. I would not sell this one. Once broken , they can break again if you misdiagnosed the first crack. Don't ask how I know 

[Kev]

I would never think about selling it.