Glass Community

By Dianne Carter, Spirit of Fire

I have been firing glass pendants, business card holders, cabochons, and earrings in my Paragon SC-2 jewelry kiln. When I realized that my creativity was outgrowing my SC-2, I went to the garage and took a long, hard look at my big beautiful Paragon TnF-24 ceramic kiln sitting all alone in the corner.

Most of the reading that I have done on firing glass in a ceramic kiln suggests firing in the mid-level area. I fire glass using a schedule designed by Paul Tarlow of www.heliosglass.com.

Before loading the kiln, vacuum the entire inside including the lid. Vacuum the kiln after each firing as shelf paper turns to a fine dust and is hazardous to inhale. I use a Shop Vac with a HEPA filter. I wear a 3M 8577 Particulate Respirator P95 mask when vacuuming.

The loading instructions are for a 29” deep ceramic kiln. You will need to experiment to find the best shelf placement for your kiln. Align posts vertically between shelves.

1. Start by placing 6 - 1" posts on the floor of the kiln in the appropriate places to support 2 half shelves. Place 2 half shelves on the posts leaving a 1" gap between the two shelves for heat circulation.
2. Place a full round shelf on top of 6 - 12" posts. Place Bullseye Thin Fire shelf paper on the shelf.
3. Add the first pieces of glass to the shelf. Scatter a few pendants around. This is a great way to find out how similar pendants fire at three different shelf heights.
4. Place 1 half shelf on top of the 3 - 5" posts.
5. Place 3 - 8" posts in position to support one more half shelf. Place a sheet of Bullseye Thin Fire shelf paper on each 1/2 round shelf. As you can see, I have created a bi-level shelf system for better heat circulation. If you do not do this, glass on the top shelf will full-fuse. Place a fusing project on each half shelf and again scatter a few pendants on each shelf level.
6. Close the lid of the kiln and, of course, place the Kiln God (made for me by a dear friend) on top of the lid to watch over this firing and to keep the glass "happy."

I prefer a dimensional fuse for these pieces, so they will have character. I also fire it slowly as I have 3 layers of glass.

Paul Tarlow’s Firing Program (degrees F):

• Segment 1 / RA1: 250 per hour / SET 1: 1000 / Hold: 60 minutes
• Segment 2 / RA2: 250 per hour / SET2: processing temp / Hold: 4 minutes
• Segment 3 / RA3: 970 (let drop on own to 970) / SET: 970 / Hold: 60 minutes (glass getting "happy")
• Segment 4 / RA4: 120 per hour / SET4: 700 / Hold: 0 minutes

I have had some exciting projects come from tweaking the hold time at the top and speed of temperature rising and lowering through segments. I have also had some disasters, which happened more often in the beginning when I forgot how patience plays a huge part in successful firing. Don't cheat and open the kiln too soon unless you like the sound of breaking glass! Remove the Kiln God before opening the lid. Yes, he has been flipped off the kiln in excitement! Open the kiln to joy and wonder.

Have fun, and keep your glass HAPPY!

(Visit Facebook.com/ParagonKilns for additional photos of Dianne’s glass firing project.)

Written by :

ahoward

 

Comments (2)

..., It appears that you have one half shelf about 125mm

March 20, 2010     

It appears that you have one half shelf about 125mm from the elements and one 200mm from the elements, while the full round is about 680mm from the elements. Can you describe the differences in appearance of the fused glass at the end of the process? What size of pieces are you firing? I understood from the article that it was small pieces 9mm thick. But the 1 hour soak at 520C seems to me to indicate larger pieces. The soak at this temperature, while not critical, does not seem to be any of the temperatures given by manufacturers, so it leads me to wonder what glass the schedule is based upon. Stephen

Stephen Richard  report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Pictures on Facebook, Stephen, I first saw this posted

March 22, 2010     

Stephen, I first saw this posted on Paragon's facebook page. If you visit that page, you will see pictures of some of the pieces the author is firing. While she has several smaller pendant sized pieces filling in the voids, she is firing more substantial plate-sized pieces, as well. Wanting to fire larger pieces is the reason she began to experiment with the larger kiln. I have been volunteering at a local arts center in my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska and want to see about expanding their repertoire of classes to include glass fusing. They currently have 3 large ceramic kilns and at least one of them looks like it could be used for firing glass. My question is... Are there any special concerns if you are switching off between ceramic and glass firing in the same kiln? Can you fire glass in any ceramic kiln that has a computer on it? Does the ceramic kiln regulate temperature accurately enough for glass firing? I'm guessing that the reason for the extended soak period is to make sure that the kiln comes to temperature in every nook of the kiln... Thanks for this article! Carrie

Carrie Strope  report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0