Drop out ring notes

Picture of a drop out ring mold.

Picture of a drop out ring mold supported with shelf posts.

Picture showing glass in a kiln, melting through the bottom of a drop out ring mold.  Picture from the Slumpy's webpage. 

Picture showing completed glass art piece from the Delphi webpage.   A square drop out ring was used.

This is a great reference guide for any glass artist trying to make a fused glass vase using a drop out ring mold.  Keep in mind that all kilns are different and that you may have to adjust your hold time depending on a few variables as discussed below.

Drop out ring notes:

Two layers of 3mm tick glass is enough for a 4" drop.

For every additional 2" drop, you need to add another layer of 3mm thick glass.   

For a 6" drop vase, you need 3 layers of 3mm thick glass fused together for a total of 9mm of glass.

For an 8" drop, you will need four layers of 3mm thick glass for a total of 12mm of glass.


Slump at 1250 degrees Fahrenheit and hold for about 60 minutes.
The wider the drop ring opening, you need to use a lower temperature and/or less hold time.  You will also need to adjust temperature and/or hold time when using more layers of glass.

Feature Your Artsy Blog on our Blog

So I was sitting here at the computer this morning thinking about what we wanted to post about today.  And suddenly I thought, hey, why don't we give other bloggers a chance to be featured on our blog!  So that's what we are going to do!  Any interested bloggers can either send us an email at HarrachGlass@gmail.com or post a comment below with their blog address.  We'll check out your blog, and if it's good and artsy,  we'll post it to our blog, it's as simple as that.

We are looking for blogs that are about art, Etsy sellers, basically any internet artist.  We are also interested in sharing blogs about internet tools and tricks for twitter, Facebook and webpage development since we all need some help sometimes when it comes to HTML tags etc.  And, any art glass supply distributors, retailers, or manufacturers are always more than welcome!

Firing your new kiln for the first time

by Glass Fusing Made Easy
http://www.glass-fusing-made-easy.com/


On this page, we will be discussing the first firing kiln procedure. When firing a kiln you need to watch and control the temperature inside. These steps will help you achieve the desired schedules. These procedures are typically done at temperatures around 1300-1500 degrees Fahrenheit.

For a first firing, it is recommended that you fire the kiln to about 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and hold it there for about 30 minutes. For the first firing, only place the shelf and posts inside the kiln. 

There is a refractory coating that is placed on the element grooves in the firebrick lid. As the elements in the lid expand during the first firing, any loose particles or pieces inside the grooves will fall into the empty firing chamber. Once the kiln has cooled, vacuum the lid grooves and the inside of the kiln, being sure to remove any particles that might have landed on the kiln shelf. Then the kiln is ready for future firings.

Keep an eye on the glass in the kiln is an essential part of glass fusing. A good peep hole or glass panel is a great help in seeing what is happening to your project.

Although kilns are hard working pieces of equipment, they don’t stay new looking for long. The steel case can tarnish and small cracks can become visible in the firebricks. This is routine and nothing to get alarmed about. It is an appliance, and pieces of equipment get dirty and soiled during usage.

Even though the firebrick is fragile, it can routinely withstand high temperatures over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Correctly taken care of, firebricks can endure hundreds of firings.

So, can you do glass fusing in a ceramic kiln? Yes. The basic difference between the two kilns is that glass kilns usually heat from the top and ceramic kilns heat from the side.

Although your new piece of equipment can seem intimidating at first, it is only a tool and can be easily mastered. Read these simple instructions on the firing kiln procedure and fire up that kiln.