Kiln Programs

[NKahler]

Im getting my Jen-Ken AF3P kiln tomorrow :-D and i cant wait to use it, but I dont have any schedules that I know for sure will work for me..
I Want to anneal beads made in COE 104 glass, and I would like to try slumping with plain window glass. Does anyone know The times I should use for these?

What I know right now- Please fix these if im wrong
For beads, bring up to 940 for 30 min then bring down to 600 and turn off.
And for window glass, heat up a bunch until slumped then turn off kiln and it will "partly" anneal.

Also when I get my kiln will it be hard to set up and get ready (what will I need to do before I get started)? I barely know anything about this stuff..

Thanks alot everyone! :)

Oh, and I think im gonna be batch annealing..

[Dennis Brady]

Im getting my Jen-Ken AF3P kiln tomorrow :-D and i cant wait to use it, but I dont have any schedules that I know for sure will work for me..
I Want to anneal beads made in COE 104 glass, and I would like to try slumping with plain window glass. Does anyone know The times I should use for these?

What I know right now- Please fix these if im wrong
For beads, bring up to 940 for 30 min then bring down to 600 and turn off.
And for window glass, heat up a bunch until slumped then turn off kiln and it will "partly" anneal.

Also when I get my kiln will it be hard to set up and get ready (what will I need to do before I get started)? I barely know anything about this stuff..

Thanks alot everyone! :)

Spectrum Glass has a number of firing schedules on their website, and there are several for fusing and slumping here:
http://www.glasscampus.com/tutorials.htm

For float glass (clear window glass) or clear architectural glass, use the same schedules as for Spectrum but add 50 deg. F to all temperatures. Just the temperatures. Use the same ramp speeds and hold times.

[NKahler]

Ok thanks, so you think this would be fine for slumping float glass?
400-1050-20
400-1300-20
AFAP-1000-60
400-100-0

Thanks :)

[NKahler]

Ok, now this is what I have come up with.. Again, please fix it if anything is wrong

Rate-degrees-hold

Float glass Slump
400-1050-20
400-1300-20
AFAP-1000-60
400-100-0

Batch anneal
640-960-40
346-850-10
346-700-0

Anneal
2000-950-10.00
400-960-30
346-850-10
346-700-0

[Dennis Brady]

Ok thanks, so you think this would be fine for slumping float glass?
400-1050-20
400-1300-20
AFAP-1000-60
400-100-0

Thanks :)http://www.debrady.com/kilnglass/vessels/bambootray.htm

I've used that for about 100 firings (with the exception that we ramp at 850 on segment 2). We do a lot of single layer slumps of float and clear architectural. Here's an example:
http://www.debrady.com/kilnglass/vessels/bambootray.htm

You must remember that if you're only firing to slump temperature, the glass will NOT fire polish on its edges so you'll have to cold finish it before firing. The quality of the edge that goes into the kiln is the quality that will come out. If you want to fire polish in the slump firing, I suggest the following:

400 - 1050 - 20
850 - 1300 - 20
1200 - 1350 - 6
AFAP - 1000 - 60
400 - 100 - 0

Segment 3 ramps quickly to 1350 where the glass edge will fire polish, stays just long enough to smooth off the edges, then dives down before the glass can distort. We use this "dash 'n dive" system routinely on slumps and drapes.

Many of the artisans we work with have discovered their profits enhanced by using cheap art glass for a variety of single layer projects. Like these:
http://www.debrady.com/kilnglass/fused%20glass%20photos/napkiniridbkbaroque.JPG

You can buy Spectrum Rack Packs for about $200 that contain 80 sf of glass. Each piece (costing $2.50) can make a 12" circle, 4-6" squares, or a set of 1-8" & 4-4" sushi trays. Combine that with being able to deliver a completed project in a single kiln firing, and there's some profit to be made.

[Dennis Brady]

Ok, now this is what I have come up with.. Again, please fix it if anything is wrong

Rate-degrees-hold

Float glass Slump
400-1050-20
400-1300-20
AFAP-1000-60
400-100-0

Batch anneal
640-960-40
346-850-10
346-700-0

Anneal
2000-950-10.00
400-960-30
346-850-10
346-700-0

Your anneal schedules are fine. The only change I'd make is to round off the numbers. The goal is to memorize your firing schedules. I prefer to use ones that are easier to remember. To make it easier to work from memory, I'd use:

Batch anneal
650-960-40
350-850-10
350-700-0

Anneal
2000-950-10.00
400-960-30
350-850-10
350-700-0

Although many will use an extremely rapid ramp to race up to anneal temperature, I've seen too many bead kilns with brick damage so I keep to 1000 dph on the intial ramp. My thinking is that I'd rather start the kiln 30 minutes earlier then risk damaging it.

[NKahler]

Thanks alot for the help :)
Now i just need to program it all in!

Btw, I love that bamboo textural plate