My first kiln strike (I hope)

rjw69215 · #1 2011-10-25, 2:41pm

Well just made a boro bracelet and it's in the kiln, hopefully it strikes to a cool color. Fingers crossed. I'm usually a soft glass guy but boro is soooo cool, if it strikes cool I'm tossing out all my soft glass...well maybe not.

rjw69215 · #2 2011-10-25, 2:42pm

Pictures to come....

Kim V · #3 2011-10-25, 3:16pm

Waiting (im)patiently

Nitadee · #4 2011-10-25, 5:19pm

rjw69215 · #5 2011-10-26, 7:14am

Turned out a bit dark with some color, a little disappointed. I'll post pics later on tonight, they're not throw aways but was hoping for a bit better. I don't think my oxy con and cricket have the oxygen to do really good striking colors...

nevadaglass · #6 2011-10-26, 7:21am

If they are kiln strike colors - anneal them a second time - for example - Mai tai is a kiln striking color so the more times you anneal it in the kiln, the more colors you can coax out of it. If the colors are torch striking colors then forget it - what you see is what you get /wink

waiting anxiously to see your pics - it sounds cool either way!....

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjw69215

Turned out a bit dark with some color, a little disappointed. I'll post pics later on tonight, they're not throw aways but was hoping for a bit better. I don't think my oxy con and cricket have the oxygen to do really good striking colors...

rjw69215 · #7 2011-10-26, 8:22am

Quick question from the "Boro Noob" how do I know what is a kiln striking color or a flame striking color? I'll take a pic tonight and then kiln them again, I kilned at 1150 for 30 minutes and then back down to 910, should I have gone higher? Maybe 1175?

LarryC · #8 2011-10-26, 10:25am

TAG and some of the others have tips concerning their color on their websites. I have found that there is no clear cut division between kiln and torch striking colors. It may be more work but I can torch strike the colors that are suggested to be kiln struck if I work them a bit longer. I think that some colors just want a bit more soak time and those are the ones that are suggested to be kiln struck. I do quite a bit of kiln striking with gold and silver fume and I may do it a couple of times depending on the piece I am working on. For kiln striking I start with a 30 minute soak at 900F and them ramp up to 1150 and soak for 30 minutes. Any hotter and I have seen some slumping. This cycle can be safely repeated before annealing. Finally I ramp to 1050 to start my anneal. Since kilns vary quite a bit your temps may be a bit different and you'll have to experiment to determine whats optimal for you. I really do prefer to torch strike if possible since I can immediately see the result of a heat cycle and can adjust if I dont like it. Pics?

rjw69215 · #9 2011-10-26, 12:21pm

Great, thanks for the info...I'll get the pics on here around 8:00 pm est. I'm hoping when I go to Brent Graber's implosion class next week in Oregon that I might have a striking "Ah Ha" moment...also I'm thinking my little cricket and 5Lpm oxy con isn't the ideal setup for striking..

LarryC · #10 2011-10-26, 1:02pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjw69215

Great, thanks for the info...I'll get the pics on here around 8:00 pm est. I'm hoping when I go to Brent Graber's implosion class next week in Oregon that I might have a striking "Ah Ha" moment...also I'm thinking my little cricket and 5Lpm oxy con isn't the ideal setup for striking..

Striking boro colors love high heat. High heat requires a reasonably large volume of high purity oxygen. If you dont have either from your oxycon you may be right.

GLASSFREEK · #11 2011-10-26, 1:12pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjw69215

Great, thanks for the info...I'll get the pics on here around 8:00 pm est. I'm hoping when I go to Brent Graber's implosion class next week in Oregon that I might have a striking "Ah Ha" moment...also I'm thinking my little cricket and 5Lpm oxy con isn't the ideal setup for striking..

Not much help here on color, but I look forward to meeting you on class week

I'll have to pop in and shake some new hands.

I can promise he will deliver at LEAST one ah ha moment!

Pam (on mikes machine)

rjw69215 · #12 2011-10-26, 1:23pm

That awesome, my glasshive kiln is THE BOMB...think I might have sent you another customer, she'll probably be ordering one soon.

Kim V · #13 2011-10-26, 2:08pm

Bob, you are going to learn sooooo much from Brent!! And you'll have fun

nevadaglass · #14 2011-10-26, 2:15pm

Bob,
In answer to your question on how to tell whether its kiln or flame striking glass. I don't have a good answer, the only way I can tell is,
most times when you buy the glass it will state in their description if its a torch striking or a kiln striking glass. If the vendor you are buying from doesnt include the info, check another website for description. Oft times, I use various vendors based on price when buying rods, but I can review multiple sites to get a good feel for what that glass really does from the descriptions and pics they provide. Not all sites contain the same info. Many simply copy what the manufacturer listed but sometimes, some vendors provide additional working info or better pics.

You can also always contact the manufacturer or sometimes go to their websites for tips of how to treat that particular color in terms of heat and annealing. If nothing else - email them. I know GA and Northstar both have places on their sites with this info.

Larry also provided you with good info on annealing. I have been afraid of going as high as 1150 on annealing for fear of slumping - I definitely would NOT go up to 1175. That bracelet might be more disappointing than you think!

I don't buy alot of kiln striking colors as I don't know that I want the look of my piece left up to fate in terms of appearances depending on my kiln schedule. Like Larry said, its more work to torch strike a kiln striking color, but you at least know what you're getting.

rjw69215 · #15 2011-10-26, 2:51pm

i am very excited, even though I'm flying from Cincinnati and driving another 3.5 hours from Portland to Brent's.

rjw69215 · #16 2011-10-26, 3:25pm

Thanks for all the great info, you guys are the best.

Mr. Smiley · #17 2011-10-26, 3:54pm

After the class, you'll have a really good idea about what it takes to set up the colors and strike them... if you go too large for your torch, you will not be able to get bright happy results with the striking colors. You have fallen into the same boat most of us find ourselves in... the desire for more fire! LOL

See you soon!

rjw69215 · #18 2011-10-26, 5:58pm

well here is my pittyful attempt at kiln striking, they are headed back to the kiln for a retry in about 5 minutes....Brent don't be worried, I'm fairly good at soft glass and am a quick learner. Actually im good with the glass, striking....not so much...hehe

Three Muses Glass · #19 2011-10-26, 6:46pm

Are those beads solid color?

LarryC · #20 2011-10-26, 7:06pm

Looks like you did not get them hot enough in the torch nor did you burn off all of the haze.

rjw69215 · #21 2011-10-26, 7:47pm

They were a transparent, guess I have some work to do....planning on getting a scorpion and two 8Lpm concentrators in the next few months to replace cricket, hopefully it will work better. I thought for sure I had it hot enough, guess not. I'm gonna give it another shot in the morning gonna really put the heat to 'em. Wish me luck, sorry to waste everyone's time.

LarryC · #22 2011-10-26, 7:52pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjw69215

Wish me luck, sorry to waste everyone's time.

Thats silly

We all help each other out here. What colors are these? Assuming they are silver striking colors, Be sure to crank the oxy up after heating to burn off the haze.

rjw69215 · #23 2011-10-26, 7:55pm

Ok, will do. I do really appreciate all the help. Love to learn new stuff.

rjw69215 · #24 2011-10-26, 7:59pm

Yea, sorry....silver striking colors, one is a northstar purple and I forget the other. I'll get it in the morning and tell ya. It looked so good in frantz's picture.

Three Muses Glass · #25 2011-10-26, 8:50pm

You're not wasting anybody's time.

Try layering those colors. Most boro colors are heavily saturated color. Use lots of clear and/or WYSIWYGs and a little color. Do a search in this room for boro beads, I'm sure there are lots of tips and recipes!
BTW- Brent is awesome, you're going to have a blast!

Over the Moon · #26 2011-10-27, 4:39am

This ->

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarryC

Looks like you did not get them hot enough in the torch nor did you burn off all of the haze.

In which case, re-kilning them will not help. I also think your striking schedule is too high, and too long at that high temp. It's overkill, imho.

Bunyip · #27 2011-10-27, 5:24am

My diagnosis is: MORE OXYGEN. It may help to go smaller as brent noted. I had good luck with smaller beads on a Minor+1 5LPM concentrator when I first started out.

Sadly, that won't be enough for you if you get bit by the boro bug. I foresee bigger torches, more expensive concentrators and large tanks of oxygen in your future.

^_^

deb tarry · #28 2011-10-27, 7:39am

Yes Bunyip that boro bug is causing me to itch and I know the only thing to make it go away is a bigger torch and more oxy.

rjw69215 · #29 2011-10-27, 8:40am

Thanks Chris, you were exactly right. Went smaller this morning and the colors were much better, not great but better. Thanks again.

Bunyip · #30 2011-10-27, 9:41am

The funny thing is that people will love your beads even if the color doesn't do what it's "supposed" to. Unlike you, all they will see is what it DID do... In fact, I consistently sell stuff that I dislike because I messed up the color, or let it develop haze inside, etc... So never let appearances stop you from selling stuff as long as it is soundly made. Someone will love it.

Usually it will sell first if your experience is anything like mine. Apparently I need to screw up more.