It seems like just yesterday I was buying my first baby kiln an Evenheat Studio Pro. Then I got the papa kiln a Paragon Pearl 22. The first is sometimes too small, while the second is sometimes too big.  So I now have the mama kiln a Skutt Firebox 14. This means I pretty much have one kiln from each of the major manufacturers. And I promise, hon, it’s my last kiln. Really, I do!

The Firebox 14 kiln gives me the ability to do tests and experiments on smaller pieces without heating up my bigger kiln. It’s really a great size. This kiln will hold a square foot of 4×4 tiles. The shelf kit that comes with the kiln is 12″ x 13″. I am not sure why they didn’t make it square. I have to remember to grab the shelf on the shorter 12 inch side so that I can get my fingers out after placing the shelf in the kiln.

The first thing I noticed about the Skutt was the awkward placement of the electrical cord. It comes out from the front of the kiln (the controller box). So if you place the kiln facing out into the room the cord goes from the front, under the kiln to the back. This means you basically have to place the kiln right in front of the outlet. My outlet is raised up on the wall.  As you can see in the picture, I ended up placing the kiln sideways to give me a few more inches to position the kiln where I wanted it. I’m sure there is some engineering requirement that resulted in this configuration. Just wish  they had made the cord a bit longer.

The other thing I had to get used to was the controller. Now I will readily admit that I have been spoiled with the 12 key controller on the Paragon Pearl. The Skutt has just 3 buttons that are used to access all functions and input firing schedules. Using the arrow up key to advance the temperature to 9999 is not the most convenient. I can see that a 3 button controller can be more confusing for some than a 12 button controller. All in all though, after using it a few times, it started to make sense. It does come programmed with several basic firing schedules, but these are just a place to start. One other thing I miss is an alarm. On the Paragon I can set an alarm to go off based on the temperature. This is nice to have when you want to check on things during the process time of the schedule.

The Firebox 14 runs on standard household current. This makes it a great kiln for anyone that doesn’t want to add a  240 electrical line.  It is big enough to do some decent size plates and bowels.  However, at 6.5″ deep it will be limited on the size of any drape molds. All in all I am very impressed with this kiln. But I am glad I have my other two kilns as well. Each one serves a purpose. I really do need three kilns!

This glass handkerchief vase came out of the kiln Tuesday morning. I used a drape mold from Slumpy’s called Sorrento. I love the shape of this mold. The base is a bit wider than my other  mold which makes this perfect for a taller drape. This vase is a little over 8 inches tall. It looks great sitting on my kitchen windowsill with the sun light shining through it. Can’t wait to see what it will look like full of white mums.

This fused glass sushi plate is another project I made in the fused glass class I took at Hollander Glass. We made pattern bars in the first class. The next class we cut up the pattern bars and fused them into another piece. After it came out of the kiln, I sandblasted the blue sides of this dish which gave it a really unique look that is difficult to capture in a picture. It has a matte almost stone-like look to it.

Thanks Cyndi! Looks like a sand blaster is on my list of tools to buy now. Yes, honey! I’ll need more room in the garage!

This glass business card holder was made using Slumpy’s stainless steel business card mold. I’m still tinkering with the firing schedule (aren’t we always?) but all in all it turned out great.

Made a recycled glass soap dish from some lighter colored green glass. I’m calling it Spa Green.

I’m sure you have seen my other soap dishes, but in case you haven’t here is how I make these eco-friendly soap dishes. I take bottles, remove the labels, clean well, and break into small pieces. The pieces are then put into the kiln to fuse together at a temperature over 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. The next day the flat piece is placed on a mold and put back in  the kiln. It is slowly heated to form to the mold and then slowly cooled down.

It is for sale here. Check my store or online shops for other colors.

Recycled Glass Soap Dish - Spa Green

$18.00

Here is the completed bowl that I made in my fusing class that I took at Hollander Glass. I love this technique and can’t wait to try it in another project. It looks like I’ll need another piece of equipment though. A flat lap sander is an essential part of the process.

Fused Glass Strip Technique

Wow, the last few weeks have been crazy busy around here. Our college graduate got a job. Yay! It was a whirlwind of activity getting him moved and ready for his new job. We are so proud of him. Last week I was busy with our church’s Baby Daze consignment sale. Anyone can drop off their priced baby and children items for sale. Volunteers work the sale. Owners of the items get 60% of the sale price and the church gets 40%. The community gets great deals on all kinds of kids stuff, and anything that doesn’t get picked up goes to local charities. This is a real win-win situation.

All this to say I haven’t done much in the glass studio lately. I did take a class a few weeks ago at Hollander glass here in Houston and worked on the strip technique above. It uses 1/4 strips of glass placed cut side up.  This piece will be slumped into a bowl.

Oh and even though my kids are grown, I found a great buy at the Baby Daze sale. I got a baby monitor for $10 which now sits in my garage studio so I can hear the temperature alarm on my kiln.

The Kaiser Lee Board is a fiber board that can be cut to make custom shaped molds for casting and slumping and used as a kiln shelf. I bought a piece of this board when I got my first baby kiln. Two kilns later, and I am just now beginning to experiment with it.

This material cuts easily, but it is messy. You have to wear a mask and gloves! You have to wear a mask and gloves! No I didn’t forget to delete the second sentence. It is that important. The dust from this material is not something you want to inhale and can be irritating to your skin. To minimize sending the dust into the workshop, I work over spread out newspaper that I can gently fold up and throw out.

First, I cut a few pieces to make a business card mold. Unfortunately, the piece I had was too thin, and two pieces together was too thick. It comes in different thicknesses – something to consider before you purchase. I tried a small piece under the neck of a wine bottle to make a handle. The board stuck to my wine bottle and left a very rough surface on the glass. Not the look I was going for. You do have to use primer, and if you want a smooth surface, you will have to use kiln shelf paper on top of the board. Something else I tried was to cut pieces that I used to damn a cross shape for my small kiln. With shelf primer on the board pieces, the result was much better.

My experiments with the Kaiser Lee Board have been pretty limited. I can see how this product has potential; especially if you want to create custom shaped casting molds. But my advice would be to either take a class from your local glass shop or talk to someone who has used it before you buy. A 12” x 12” by 1” piece of this material cost $38.50. I am now rethinking how I might use this, and actually use the texture to my advantage. I’ll give it a try again, but I definitely need some more input from people who have used it. If you’ve used this product, please leave a comment and let me know how you work with it.

The first lesson is it really helps to have a good tile saw when cutting up pattern bars. My little Home Depot special was not very good at it. I have a diamond blade on it, but it was difficult to cut the slices up thinly and evenly. Looks like someday I’ll have to invest in a better saw.

Since my slices were a bit thicker than wanted, I ended up using a base layer of thin clear glass, then two more layer of colored glass. I cut strips of glass that I placed around four of my pattern bar slices. Using three layers of glass in my design, I probably should have dammed the piece with some fiber paper to keep the shape. I thought maybe I could get away with it since the bottom layer was thin glass. However, you can see in the picture how the strip that had the pattern bar pieces in it is shorter than the rest.

There is also some kind of mark on one of the pattern bar slices. I was careful to put the pattern bar slices immediately into water as I cut them and gave them a good scrub and rinse. I have read that sometimes the grit and scum from grinding and cutting can cause this problem.

So now I will need to do some cold working. In other words, I will have to grind the sides even. Maybe use my hand pad sanders to buff out the mark, and add some clear frit over it. Then it’s back into the kiln for another firing.

Application

The Hi-Fire primer, which has a pink color to it, goes on easier. It soaks into the shelf  and dries almost instantly. That means no waiting between coats. The Primo primer, which is purple takes longer to dry and seems to puddle. Because of this I have to wait a bit between coats.  The Primo primer also separates more and settles into a thick mud at the bottom of my jar. Each time I use it I have to make sure I get it mixed up really well before I use it. I just bought a wire whisk at the Dollar Store to help me mix it up. I had some marbles in the jar, but they just get stuck in the bottom.

Clean Up

Hi-Fire is a bit of a pain to clean off the shelf. I use a painter’s scraper to get the majority off and a green kitchen scouring pad to get the rest. Primo primer, as advertised, is easy to clean off. I just use the green kitchen scouring pad to rub off the old primer and follow with a damp paper towel to get the rest. In either case, I always wear a dust mask and rub gently to avoid sending the dust into the air.

Finish

Although both primers result in a smooth finish on the back of my pieces, the Primo primer was a bit smoother. To get the smoothest finish possible, I run the palm of my hand or a piece of rolled up pantyhose over the shelf before placing my pieces on it.

Conclusions

My conclusion is that each one has it place, and I will keep both in my studio. For my shelves, and molds I will mostly use the Hi-Fire primer. This primer will usually give me at least two firings on the shelf, and many, many, firings on the molds. Primo primer only gives me one firing. But because it is so easy to clean, I will use it for any molds that have more detail and also for castings. For example, my round pendants, like the one below, are made in a casting mold. In between firings I use a stiff toothbrush to clean off the old primer. I might also use Primo on the shelf if I am looking for an exceptionally smooth finish on the back.  I still have to do some experimenting on which I prefer for high fire projects like screen melts. Primo ads say you can use it for firings up to 1550 degrees Fahrenheit. I couldn’t find any information on how high you can go with Hi-Fire.

Of course, I haven’t tried Bullseye’s primer yet. Would love to know what others are using and why. Please leave a comment and let me know.

I’m Selling This:

Round Dichroic Fu…
$20.00