Glass fusing is getting more and more popular. Jewelry makers are using fused glass pendants. You see fused glass in lighting fixtures and in art pieces. Fused glass is easy once you get the heating time correct. At first, you may have a pile of poorly fused glass, but you can refire it or make them into frit. This tutorial shows the different heating steps for your kiln from start to finish.
Put on your safety glass!
Cut your glass in the desired design. Try to layer the glass in 3 layers. Heated glass wants to be 1/8"; so the more layers you have, the wider the glass will spread when it is fired. Use glass glue to keep the glass pieces in place.
2
Heating - from room temperature to the desired fusing temperature anywhere from 1100-1700 degrees depending on your kiln. A successful firing schedule is one that is the fastest possible for the desired look with out being too fast to prevent mishaps. On average for a full fuse, you will stop firing at 1500 degrees.
If you have a meter that does not have a hold feature, meaning, the meter can not hold a certain temperature for a given time, try to find a setting that fuses 1000 degrees per hour, this is # 7 on my kiln, the instruction book did not tell me this, it was through trial and error, so if I fire on #7, it will take 1 ½ hours to fuse to 1500 degrees.
3
Soaking-for slumped or draped pieces, usually around 1500 degrees; the longer the soak the more the glass conforms to the shape. The soak time depends on your final desired look, it is usually done at the highest temperature and could be from 1 minute to well over an hour.
4
Rapid cooling (done after the fuse)- from fusing temp to annealing temp 1000 degrees to stop the fusing process and return the glass to a solid state.; simply turn off the kiln and open the door.
5
Annealing phase- Gives the glass time to realign its crystal formation to relieve stress. If glass is not properly annealed, you risk cracking the piece
6
Once the pyrometer goes down to 0, open the kiln and look at your beautiful fused glass!
Tips & Warnings
Do not open the kiln during the Annealing phase. You will want to!
