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Minimizing Trapped Air Bubbles
This is part two of a
two-part series on minimizing trapped
air bubbles. Click her to visit part one.
4. Support
the edges of the glass with small beads
This is especially
useful for large glass sheets. It involves supporting the edges of
the glass with tiny, nugget-sized, pieces of glass (sometimes called
beads). Use glass that
is the same color as the base glass. Place the pieces in several different places along the outside edge. This will give the air
additional room to escape. Also, make sure you go slow enough so
that the glass can slump from the center out and the air has time to
escape. And remember, even clear beads will leave a trace
behind, so design your piece to take advantage.
5. Another approach is to plan on two firings. This
works well for pieces that have three layers, with glass (such as
dichroic) or an inclusion trapped in the middle. For the first
firing, put the middle pieces flat on the kiln shelf with one layer
of glass on top. Fuse this, then flip the piece (so that the
middle layer is now on top), and place your final, top layer of
glass above. You may get a few bubbles, but they will tend to
be smaller and less noticeable, and you won't get bubbles around the
edges of the trapped inclusion.
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Copyright 2006 Brad Walker.
All rights reserved.
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