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Falling Particles from the Top
of a Brick Kiln
One of the more frustrating things that can
happen in a brick kiln is for particles from the roof of the kiln to
fall onto your glass piece. Although it's possible that the
particles can be removed by lightly brushing or blowing the piece,
it's more likely that they're fused in place and will require some
effort to remove.
In most cases the best and least expensive tool
for removing brick dust particles is a dental pick (or similar sharp
metal implement). Use the pick to carefully loosen the
particles. This approach doesn't always remove everything, but
in many cases it's sufficient to get the job done. Sometimes
you can get away without fire polishing after removing the brick
particles, but fire polishing will be necessary if the surface of
the glass is marred or pitted.
A more powerful tool, such as the Dremel, can
also be used to remove dust particles, but this is not normally
recommended. The problem with using a Dremel is that it digs
much deeper into the glass, leaving divots that are more difficult
to smooth without extensively cold working the piece. Even
re-firing the piece to fire polish put the Dremel marks doesn't
always do the job, so if you use a Dremel take care to use it gently
and as lightly as possible.
Click here
for the next part of this tip, which suggests other ways to remove
brick dust particles from your glass.
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Copyright 2006 Brad Walker. All rights
reserved.
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