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Fusing Straight Lines
Achieving sharp, crisp lines, such as
those in the Steve Immerman work pictured at left, is more
complicated than simply cutting strips of glass and fusing them
together.
That brute force approach is more
likely to result in fused lines that are wavy and soft, rather than
straight and crisp. Sometimes wavy is desirable, but for those
times when it's not it's good to know how to fuse your pieces to
make straight lines more likely.
The simplest technique to achieve
straight lines is to fire the piece, then flip and re-fire.
This technique, which is often known as "flip and fire," takes
advantage of the fact that when strips are fired the topside often
moves around and becomes wavy, while the weight of the piece helps
keep the underside straight. Flipping and re-firing moves the
straighter lines to the topside of the piece.
Of course, there are times when you
want the lines on both sides of the piece to be straight and crisp.
This can be done, but it is more complicated and requires more
attention to detail than a simple "flip and fire" technique.
Click here for more -- including suggestions, techniques, and firing schedules to help you achieve
straighter lines on both top and bottom of your piece.
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Copyright 2006 Brad Walker.
All rights reserved.
The photo in this tip is a
detail from Steve Immerman's "Skaket Beach", which is featured in
the Warm Glass Gallery.
Click
here to check it out in more detail.
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