I knew I had a challenge on my hands. First, my kiln temps are off or the guide I use is incorrect. I've had the most problems with slumping, well, more with draping, but it's the same thing temp-wise. Bowls and plates have been ok. But my candle holders and vases just haven't been working.Now, if it turns out to be a pain in the ass or something that would require too much of an investment in gear, we can cancel the order. Otherwise, I trust your creativity!
I stumbled upon the site Fusedglass.org and the temps they suggested for the projects I've tried are quite a bit different in some cases. My kiln is programmed to slump at 1280-degrees (F). Fusedglass.org suggested slumping at 1175-degrees. That's a big difference. The hotter the glass gets, the more it slumps (eventually becoming liquid).
I didn't want to test my new temps and ideas out on the requested piece (although I did a bit anyway), so I made two pieces (4" fused glass squares, 2 layers thick). I also knew I had to figure out what to use to do the draping. I ordered a kit from Delphi Glass, but it was discontinued. Back to square one.
What if... what if I use two of the 10" fire damz I ordered for the pot melts side by side, stood them on their sides, and wrapped them in 1/4" fiber blanket. Well, the first attempt on the first business card holder didn't go well. The blanket is too thick and doesn't fall under the weight of the glass as I thought it would. The 4" square is slightly curved downward. I ramp the temp up and it still doesn't help. I ramp it up again to 1295. Still no luck. I let the piece cool down and anneal for the day.
The next day I notice I can bend the fiber blanket I'd used in the first firing down enough along the sides for the glass to continue draping down the sides like it should. I set the timer so I can check the progress. Once the glass falls into place, I let the piece cool down and anneal for the day. Success!
This glass was capped in clear when it was fused. You can see the bubbles made from air pockets that were trapped between the layers as it fused into one piece.
For my business card holder second attempt, I decided to go ahead and try making the one my friend had requested. Since she was pretty specific in her color requests, I used two pieces of the blue/purple swirl glass back to back to make sure the colors would be vibrant on both the inside and outside of the piece. I also knew that the 1/4" fiber blanket from the last project couldn't be reused and cutting new a blanket square would be too stiff. < LIGHT BULB > Ah ha! I have high temp wire. So I just snipped two pieces of the wire and wrapped the blanket around the two fire damz, trimmed it to fit, then wrapped a piece of wire around each end, securing the blanket around the fire damz. After getting the glass to balance, I started the kiln. It was still too warm last night to open the kiln, but here's what I got to see this morning:
I even added little rubber feet to the bottom of the business card holders. And, just to prove these are functional:
