WarmGlass.com

SW has a great grinder. Has the advantage of the water feed coming through the center of the wheel which means you get an even wetting of the grinding disc and with their design, you can use the entire surface of the disk right through the center since they have no post or anything else in the way. ...

Just had a mechanical Allen Bradley relay wear out. Great relay with 24 volt coil. ARC WELDED ITSELF TOGETHER IN THE ON POSITION. That is it for me with mechanicals. I would use the Bradley relays again but I am not into having to preventively replace them every year or so. I am going to convert to ...

Fiberglass boat builders too for fiberglass chop to add to molds.
Tried Vermiculite as a matrix? I like it but don't use it for a glass contact area.
Another source for stainless wire is fishing line, long spools and cheap.
Kevin in Tofino where people go fishing.

To get clear glass, it needs to be a pot melt or equivalent system. What would the factory where you are getting your glass suggest to use as a flux? Do they have any suggestions? My suggestion would be to learn to like the lines! Kevin in Tofino

That's why vacu-blast equipment was invented. No mess and high speed blasting. Blast gun shoots out sand and vacuums up all the dust and bits at the same time. Kevin

Lynne, you need a tiger torch used by torch on roofers. There are short handle ones and long handle ones. Convoy roofing supply. Don't have their number or location on the mainland. If you are really worried about heat on the hose, burn out the organics in fibre paper or blanket that you can use to ...

Put glass inside multiple plastic bags. Place a scrap of plywood on a concrete surface. Put bag of glass on top of plywood. Smash glass in bag with sledge hammer. Cheaper still and no metal at all. Kevin

My guess is if you are having to do all the contacting with the gallery and that they are not contacting you regularly, then they are not totally enthused about your work and you will not be selling much. Beware the gallery/shop that demands inventory immediately upon first contact (they might be ne...

The Boyce of book fame has said you can never over anneal. The slow cooling to room temperature and when you can get the glass out of the kiln without burning your hands is telling you the difference, the IMPORTANT difference between the internal temperature of your glass and the air temperature you...

Your heat loss is through air flow through the fibre. Beat that and a 6 cubic foot kiln will run on 23 amps (30 amp) 220v breaker. Kevin

Barbara, having stretched a fair number of kiln elements if you overstretch them, it is really hard to get them to "compress" evenly. Be sure to not just crimp one side of the coil because the elements will move later upon firing and possibly short themselves along the coils of the element...

Don't forget the BEE 4x106"metal sanders from Canada. They too last a lifetime and could be cheaper. Check the archives. Kevin

The LED lights come in various outputs etc. I do not know if they are dimmable. They are cold running and just screw in the socket. The ones I have seen for the fire escape lighting units are the size of a standard light bulb with an array of led lights mounted on the core of the "bulb" in...

Three things to do: Get a good glass that doesn't scum up. Clean the glass well. Don't fire as hot. I never use overglaze. Kevin

Try light emitting diodes. No energy cost and last 100,000 hours. Look for a regular screw in one used for fire exit lights. The screw in bases come in small and regular bulb size. You should be able to find them at a lighting/electrical wholesaler.Kevin

Try glass from a different source. It could be glass cords that are showing up when you melt the glass again.
Kevin

If the acids don't work and the glass has chemically changed the alternative to grinding that might be easier is to sandblast. Kevin

Dry skin might be caused not from exposing your hands to water but rather to fungus growing on your skin. Check to see if the cuticles of your finger nails look dry too. Get a doctor/lab to do some testing. You might be surprised. I have worn gloves and used hand lotion for years only to find out th...

Not used one but their literature 15-20 years ago as I recall was claiming something like 8-15 minutes for a firing. If you want production, the way to go, but very pricy. Your insurance agents would not get as excited about a commercially made gas kiln as they would about a home made one!

Marty's comments are truly the best way to go. Beware however of feigned enthusiasm and we need the inventory right away customers who want to pay later. Those are the places, the ones demanding that you ship right away, that will be the ones that fail to pay you. Ship those first few orders COD or ...