For some time I had been looking for a taller floral former as the stainless steel ones that are sold are typically only 4/12" to 7 " tall and I want to slump some vases that are taller for taller cut flowers (Glads, Roses, Iris).
Well I bought a 24" x 48" sheet of 2" thick HD Duraboard so that I could make seemless kiln shelf to fit my Skutt GM 1414 coffin kiln. After trimming the board to size, I had some extra material left over.
I took the extra material and then cut four 2"x 2"x 10" inch sections.
I used stainless steel screws to screw the sections into a 4" x 4" x 10" block, tapered the block into a cone shape with a flat bottom at the both ends, used some of the dust material created while shaping the block to fill in the seams and screw holes then regidized and fired 1675 to burn out the binders and solidify the cone.
The result is a very sturdy 10" floral shapped former.
My concern is expansion/contraction characteristics of the Duraboard form material .
I know Stainless steel shrinks more than glass when cooling and results in easy removal of the former from glass that has been drapped/slumped over it.
How is the duraboard material going to behave. Right now all I have invested is time in making the former because all the material was scrap.
But I don't want to waste about 3 sq ft. of glass if it is going to get trapped over the former (or crack when cooling). I tend to slump so that the folds are tight and close to the former to provide vertical support to the stems of the flower being put in the vase.
I can always just take my chances and see what happens, but I thought I would post here in case anyone has experience with making draping moldes out of duraboard material.
- Al
Slumping over Fiberboard (Duraboard HD) floral former
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Bert Weiss
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I haven't exactly done what you did, but I think that the worst case would be difficulty removing the mold, not broken glass.
I made some floral formers with black iron pipe. A flange for the base. 1" pipe of any height, topped with a pipe cap. This is covered with a draped blanket and tied off with some nichrome wire. They worked fine. I got the idea, guess where? oh yeah WGBB.
I made some floral formers with black iron pipe. A flange for the base. 1" pipe of any height, topped with a pipe cap. This is covered with a draped blanket and tied off with some nichrome wire. They worked fine. I got the idea, guess where? oh yeah WGBB.
Bert
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Lynne Chappell
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I've made mine taller by sitting 1-2 short stilts ontop of the former, (If you use the right stilts, it will balance out)
THEN a circle or 1/4" firber board on top of that (the cir. is about 1-1.5" larger than the top of the former), -makes for a bigger base.
THEN - I cut a circle of thin fire, about 2" larger than the glass blank. Draw a circle in the middle of the thin fire, the size of the fiber board circle,
THEN pin-wheel 8 cuts out from there. This allowes the thing fire to sort of fit around the former.
Before you ask, the fiber board circle is a loss. You could reuse it if you could get out in one piece, but I've never been able to do that.
I use the thin fire because it gives a layer between the former and the glass and, sometimes, keeps the glass from fusing to it's self at the fold.
These vases end up about 9". I'm restricted by size and depth of my kilns. Ones wide enough to make bigger, but not deep enough , the other is deep but not wide. - sometimes you just can't win!
One more thing, I know someone who was trying to go taller (over 12") but gave up after EVERY piece cracked at some point. Sometimes we just push the limit of what we can do and have to back up an inch or two.
Sorry this is so long, but since I've made over 100 vases this way, I know it works (most the time) and wanted to pass it on.
Good luck - Marge B.
THEN a circle or 1/4" firber board on top of that (the cir. is about 1-1.5" larger than the top of the former), -makes for a bigger base.
THEN - I cut a circle of thin fire, about 2" larger than the glass blank. Draw a circle in the middle of the thin fire, the size of the fiber board circle,
THEN pin-wheel 8 cuts out from there. This allowes the thing fire to sort of fit around the former.
Before you ask, the fiber board circle is a loss. You could reuse it if you could get out in one piece, but I've never been able to do that.
I use the thin fire because it gives a layer between the former and the glass and, sometimes, keeps the glass from fusing to it's self at the fold.
These vases end up about 9". I'm restricted by size and depth of my kilns. Ones wide enough to make bigger, but not deep enough , the other is deep but not wide. - sometimes you just can't win!
One more thing, I know someone who was trying to go taller (over 12") but gave up after EVERY piece cracked at some point. Sometimes we just push the limit of what we can do and have to back up an inch or two.
Sorry this is so long, but since I've made over 100 vases this way, I know it works (most the time) and wanted to pass it on.
Good luck - Marge B.
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Stuart Clayman
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Bert,Bert Weiss wrote:I haven't exactly done what you did, but I think that the worst case would be difficulty removing the mold, not broken glass.
I made some floral formers with black iron pipe. A flange for the base. 1" pipe of any height, topped with a pipe cap. This is covered with a draped blanket and tied off with some nichrome wire. They worked fine. I got the idea, guess where? oh yeah WGBB.
I have done the same with 2" pipe and put kiln wash on the pipe. Sometimes if I think that the glass might get close to the pipe I have put thin Fire under the piece and it will fold with the piece.
I do not use a cap and the glass never has slumped down into the end of the pipe. That surprized me at first.
Stuart
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Susan Slack
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- Location: Green Oaks, Il.
I bought stainless steele vegetable bins (like they use in cafeterias) at a resturant supply house. They work great. There is a ridge at the bottom, so you do not want your glass to form too tight at the edge. The resturant supply houses have been a pretty good source for ss molds.
Susan from Green Oaks
Thanks for all the great replies. So many clever approaches.
I think I will combine a couple of the ideas presented here by Bert, Marge, and The1glassman.
Go with a 2" black pipe with flang base against the shelf to keep the pipe sturdy while firing. Use a piece of thin fire with a hole cut in it the size of the pipe and an outside diameter to cover the flange just incase the glass comes in contact with it during slumping.
On the top of the pipe go with a 3-3 1/2" inch circular piece of 1/4" fiber board to hold the glass out away from the pipe during firing and to give the vase a larger base for sturdiness (a need for a lager base is why stacking SS formers for height hasn't really worked that well in the past).
As Marge stated, I will have to destroy the circular piece of fiberboard to get it out of the bottom of the vase, but I have a 24 x 48" sheet on hand and should be able to get many, many 3-3 1/2" circles from it if I do this repeatedly.
As for the original rigidized floral former...have another idea of a use for it by splitting it vertically down the middle and slumping over the two halves then joining the two halves with silicon or epoxy and placing them in a stand out of iron or some other material.
Anyway...thanks again for all the great feedback.
- Al
I think I will combine a couple of the ideas presented here by Bert, Marge, and The1glassman.
Go with a 2" black pipe with flang base against the shelf to keep the pipe sturdy while firing. Use a piece of thin fire with a hole cut in it the size of the pipe and an outside diameter to cover the flange just incase the glass comes in contact with it during slumping.
On the top of the pipe go with a 3-3 1/2" inch circular piece of 1/4" fiber board to hold the glass out away from the pipe during firing and to give the vase a larger base for sturdiness (a need for a lager base is why stacking SS formers for height hasn't really worked that well in the past).
As Marge stated, I will have to destroy the circular piece of fiberboard to get it out of the bottom of the vase, but I have a 24 x 48" sheet on hand and should be able to get many, many 3-3 1/2" circles from it if I do this repeatedly.
As for the original rigidized floral former...have another idea of a use for it by splitting it vertically down the middle and slumping over the two halves then joining the two halves with silicon or epoxy and placing them in a stand out of iron or some other material.
Anyway...thanks again for all the great feedback.
- Al