Did it work? This is my third attempt at making a fused glass drop vase. If you watched the other two tutorial videos they ended in rather spectacular failures. The first was a total flop. If you watched the video you’ll know what I mean. In the second tutorial, the end was explosive.
Well, I’ve tried to take lessons from the previous failures and do it again. Did it work or not? Watch the video to find out.
The Video
In the video description, you will find links to related videos, a chapter list with time stamps, and links to more resources.
WATCH THE VIDEO
Project Information
All of the glass, I’m using is Bullseye 90 COE. I use Thinfire fiber paper on my shelves. In this project, I also used 3 mm fiber paper on the mould. This was to increase the friction of the glass disk to help it resist pulling through the hole in the drop mould.
The glass I used was the glass from the explosive second attempt. I broke it up and refused it into a bigger disk than the first one.
The former used is stainless steel. I cut a strip from some scrap I had here. It was also the smaller former from the first attempt. I just cut another strip and hooked it in to make the circumference larger, and hence the diameter larger.
I did remove some glass, but not enough and the disk was thicker than required. This required a fairly long anneal time to allow for the uneven thickness of the piece.
The schedules I used are below, and in the video, I do discuss some of the lessons I learned during this process.
If you have made drop vases, I love to see what you have done. You can upload a photo to me using our Contact Us page.
Full Fuse Firing Schedule to Refuse the Glass
- #1 – 222 C (432 F) up to 535 C (995 F), hold 60 minutes
- #2 – 333 C (632 F) up to 670 C (1238 F), hold 60 minutes
- #3 – Full up to 805 C (1481 F), hold 30 minutes
- #4 – Full down to 482 C (900 F), hold 180 minutes
- #5 – 38 C (100 F) down to 425 C (797 F), no hold
- #6 – 82 C (180 F) down to 371 C (700 F), no hold
- #7 – 132 C (270 F) down to room temp.
Slump Firing Schedule to Form Vase
- #1 – 167 C (333 F) up to 660 C (1220 F), hold until touchdown
- #2 – Full down to 482 C (900 F), hold 360 minutes
- #3 – 8 C (46 F) down to 427 C (800 F), no hold
- #4 – 27 C (80 F) down to 371 C (700 F), no hold
- #6 – 132 C (270 F) down to room temp.