I had a bit of a chat with the girls on my beading forum and they kept telling me to just keep heating it but also to keep checking the pieces every 30 seconds or so. I couldn't understand this as my pieces seemed to be taking forever to form a decent shape.
Well... when I bought the kit the supplier had run out of Thin Fire paper so said they would send me some but told me I could use the paper that came with the kiln. This paper was a fibre like paper and the supplier said the only difference with this paper was that the bottoms of my piece would not be as smooth as those heated with the thin fire paper.
Well... the paper finally arrived yesterday so I used it for the first time... OMG what a difference this paper has made. I think the fibre like paper was acting as an insulation and was blocking out a lot of the heat coming up through the base of the glass.
Well... the paper finally arrived yesterday so I used it for the first time... OMG what a difference this paper has made. I think the fibre like paper was acting as an insulation and was blocking out a lot of the heat coming up through the base of the glass.
The pieces below are ones I made yesterday. As you can see the difference in shape of the middle bead, which was heated on thin fire paper, compared to those on either side of it is quite amazing... and I managed to get this shape within about 6 minutes as opposed to the 18-20 minutes heating time of the other pieces!
The middle bead was made from black glass and a gorgeous raku frit. Unfortunately the thin fire paper curled up over the sides and therefore left an etched like mark.
Anyhooo... I am so excited to finally be able to make perfectly shaped glass cabochons... now I will be able to bead around my own beads... how cool is that!!
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