Vitrigraph Kiln

[BlueMoon]

We built a Vitrigraph Kiln in the studio this past week. It's based on a design in the Bullesye Technotes 2. It's a Paragon Caldera kiln that has the bottom base replaced with a verimulite base that has a 3" dia. hole in the bottom. A clay flowere pot is inside the kiln, loaded with coarse frit and fired up to 1700F. As the glass melts, you can pull stringer out the bottem and manipulate the shape and thickness of the stringer. The final product is used in fusing projects and can be either full fused or tack fused. The bottom picture is a man's face that Lisa layed out from some of the pulled stringer.

[BeadyBugs]

That's fab Jim - it looks like a loose drawing - what fun!

Can you pull thicker cane from it, by placing thicker blocks/rods of glass vertically in the pot?  A bit like you did with the potmelt.  Then pull them out as a thick stringer, maybe even make twisties of wigwags this way?  Ooo what fun.

HP x

[CelticGlass]

Looks realy good that one.  Been thinking of rigging something similar up for ages but never gotten around to it. Was thinking along the lines of recycling glass of all types to pull cane and then use in flamework.

Cooool 

[BlueMoon]

Ray....here's a link to Bullseye's Technotes
http://www.bullseyeglass.com/pdf/technotes_tipsheets/TechNotes_02.pdf 

All the info there you need to make one. I used the Paragon Caldera with programable controller but it could just as well have been done with a Hotbox kiln with manual controls.

I need to play around a bit with different colors and temperatures. They all behave differently. I used coarse black frit but I could use strips of flat fusing glass as well.

HP.....you vary the thickness by the speed you pull it from the kiln. It won't matter what you put in the kiln: strips, rods, frit...it all just melts down and runs out the bottom of the kiln. With frit, you have to put a piece of compatible flat glass across the hole to keep the frit from falling out. Once it all melts, there is enough weight for the glass to start flowing from the kiln. At that point, you can start pulling and shaping it.

[handmadeheaven.biz]

clever stuff. jim, you dont really do any real work do you? you just play all day hehe! x

[BeadyBugs]

Thanks Jim.   I thought it would be a good way to use up left over shorts and make interesting cane/stringer.  Mmmm...the possibilities.

HP x

[BlueMoon]

Here's a few things we tack fired in the kiln yesterday made from vitrigraph stringer. It was only fired at 1325F (718C) so it still has a lot of raised texture to it. We're having lots of fun playng with it.

[♥♥Tan♥♥]

Wowsers that is fantastic Jim, I have never heard of such a thing, it works so well!!

[Billie]

That is such a cool idea 

[♥♥Tan♥♥]

oo I've just noticed the chap in specs on the bottom, I like him a lot