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I stopped using kiln wash on the majority of my plate molds and use fiber paper instead,as delphiehellper said it makes things slide off easier and the backs are smother. jo

@DianeS Came alway needs to be stretched. Otherwise it will sag away from the edge of the glass. If you are wraping suncatchers or something similar there is no need to cement it.

I plan on using spooled 5/64" hobby lead around some small pieces. Does this lead need to be stretched and does it need to have the glazing compound or something? Or is it just wrapped and soldered at the seams? Thanks so much for your help!

I plan on using spooled 5/64" hobby lead around some small pieces. Does this lead need to be stretched and does it need to have the compound or something? Or is it just wrapped and soldered at the seams? Thanks so much for your help!

System 96 recommends this: "Bubbles are best avoided in the design stage. Large areas of uninterrupted layering invite them. For example, a 10x10-inch sheet atop another 10x10-inch sheet leaves no easy avenue of escape for the air between glass layers. Alternately, a 10x10-inch sheet topped with four 5x5-inch pieces provides seams to ven trapped air. Design to avoid bubbles for the best prevention." A few other tips are 1. To place coarse frit along the edges of the glass to hold the edges up longer allowing air to escape as the center settles. 2. Use a bubble squeeze. You can download this information from the System 96 website.

I use system 96 glass in my skutt kiln. I have been having so much trouble with bubbles. I have followed other blogs about bubbles on how to fix the problem. I have flipped the shelf over. I have increased the soak time to 30 min and 40 min. I have used shelf paper thick and thin. HELP! My bubbles are about a 1/4 inch. Not horrific but, definitely not attractive in my projects.

When making cabs I use a 6x6 inch base glass and add my dichroic and top glass, I do a tack fuse with the dichroic and then a full fuse and then a full fuse with the clear topper and sometimes I still get craters. When this happens I clean the crater as much as possible and add the ends of my cab sheets that are too small to use or large pieces of scrap glass, I do a tack fuse add more glass as needed and then a full fuse, if possible I also do the full fuse with the top (clear) side down, any air that is left seems to rise to the back and not the front. Vitek, I had the same problem I watched a beautiful and thick plate crack and fall apart. I put all the pieces into boiling water and then froze then, after thawing the pieces back out I put everything in the tumbler for a couple of hours and out into the garden. It looked pretty and really added some umph to a dark area.

@TheDelphian A couple of years ago when I was getting ready for a show my kiln got sick would only heat up to a tack fuse, it did make some really nice pendants that ended up being a big seller but also taught me something, when I am using frit in jewelry molds I use the biggest pieces possible and I take the glass to a take fuse first, add more frit and take to a second take fuse and then to a full fuse. This really cuts down on any bubbles or hazing in the glass.

Tip for cutting cold glass. Don't! Instead of a hot plate, try using a heating pad, cover glass with a towel. Much safer!!

@jhaan Thank you.