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I would like to hear from anyone who uses a bench top solder fume extractor.  I am confused as to the filters the different brands of extractor use.  For instance Inland uses an activated carbon filter, while the  Smoke Absorber Filter for Aoyue  Fume Extractor seems to be just foam...... some brands refer to them as carbon actibated filters, which has left me pretty confused as to what to buy, and which replacemetn filters to choose..... Can anyone shed some light on all this, please?  NANCY

How long did your glass stay in the 1300's?  That's the dreaded divit zone....too much time there will cause divit (gritty/dull, just plain ugly).  You can probably still salvage these cabs providing any dichroic glass has a clear cap.  Etch them, spray with an anit-divit spray, then fire polish them.   Another possibility is that the glass wasn't squeaky clean when you put it in the kiln.  I'm guessing that it's divit, but dirty glass can cause a haze that sometimes feels slightly rough.  Hope this helps!! 

do you need a small kiln for these bracelets?  I have a bigger kiln but I am having problems with the shaping.  according to the instructions above, I am doing this however, it seems that the glass is getting hard too fast to finish shaping.  will a smaller kiln prevent this?

 Sometimes if the glass holds to long at high temps, it can get that gritty look and can cause deventrification. Make sure your ramp schedule allows for this. For example, when I am doing small pieces only, I don't need a long ramp time: 1500 to 1500 hold for 10 minutes; asap/full to 900, hold for 30 minutes; 350 to 700, no hold; end. Just a suggestion.

to lindafern: Two guesses; 1, Fusing temp/time maybe a little on the low side. 2. (more likely) you had the dichroic side up and not capped with clear. Much of the dichroic will yield a rough, sometimes even "splintery texture if not covered with glass  

I had a batch of cabashons come out of the kiln with a gritty finish.  Any idea what I did wrong?  I did remove them before completely cooling down, would this cause it to not be smooth? thanks for your opinions,  Linda Fern

About Glass Eye 2000 Whenever I get the time I love this program and would reccommend it to any one that is big into glass... the pannels and windows I have designed with it have become cherished family momentos and are being moved from place to place with no trouble. I have truly enjoyed it and hope to continue upgrading the programing soon. Fondly in Glass Beth Snider  

What am I missing?  Where's the picture?

The best way to make sure that the glass fits the mold perfectly is to go slow at ramping up your speed in the kiln during this stage.  You will want to go 250 an hour, definitely hold at 1000 for 30 minutes, go 250 up to 1250 and hold about 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the mold.  Then the 9999- 960 hold 1 hour and then 150- 700 with no hold.  When going this slow up it gives the glass enough time to soften slowly and form into the mold to create the even base.  If the mold is not flat then you will have to sand it down to make it even.

When casting or slumping a bowl or plate, how do you get a flat bottom on the piece so it doesn't rock?  Do you tack fuse a base on it later?