Soft Glass Breaking
Hi all. I had posted this on another forums and was told the community here may be more helpful. Thanks in advance for any advice.
I am melting soft COE 104 glass with a hot head. I used to use a fiber blanket to cool them, but mine has gotten a little beat up. Now I am using a crock pot and vermiculite(spelling?). I have noticed that in the last few days all of my small marbles I am messing around with are cracking into many pieces when I pull them out.
My process:
Turn the crock pot on while I am playing and making my marbles. Usually about an hour. I let the glass cool to not hot red and then I place it into the crock pot about 2 inches deep. I keep the crock pot on high for 1 hour then turn it off. I then wait 2-3 hours before taking them out. It worked for about 1-2 days, but the last 2 days everything has been cracked into pieces.
The marbles I make are like 0.5 inches thick. Clear or colored.
Why are they cracking? I know I should get a kiln, but I haven't saved up for that yet and I still want to play and learn different techniques. What can I do to prevent them from breaking?
Thanks!!
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