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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2015-07-03, 10:52am
Trish915 Trish915 is offline
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Default So I have this HUGE chunk of Raku...

Got this lovely piece in the garage sale and I want to use it, but not entirely sure how. Any suggestions on the best way to break off a piece to melt down? Just cover it and whack with a hammer?
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  #2  
Old 2015-07-03, 11:18am
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Originally Posted by Trish915 View Post
Got this lovely piece in the garage sale and I want to use it, but not entirely sure how. Any suggestions on the best way to break off a piece to melt down? Just cover it and whack with a hammer?
That's what I did when I had one. And I preheated the bigger chunks in my kiln and pulled them down to stringer.
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Old 2015-07-03, 11:22am
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I would put it in a baggie, cover it with a towel and definitely whack it with a hammer, then take the bigger chunks and put them in a warm kiln, take them out and pull stringers or rods with a couple of stainless steel chopsticks. Once you get a big gather going, just dip the end in some of the smaller pieces and keep pulling.
Good luck!!
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  #4  
Old 2015-07-03, 11:47am
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Bring it up to 950 or so in the kiln and let it soak for at least an hour.

Have a clean metal container with ice water ready.

Using great care, with metal tongs or a large tweezer take the chunk from the kiln and submerge it in the ice water. (I wear a kitchn glove when I do this.)

This will crack/craze the chunk. When it cools you will easily be able to break it up into small pieces. Be sure you have good ventilation.
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Old 2015-07-03, 3:03pm
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Originally Posted by Elizabeth Beads View Post
Bring it up to 950 or so in the kiln and let it soak for at least an hour.

Have a clean metal container with ice water ready.

Using great care, with metal tongs or a large tweezer take the chunk from the kiln and submerge it in the ice water. (I wear a kitchn glove when I do this.)

This will crack/craze the chunk. When it cools you will easily be able to break it up into small pieces. Be sure you have good ventilation.
Agree. I find it easier to build up frit into a gather to pull a stringer rather than trying to melt a larger piece to pull. For me that's just making frit in the flame.
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Old 2015-07-03, 6:06pm
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Old 2015-07-03, 9:13pm
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Thank you all for such great advice!
Not sure im ready to break the whole piece up... Im so fascinated by it.
I may start with the hammer first for a small piece, and see if i have any luck getting good color with it.
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Old 2015-07-03, 11:53pm
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Let me know how it works out. I have a similar chunk.
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  #9  
Old 2015-07-04, 12:20am
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Could you try the score and heat trick?

I understand that if you score a pencil sized cane on one side and then apply a hot blob of glass to it you can get it to crack through and around to the other side.

Perhaps a score around the whole thing and then adding some heat to the area could get it to break where you want it to.

The videos I have seen of folks doing it to smaller rods show them wetting the score line but I don't understand the mechanics of adding moisture myself.
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Old 2015-07-04, 6:41am
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The last one I had like that, I just put into my kiln at the beginning of my torch time. When I got done making beads I used a Boro punty to pull it out and melt it in the flame so I could put off rod sized stringers.
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  #11  
Old 2015-07-05, 12:49pm
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Update: I liked Phil's idea to score and heat, and it worked well enough for me. I scored it all around, then heated up a good size gather on a rod of clear, steadied the raku chunk (while wearing my husband's welding glove, and pressed the hot glass against the score line. Held it there for several seconds, and several pieces just fell off. Didn't go all around the score line, but those smaller pieces were easy enough to melt and pull stringer. I'm happy.
Thanks Phil!!
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Old 2015-07-05, 2:08pm
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So cool that it worked for you!

Did you wet the score line?

Some of those videos swore that that was a requirement.


Thanks for the "Like" image David.
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  #13  
Old 2015-07-05, 2:20pm
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a chisel and hammer works
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  #14  
Old 2015-07-05, 4:27pm
Trish915 Trish915 is offline
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[quote=Speedslug;4769127]So cool that it worked for you!

Did you wet the score line?

Some of those videos swore that that was a requirement.



No, forgot to wet the score line, darn it. Will try that next time around.
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  #15  
Old 2015-07-05, 4:35pm
Trish915 Trish915 is offline
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Quote:
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a chisel and hammer works
Well, that sounds too easy! Lol. But it's so much more exciting Phil's way
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  #16  
Old 2015-07-05, 6:31pm
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Remind me to party with you Trish!

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  #17  
Old 2015-07-06, 4:28pm
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a chisel and hammer is what we use to break down color bars for furnace glass.
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