Flip and Fuse. What does it mean?

[Ian]

I thought that after reading Kev's post on his fused trays and seeing the oppportunity to recruit some new fusers I would start a thread to answer some questions on fusing and kilns. So ask away when something confuses you and, fusers lets answer what we can.

I started out in 1996 and at the time here in SA about 2 people knew something about fusing and I was'nt one of them. My first kiln {the big one} was built by a retired furnace and boilermaker who used to work for the SA Railways. There was'nt even  such a thing as fusible glass.
There was no one to learn from so I had to buy books and discovered the internet with my new computer and modem that connected to the phone line and was so fast that it took about 2 min to download a web page. {oh yeah I had a 2gig hard drive.the very latest }

Anyway lets kick off with flip and fire. If you want to fuse strips of contrasting colored glass next to each other like Kev did with his trays first:

1 you have a blank cut to the size you want the finished piece. This is usually clear glass.
2 you then cut the alternating strips of different strips so that when they are assembled the way you want them, they are then the same size as the clear piece
3 the colored pieces are assembled on the kiln shelf and the clear blank is laid on top of the colored pieces and then they are fused together.
4 This fused together blank is then flipped over and placed on the shelf and the clear becomes the bottom of the blank. It is then fire polished
which is done at a lower temp then the fusing temp

It is fire polished to smooth out any imperfections that were picked up in the surface of the colored glass when it was fused with the colored glass against the shelf
The reason for firing upside down is the if you fused the colored strips on top of the clear blank the edges of the alternating colors are inclined to bleed together and you don't have crisp clear lines where the 2 different colors abut each other. When it is done upside down the strips underneath don't creep like they would if they were on top and there is also less chance of them moving during the fusing process.

Hope this is clearer then mud
Ian

PS I have to thank Brad Walker, Gil Reynolds. The Isenbergs and Graham Stone whose book is unfortunately out of print as far as I know. Without them I would have been lost. Oh and any mistakes I make are entirely due to me So if anyone sees anything I have wrong please correct me Thats how we all learn
Ian

[CC]

Thank you for explaining the how and the reasons behind what was done. 
Chris

[Audrey]

Thanks so much Ian. Now I understand that much.

[Becki]

Nice explaination, Ian.  You did a fine job!

[Barbara]

Thanks Ian, I would like to see through the mystery of this, for me, and steps are great. Thanks for taking the time and trouble.

[Kev]

Great idea Ian! I can see this being of benefit to many members.

[ct4mom]

Thank You Ian and you explained it very well.

[Kev]

This is the first time I tried it, and it really works well...my lines are perfect and crisp.

[Amber]

Great info on both parts! I like the idea of having crisper lines and that will help tons! Plus now I know what to try to help with lid issues :).

[Anne]

this is great Ian and I'd like to make a suggestion if I may.  As we have 'fusing' questions can we start a new thread to deal with specific questions.  That way when we're looking for a how to do something we only have to look for the thread topic to know where to go to get that answer. Thanks for doing this, the flip and fuse explanation was really clear and concise.

[ct4mom]

I think that the plan Anne

[Kev]

I believe that is in place now Anne.  Check it out. Is that what you meant?

[Anne]

I believe that is in place now Anne.  Check it out. Is that what you meant?

It is, thanks Kev.

[Stephen Richard]

Ian,
I find it odd that you drop three separate topics on cleaning kiln lids, apature drops, and crash cooling in a thread about flip and fire.  This won't help clarity of the FAQs.  If you could pull them out into separate threads, we can easilly comment on them, so the discussion does not become confusing.

[Becki]

Stephen, this forum was just started yesturday.  Given a bit of time maybe Ian and I can get it straightened out and in an order that will suit everyone.  Your patience would be appreciated!

[Judy K]

Anyway lets kick off with flip and fire. If you want to fuse strips of contrasting colored glass next to each other like Kev did with his trays first:

1 you have a blank cut to the size you want the finished piece. This is usually clear glass.
2 you then cut the alternating strips of different strips so that when they are assembled the way you want them, they are then the same size as the clear piece
3 the colored pieces are assembled on the kiln shelf and the clear blank is laid on top of the colored pieces and then they are fused together.
4 This fused together blank is then flipped over and placed on the shelf and the clear becomes the bottom of the blank. It is then fire polished
which is done at a lower temp then the fusing temp

It is fire polished to smooth out any imperfections that were picked up in the surface of the colored glass when it was fused with the colored glass against the shelf
The reason for firing upside down is the if you fused the colored strips on top of the clear blank the edges of the alternating colors are inclined to bleed together and you don't have crisp clear lines where the 2 different colors abut each other. When it is done upside down the strips underneath don't creep like they would if they were on top and there is also less chance of them moving during the fusing process.

Hope this is clearer then mud
Ian

PS I have to thank Brad Walker, Gil Reynolds. The Isenbergs and Graham Stone whose book is unfortunately out of print as far as I know. Without them I would have been lost. Oh and any mistakes I make are entirely due to me So if anyone sees anything I have wrong please correct me That's how we all learn
Ian

I am constantly learning and these are great sources to learn from.

With the flip and fire, if you lay a large solid clear piece of glass over many small piece, in this case strips, you may incur bubbles that can't escape as the glass melts together. A couple things i have found can help.

1. Fuse on a piece of shelf paper or fiber paper to give the air one more escape route.

2. Cut up your top clear glass, giving the air an upper escape. Do a nice slow bubble squeeze.

There you go Ian. A thread on bubble squeeze is wide open for you now. This is a good idea. Good luck with it. Maybe when the threads are talked out they could be condensed into tuts somewhere easy to find.

Another idea is to post websites with good tuts on some of these subjects. So when we go to our tut, it directs us to further in depth reading. I know the first time I encounter something I don't learn the finer details. Later I return to basic instruction sources and learn so much more. So links would be good for glassers of all levels, multiple times.

[nansea121]

Good idea to do separate postings for the different topics. I just managed to figure out the 2 different FAQ's myself.

Good job:)

[Becki]

Everyone is more than welcomed to add links in their responses.  I believe that  the original premise for this forum was to promote discussion and hear different views, not necessarily to be tutorials. Not everyone does things the same way and it's interesting to get input from everyone.  I think it will go smoother as time goes on.  With Ian in SA and me in the states we only have a short time to put our heads together!

[Stephen Richard]

Stephen, this forum was just started yesturday.  Given a bit of time maybe Ian and I can get it straightened out and in an order that will suit everyone.  Your patience would be appreciated!

It just seemed to me that at this early stage and as Ian is one of the moderators, this was the time to set good practice.  If you don't want my comments, please say so.  I am not easily offended.

[Kev]

 Stephen, your comments and ideas are as appreciated as any other members.

 It will all be sorted out and arranged in a way to allow easy access to information. We are just working the bugs out now. Also, it's gong to take some getting use to from the members to see how it works and where things are and how the whole process functions. It won't be difficult once the set up and process is completely in place. We are working on it...we'll get there,

[Becki]

No problem with your input, Stephen.  As Kev mentioned we're still working out the bugs.  Ian will be back on in the morning and I'm sure he can handle your request.

[Kev]

I think one of the most important things we have to remember is: Stick to the topic and give information only on that topic so new readers of the information are not having to dredge though other conversational text to find what they are looking for. If you have other questions that arise from that post or topic...ask a new question so we can keep it all separated and index it appropriately.

It's a new process..a good one I think that will be of real benefit to many, but we have to fine tune it.

[Ian]

Mea Culpa! Stephen
Going back through this thread I found it even confuses me. Now I have to learn how to move things around. Never been a moderator!
And I have already learnt something
Ian