Kaiser Lee Board does not absorb any heat therefor you do not have any interference with your firing no matter how much board you have in your kiln. I like to work on individual Kaiser Lee Board kiln shelves to set up my work.
Do I have to use kiln wash on your Kaiser Lee Board?
If you want to kiln wash Kaiser Lee Board kiln shelf, use either Boron Nitride or Primo Primer. But we do not recommend kiln washing for reasons explained below.
In Germany I learned to use only kiln wash in its dry stage rather than mixed with water – just powder it onto the shelf and add more as needed. You have to be careful when placing your glass on it so that you don’t get any on top of the glass, but other than that it works fine.
Can I use no release at all?
Yes you can, glass does not really stick to Kaiser Lee Board. It will pick up some of the particles and will be rough on the back – which could be good in the case of wall mountings like tiles or back splashes. Opalescent colors are more aggressive than transparent colors or clear. Clear luminescent glass works well with just kiln wash powder.
Iridescent or dichroic glass does not stick to the board either if you are using the coated sides toward the board.
Will the glass ever stick to Kaiser Lee Board?
The only time I have glass picking up a junk of fiber is when I melt glass to its liquid stage for raking. I’m using a different kiln and a designated Kaiser Lee Board for this process.
Another issue could be, if you treated the shelf with regular wet kiln wash (other than Primo Primer)). This type of kiln wash is known to stick to the glass sometimes and than it will rip fibers from the shelf. So please never treat your kiln shelf with regular kiln wash.
On Edge design on Papyros Paper and light weight Kaiser Lee Board kiln shelf.
Should you use shelf paper?
I use shelf paper if I want a smooth backing or if I do “construction” art work with many pieces, which I glue to the paper with Fuse It Tack Film.
Do you have any tips on care and maintenance?
Kaiser Lee Board is easy to carve so be careful when you place something onto your Kaiser Lee Board kiln shelf so you won’t scratch it. I
Minor scratches are easy to smooth a knife sharpening or soft sanding block. Use only very little pressure and go over it lightly and evenly. Once you feel like your shelf is not good enough any more, turn it over and use the other side. And later on you can always make a mold from it. I have used my kiln shelves for over 12 years nearly every day.
This 19″ (48 cm) square Bird Bath is made with 2 Kaiser Lee Board molds. With this step down method you can full fuse and slump a 2″ deep bowl in one firing with the firing schedule below.
Can you give me some type of idea or typical fusing schedule?
Here are 2 fusing schedules that are typical when using Kaiser Lee Board as your choice of kiln shelf and mold.
Full Fuse and Slump Schedule
-
Ramp up 600°F (315° C) per hour to 1000°F (537° C) and hold for 10 minutes
-
Ramp up as fast as possible (full = the setting after 0) to 1420° F (480° C) hold for 10 to 20 minutes or desired result is achieved.
-
Ramp down full to 900°F (480° C) and hold for 1 hr
-
Ramp down 100° F (37° C) per hour to 700°F (370° C) hold 1 min.
-
Let cool to room temperature.
If a piece is already fused and has to be re-fired again I slow the process down by changing the ramp up from 600°F to 300°F (315°C to 150°C) per hour.
All you need to adjust now is the target temperature for slumping and draping.
Kaiser Lee Board does not expand or contract during firing, therefor you can use it to fire around it, like in this on edge set up for a “Sunburst” wall sculpture. To avoid polishing, we wrapped the board with a strip of Papyros™ paper.
Best Way to get some board to “Make It Truly Yours”.
With those three boards you can make a kiln shelf and several multi use molds. The free e-book will give you a bunch of ideas and directions.
If you have any more questions, add them to this blog or send me an email and we can add them to this blog entry.
Love my Kaiser Lee board. Keep my kiln wash in an old cut off stocking and just powder puff it on with a light sprinkle…. just like you taught me at the John Campbell Folk School many years ago.
Hi there! I realize this is somewhat off-topic but I had to ask. Does running a well-established blog like yours take a massive amount work? I’m completely new to blogging but I do write in my diary daily. I’d like to start a blog so I can share my own experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any ideas or tips for new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!
This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!
Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Firefox. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. Cheers
This is a topic that is close to my heart… Best wishes! Where are your contact details though?