First Experiments Enameling in my Ultralite Beehive Kiln

As much as I love torch-enameling, there are some limitations.

One is that I can only enamel very small pieces (well, unless I get out my very large torch, which I prefer not to do indoors).

The second and more important of the two problems is that I can only counter-enamel in black. When the flame is directly on the enamel, it turns various dark and unattractive colors. So I just use opaque black enamel which, when fired directly upon, ends up looking like opaque black enamel. But that’s limiting. Maybe you don’t always want black to be on the backside of every piece.



Insert: ultralite beehive kiln ($185)

My hope for a solution to my wish to learn kiln enameling, yet without firing up my oversized outdoor kiln. (Can’t enamel outside and no desire to run between he workroom and the patio kiln.)

This little kiln is actually mostly used for PMC, so I might give that a go at some point too.

Anyway, I needed something that could hold my work piece elevated above the kiln floor yet short enough to fit in this mini kiln. My enameling trivets are too big so I decided to fashion something from nichrome.

Seeking instant gratification, I looked up nichrome and discovered that toasters have nichrome wire in them and in perfect serendipity, we had recently purchased a new toaster and the old one was still in the garage.




The nichrome wires are the ones on the panels facing the toast… so in a 2-slot toaster, you’ve got three panels of nichrome wire (left, right and center).

Here’s the contraption I made after seeing a similar shape on Lillian Jone’s website. (Lillian Jones, btw, is the one who inspired me to try a beehive kiln for enameling in the first place.)



Here are the pieces I mentioned earlier that I’d made for testing. Copper disks with fine silver frame edges soldered on. (Yes, as you can see, I’m an amateur solderer.)



Before using one of my test pieces (these things took me a long time to make!), I took just a plain copper disk and prepped it for enameling.

So here’s the exciting, good news: I did achieve a clear counter-enamel coating on the back sides of both my test pieces. I’m so happy about these I can’t stop staring at them and smiling.



After counter-enameling on my plain copper disk, I sifted some opaque yellow onto the top side, placed it on my little nichrome wires, and placed it in the kiln.

After a few minutes, I removed it and although the enamel was smooth, the color was gray. I admit this surprised me a bit.

I sifted another coat of yellow on top of the gray coat and scratched a few wannabe sgraffito lines into that coat, then fired.



At least it came out yellow this time.

Next I took one of the test pieces that I messed up on (when doming it I distorted the copper in one place) and after counter-enameling the back (see above), I brushed some 50/50 klyrfire (because of the dome shape) on the top, sifted opaque red, and placed it in the kiln.

After it cooled, I repeated the red enamel.

So here’s the bad news…



What is up with the black/dark patches? It *may* be a combination of the copper base and too thin layers of enamel, but I thought I had pretty thick layers.  I admit I've not found as even a coating when using klyrfire as when merely sifting the enamel.

Well, that’s the end of my first experiments enameling with a kiln.

I want to eventually get some fatter gauge nichrome wire. My little contraption was pretty flimsy, making it hard for me to get the piece into and out of the kiln.

More Bronze Metal Clay Firing and Then Starting on Solding and Enameling

I want to say a big thank you to Hadar who continues to answer my questions in this process of learning more ins and outs of metal clay and firing schedules.

Round 6:

Decided to fire my next crop circle, which is much larger and much thicker than my test pieces.

The set-up…
Media: bronze with copper inlay, thick and larger piece
Kiln: top loading brick
Firing Container: round fiber firing container, no lid for phase 2
Charcoal: coconut shell carbon, acid washed
Phase 1 Firing: camp-stove for 45 minutes
Phase 2 Firing: full ramp to 1300 external pyrometer reading (kiln setting 1200), hold for 2 hours

I rigged a little collar of tin foil above the campstove knob and below the gas outlet. After 45 minutes of maximum heat, neither the knob nor the top of the propane canister were hot.



So I sat there for 45 minutes, watching my fiber box heat up, but never saw the “binder burning off” smoke. Which also means I never lowered the temp to minimum.

Since this is a much larger piece than my test pieces, I was expecting MORE smoke, not less. The only thing I can think of is that this piece sat on my shelf for a month; maybe that changed things.

I did smell the same smell as when the previous pieces were burning their binder, so after 45 minutes I looked and the piece was black. I decided to go ahead and transfer it to the kiln for phase 2 (two hours holding time at 1300 degrees).

I anticipated a not-fully sintered piece. After all, my first crop circle, fired at a much higher temp wasn’t sintered in the first go ‘round. Why would I think firing at a LOWER temp would produce BETTER results?

So I pull the thing out of the kiln as soon as phase 2 is over (I still am not sure about the protocol on that) and see that:
A) The charcoal is not bright orange as on previous occasions, and…
B) Charcoal bits are stuck to one side of my lentil



D’oh! I forgot to place it vertically rather than horizontally. Oh well, next time. And once I brushed the piece, there was only one piece of charcoal stuck to it and I didn’t see any pitting.

Although there is no warping or blistering (yay!), the copper inlay appears unsintered in spots...

... so I applied more copper clay and re-fire phase two.

Out of the kiln for the second time… brass brush with water, then sanding through all the grits (400, 600, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000), then Baldwin’s patina and voila! New crop circle is done (and I really love it). I’m trying to add a chain and get it photographed so I can list it tomorrow (along with a Cleopatra style beaded necklace made last week… and just chillin’ on the mannequin).

After oohing and ahing over my crop circle, I got side-tracked with soldering and enameling. I made five bases (places for me to enamel). They are copper disks with fine silver frame edging (I like something that HOLDS the enamel in).

Today was cut out copper shapes, fuse fine silver into rings, shape rings, clean copper and silver, solder rings to disks, pickle, rinse, file and hole punch.

Tomorrow the plan is to clean the metal again, counter-enamel, add base coat enamel, add cloisonné wires, wet pack enamel, fire, repeat, finish.

It will be my first time trying to apply a counter-enamel that isn’t black. :-)

Miniature Koi Pond Necklace and Comparison Shopping for Sterling Silver Clasps

Worked on some soldering last week. Was going to make a domed pendant that could be enameled, but here’s what happened to the dome:



As a fellow jewelry artist helpfully pointed out, the reason my silver solder jumped from the crevice (where it was … in front there, between the copper dome and the flat copper square) to the front of my dome is because the dome got hotter faster than the square, so the solder went to the hot spot… the dome. D’oh!

Seems to clear now, but at the time I was just so focused on other things. So next time I do this, I place my piece on a trivet or tripod screen and fire from underneath.

Thank you, JF!

Anyway, I did end up soldering that spot, but was still upset about the silver now fused to my copper dome, so I threw the piece in the pickle pot and went to bed.

Next morning I take the piece out and look it over and decide that the reverse side of it looks like a little pond. So I make three miniscule koi and place them at different levels in the pond using layers of resin, and voila!




While I’m waiting for the kiln to finish, let’s do a little comparison shopping.

16mm sterling silver tube clasp and 22mm sterling silver tube clasp

These are the kind I use on my netted weave bracelets:


Firemountain: 16mm is N/A, 22mm is $36.63
Beadaholique: 16mm is N/A, 22mm is $15.59
ArtBeads: 16mm is $9.49, 22mm is $11.17
JTV: 16mm is $8.99, 22mm is $10.99
Bluemud: 16mm is $8.96, 22mm is $10.30
FusionBeads: 16mm is $8.53, $10.56
House of Gems: 16mm is $8.17, $9.74
MonsterSlayer: 16mm is $8.00, 22mm is $10.05
RioGrande: 16mm is $6.24, 22mm is $7.52
Esslinger: 16mm is $5.90, 22mm is $8.40
Halstead: 16mm is $5.11, 22mm is $5.75
Thunderbird: 16mm is $4.81, 22mm $6.39

I ended up ordering from Rio because I got a wicked discount for ordering 5 (which was how many I needed). Got the 22mm for $6.08 each.

Tomorrow back to metal clay stuff.

Crop Circle, Scarab, Snake, and Fear of Camping Stoves

Here’s a piece I listed recently that I had a lot of fun making. It’s a “Crop Circle” saucer-shaped pendant of carved bronze with copper inlay (click the pic for more info).



Then I made two fine silver pendants… the first is a scarab with Lapis accenting…



And a burnished snake on a glittery background…



I finished reading Hadar’s blog. I noticed (at the entry where she was testing the speed-cone firing method) a photo of their single burner camping stove and it’s got a metal plate that mine doesn’t.



Versus



Makes me wonder if not having that extra metal is what contributed to my on/off knob melting (and the top of the propane canister being REALLY heated (not something that thrills me).

You can't see it in that eye-level picture, but if you look at my set-up in yesterday's blog post, you'll notice there are large holes in the NWT camp stove's burner plate.

Then I noticed another set-up later on where there’s tin foil wrapped around the burner plate. Just more things to try.

One more discovery from Hadar’s website is a mention that another sign of over-firing is when mixed metal looks separated.



I won’t hijack one of Hadar’s photos without her permission, but trust me that her test pieces look amazing… totally smooth transition from copper to bronze and vice versa.

Could I still be over-firing at only 1300 degrees?!?!?

Unless I’m over-firing in the first phase and just can’t tell. Although my pieces didn’t look at black as Hadar’s did in her photo.

Well, if the wind gusts aren’t 40mph tomorrow, I’ll try firing one of my big crop circle lentils. Then later, I’ll make up some new test pieces maybe to continue fine-tuning the testing. I feel like my big piece will be okay at 1300 because it’s so much larger and thicker than my test pieces were and I was getting pretty dang close to optimal firing temps.

Round 5 Testing Firing Schedule for Bronze Metal Clay

Round 5…

The set-up…
Media: bronze and copper together, pieces 6 cards thick and little ball
Kiln: top loading brick
Firing Container: round fiber firing container, no lid (phase 2)
Charcoal: coconut shell carbon, acid washed
Phase 1 Firing: Shortened Phase 1 was 20 minutes on a camping stove with a lid (see previous post)
Phase 2 Firing: full ramp to 1300 external pyrometer reading (kiln setting 1200), hold for 1 hour

So far, I’m up to October 2010 in reading every post on Hadar’s blog.

Today during Phase 1, the test pieces started smoking a few minutes soon than yesterday (maybe around 12 or 13 minutes… I don’t remember now). And once again, when I tried to turn the knob to lower the flame to minimum at that point, I managed to turn it all the way off. GAH! I hate that. Because I hate taking my lighter and lighting that camp stove when it’s REALLY hot. It gets so hot, in fact, the on/off knob melted. Hmph! I may look into a higher quality camp stove.

Anyway, the pieces didn’t seem to smoke for very long compared with yesterday. Unsure how to interpret that.

So to reiterate, Phase 2 is at 1300 degrees for one hour.

I also figure that it’s okay to open the lid completely once the cycle is over because anything I can do to help cool the charcoal down may be good (considering I’m STILL over-firing).

So I open the lid and the charcoal is bright orange (not on fire, though). Also, it’s about one inch shorter.

Fingers crossed… can’t wait to finally have test pieces someday that aren’t over-fired.

Here is before (green state) and after firing (as well as brushing, grinding, sanding, and adding patina):



As you can see, I was at the end of my created test pieces. That ball of copper in bronze was just what was left of the two clays. I suppose I could have spent more time smoothing my test pieces out, but I was getting tired of spending time on things that were just frying up in the kiln.

The cracks you see in the “after” photos were the same cracks as in the “before” photos, so my pieces didn’t crack during the firings. But I’m curious what I can do to minimize that visible bit of separation between the copper and the bronze.

I do wonder if (well, I pretty much imagine) larger and/or thicker pieces WILL need more… something. More time, more heat. ??? We’ll see.

Remember, my crop circle, not a small piece by any means, came out fine (the second time… don’t think it sintered in the first firing, so repaired and refired).



But still, it was fired at a “kiln” temperature reading of 1470 (which would have really been about 1550), but that was in a steel container, not the new fiber box which requires slightly lower temps. But still… 1550 seems excessive for bronze metal clay.

Honestly, this stuff CAN get confusing.

Anyway, much better results than before. Now I will work to refine the whole system. Oh yeah, and I have two more crop circles to fire. I’m totally guessing they will not sinter at 1300 degrees.