Houston, we have a problem, and its name is Brian

Today's kiln opening is bound to provide a number of lessons for me. Once I can figure them out.

I purchased a ColourDeVerre pattern fuser mold a couple months back and decided to try it out yesterday. I broke out the frit and started filling the piece with fine frit. My wife came down after a bit and helped out spreading frit around while we tried to figure out the best way to make sure each little detail was filled with enough frit to do the job. Finally, I cut a clear piece to cap off the mold and placed it in the kiln. I used the recommended firing schedule:

Segment	Ramp	Tempurate	Hold
1	100ºF/55ºC	300ºF/150ºC	30 min
2	150ºF/85ºC	1250ºF/675ºC	30 min
3	150ºF/85ºC	1400ºF/760-765ºC	5 min
4	AFAP	960ºF/515ºC	60 min
5	100ºF/60ºC	600ºF/315ºC	Off, No Venting

I was more than a little surprised when I opened the kiln and found this.

My impressions as to what went wrong are as follows:

Bubble:

The directions say the fill weight is between 900-1,000 grams of glass. Note to self, if I'm going to mess with frit buy an electronic scale just for glass. I did not measure the fill weight, I winged it. We went with what looked to be full. I'm not sure how much more full we could have gotten it. Each of the little channels were holding as much as they possibly could. The edge could have used some more frit, but I figured I could cut it off if it didn't work for me. In any case, the bubble is most likely not enough glass. I am kicking myself for not having taken a loading the kiln picture.

Cracked Glass:

It could be that the firing schedule just was not right, but I doubt it would be that off. It could be possible that the firing schedule was thrown by insufficient glass in the mold. The cracked glass could also have to do with the next issue.

Glass Stuck to the Mold:

The company only recommends preparing the mold with MR-97. I tend to take instructions like that as a push to sell more product. In truth, I don't know if they have any affiliation with it whatsoever. I used my normal kiln wash and then to be extra careful sprayed on High Temp 1800, which also uses boron nitrate as its mechanism. I figured with both kiln wash and boron nitrate I was golden. Not so much, apparently.

We had also tried to use a straight edge to run across the top to make sure the lines were distinct. It is possible that this scrapped off the release agent from the mold causing it to stick.

Take Away:

There are too many issues with this piece to say what exactly happened. It is highly likely that had I followed directions to the letter, I would have come out smelling of roses. 

I have a tendency to wing it and see what happens, but with items like this, I should be much more conservative. $65 mold gone with the wind.