Why I now plan for extra days just for cooling my glass work

A while back, I had a big commission piece that needed perfect annealing. I set the kiln to cool over five days, and I just had to sit and wait. At first, I was itching to check on it, but I forced myself to trust the process. Every day, I'd peek through the little window, seeing the glow fade slowly. By the end, when I opened it, the glass was crystal clear and stress-free. That taught me that rushing ruins the work. Now I always plan for extra cooling time. What's the longest you've waited for a piece to be ready?

3 comments

3 Comments

andrewwilliams8d agoMost Upvoted

But honestly, five days just to cool down? That feels like overkill to me. I get the whole annealing thing, but I've done smaller pieces that cooled in a day and came out fine. Makes me wonder if you really need that much time, or if it's just being extra careful. I've seen other artists use different schedules without problems. Maybe some glass just needs it, but I'm not fully sold it's always that serious.

adams228d ago

Used to agree until a big piece cracked overnight.

andrew9218d ago

Seriously? That crack proves the point! Large glass holds massive internal stress, and skimping on cool time is begging for disaster. My buddy ruined a twenty-pound vase by pulling it from the kiln too fast. Proper annealing isn't just being careful, it's basic physics to prevent cracks.