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Happy Kiln, Warm Kiln, Little Pile of Bricks ...

6/21/2013

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So it doesn't sing as well as Soft Kitty from Big Bang Theory, but the kiln is here and working and not damaged and I love it.  I'm still in the learning curve, getting used to how the new kiln heats and how to program it, but thankfully it's pretty easy.  So what happened?  Olympic shipped my first kiln, and the freight company, Southeastern Freight Lines (SEFL) practically murdered it ...
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The first thing I noticed was the cracked handle ... no huge deal ...
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Then I noticed the base was bent. A lot. This his 1" square tubing and I couldn't bend it with a lot of rage and a big hammer if I tried.
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I quickly remove the cardboard and plastic wrap from around the kiln and my heart sinks. There's a deep gouge, puncturing the metal and going into the fire brick.
If this were a small purchase, I wouldn't have cared.  It probably would have been fine with the gouge in the side, but the base was bent so badly it had to be replaced.  The folks at Olympic were FANTASTIC.  I couldn't have asked for better service from them.  SEFL, however, was a different story.  Had it not been for Olympic, I would have had to pay for 2 kilns plus over $1000 in shipping costs.  SEFL is staffed by, in my experience, mostly incompetent people.  No one ever called me to notify me that a driver was coming to pick up the damaged kiln.  No one ever called me to notify me the new kiln would be delivered.  They denied my claim for damage, and then proceeded to bill me over $700 to pick up the damaged kiln (which Olympic took care of).  In one transaction, I got to see both extremes in company quality and customer service.  From the shining stars, to the dregs of society.  SEFL has been added to the list of companies I will NEVER do business with again.  On the other hand, I'm an Olympic customer for life.

So I've been happily catching up on my bottle backlog.  Almost all of my bottle molds fit in here at the same time.  I can actually fit more in than are pictured below, but that was my first firing.  Everything turned out great!
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Maiden firing of the kiln. 9 molds, 11 bottles and still some elbow room!
So with all this space, I'm getting new ideas.  I'm thinking bigger!  I can't wait to get all my ideas baking so I can share them with you.
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Products I Love - Vol 1

5/13/2013

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We all have products we love using because of one reason or another.  I'm going to start sharing my products and tools of the trade that I either can't or don't want to work without!  I'm going to start with stained glass supplies and tools.
PictureSpring Tree Panel ©
First is solder.  I primarily work with 60/40 solder.  For those of you who don't work with solder, this means the solder is 60% tin and 40% lead.  There are manufacturers that use recycled metals and those who only use "virgin" metals.  Both methods certainly have their merits, and I'll be the first one in line to buy recycled materials if they perform the way I need them to perfom.  Sadly, I have not had that experience with solder.  All of the recycled metal solders I have used in the past decade have been full of impurities which leads to "gunk" building up both on the solder lines and the soldering iron tip.  This gunk, as I call it, can shorten the life of the iron tip and can permanently mark the solder line in the finished product either in color or texture.  Only resoldering those areas will fix this.

On the other hand, I have consistently good results with the "virgin" metal solders, so I am happy to pay the extra expense for quality solder.  I've been a huge fan of Canfield's 60/40 solder for many years and consistently get good, clean, shiny solder lines using their product.  During my last visit, the good folks at Anything In Stained Glass recenty suggested another brand to me: Victory White Metal (or VWM on the label).  

I used VWM on my most recent panel and was very pleased with its performance.  It stays nice and shiny and doesn't appear to have any impurities at all.  It melts quickly, and I was able to get my desired texture into the solder for the tree trunk with very little effort.  I'm going to continue working with VWM for a while (until I run out of the two pounds I purchased) and go back to Canfield (because I have more of that in the studio) to see if I notice a difference.  I suspect I won't notice any appreciable difference and once my existing stock of Canfield is used up, I'll likely be switching to VWM for good.  Why?  It's cheaper than Canfield brand but performs just as well.  Depending on where you buy it, one pound of Canfield solder will cost between $19 and $24 while VWM solder costs between $12 and $17.  When I started, a pound of solder was around $6 and we thought that was high!  I may not like the higher costs today, but I understand it.  In the past 15-20 years, the cost of fuel has gone up significantly - this directly impacts the cost of every good and service.  The increased fuel costs impact both the delivery of the raw materials and finished product as well as the production of the finished product. The cost of the raw materials to produce solder have also increased, so naturally the price will go up.  So for hobbyists and stained glass professionals alike, anything reasonable we can do to cut back on expenses is a good thing.  Personally, I'm not willing to cut quality, so finding quality supplies at lower prices is a big deal!


If you work in stained glass too, what solders have you used and what is your favorite?

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Simple Math or "Yes, please pay me to get a new iPhone."

2/11/2013

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I've had an iPhone 4 since they came out.  This phone has been resilient even through all the flying leaps I put it though over the last few years.  But when it came to being time to upgrade, I did some quick research.  I found a company that buys old cell phones for a fair price (in my opinion for this transaction).  Assuming the USPS doesn't destroy the phone on the way to Gazelle, they will give me $150 for my old phone.  Through AT&T, I was able to find the same model for $0.99.  Of course, there's a $36 activation fee, but ultimately getting a new phone is going to result in a $113 profit for me.  I'm OK with this!  I'm also OK with sticking with the old model of iPhone for my business because I don't spend a lot of time on the phone and it allows me to use Square for purchases made by folks using credit cards.  I quite enjoy the simplicity and speed of Square.  I know other credit card processing for smart phones have come out since Square, but I haven't had any issues with Square to date so I haven't bothered to look into the other services.  Technology has really revolutionized the way I do business.  Before smart phones and Square, there was no credit card processing at craft shows.  It was just too cost prohibitive.  But now, depending on the show, over half of my sales could be credit card.  That's a huge increase in revenue!
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    I'm a glass artist being touched by the beautiful world through the Internet and doing what I can to share that beauty right back.

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