KILN CAST GLASS FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURAL APPLICATIONS

System 96® Casting Billets from Uroboros offer a cost-effective approach to glass projects of all sizes. If you love the look and feel of hot cast sculpture but don't own a hot shop, you will love casting with these billets in your own studio, at your own pace, in your own kiln.

The casting billets are 6" x 9" x .75" and weigh approximately 3.7 LB each. Billets are thick glass "bricks" carefully formed to have a low bubble count and are stringently inspected to insure their purity and consistency. They are tested for fusing compatibility within the System 96 family. Since they are tested, you can incorporate any of your other tested compatible elements like frit, stringer, noodles, sheets or pre-fused glass components. They are easy to cut and melt with a thick glassy "hot poured" look.

Seattle architectural artist Maya Radoczy used casting billets for the entry doors in both Seattle and Japan's retail stores of REI, Recreational Equipment, Inc.. (door and detail of cast door panel shown below)

Uroboros glass billets provide low-bubble count, high purity, lost wax castings. They are ideal for open mold casting of tabletops, cabinet door inserts, room dividers or garden sculpture-your only limitation is the size of your kiln!

Beautiful three-dimensional figure sits 28" x 15" x 20". Made from casting billets by Melanie Hunter, Nicolas Africano studios.

KILN CASTING A GLASS TABLE WITH FUSIBLE BILLETS

The August 2001 issue of Glass Craftsman magazine, presented an overview of how to create kiln-cast architectural slabs and sculpture using casting billets. Here are more detailed steps and explanations about the open face mold process. These steps describe creating a thick, cast glass slab 15"x15"x .75". This technique can be scaled up to much larger sizes with only minor adjustments in the annealing schedule.

Overview of this project

A clay positive is formed. A mold box is built around it. Mold mix is poured onto the clay positive and allowed to set up. The mold box is removed and the clay is removed from the plaster. The new plaster mold is dried and then filled with glass and glass elements. The elements can be frit, stringer, noodles, cane, billets, billet chunks or sheets. The plaster mold, filled with glass, is kiln fired then annealed. The plaster cast is broken away to remove the cast glass object from the mold.