June hasn’t been about creating beautiful, fused glass artwork—sometimes it’s about keeping the studio running! With classes, production work, and upcoming projects keeping me busy, June was also a bit of a repair month around the studio. The first repair on the list involved my trusty XT saw. Anyone who works with glass knows how important reliable equipment is, and when the drive belt broke, the saw was officially out of commission. Thankfully, Dan came to the rescue. He took the saw apart, replaced the broken belt, and got everything running smoothly again. I’m always grateful for his willingness to tackle these kinds of repairs because keeping studio equipment maintained means less downtime and more time creating. I’d so rather focus on the finished artwork and forget about all the tools working behind the scenes. Saws, grinders, kilns, drills, and other equipment are the unsung heroes of a fused glass studio. Every now and then they need a little TLC, and this month the XT saw was first in line.
Next on the repair list was my trusty flat lap. If you work with glass long enough, you learn that equipment seems to know exactly when you’re busy and that’s when it decides to act up! My flat lap had developed an annoying leak that was slowly getting worse, making quite a mess every time I used it. After some investigation, Dan rolled up his sleeves once again and started taking things apart to find the culprit. Like many equipment repairs, the hardest part wasn’t fixing it—it was figuring out exactly where the water was escaping. Between checking fittings, seals, and connections, there was a fair amount of troubleshooting involved before we finally tracked down the problem. Thankfully, after a little detective work and a few adjustments, the leak was fixed and the flat lap was back in business. That’s good news because my flat lap is one of the most-used tools in the studio.
Next up was my biggest kiln, and unlike replacing a saw belt or fixing a leak, this repair is definitely not for the faint of heart. The kiln had a relay fail, which meant it was time to dig into the electrical components. This particular kiln uses three relays, and replacing them is no simple task. If you’ve ever looked inside a kiln control box, you’ll understand why Dan dreads this repair. The wiring is packed tightly together, there isn’t much room to work, and everything seems to be intertwined with everything else. It’s a bit like trying to untangle a bowl of spaghetti while standing on your head! Just getting access to the relays requires patience, good lighting, and a fair amount of determination. While I love creating with the kiln, Dan gets the less glamorous job of keeping it running. He’ll be the first to tell you this is his least favorite kiln repair because of how cramped and complicated everything is inside. But when a relay goes bad, there’s really no choice. Without those relays, the kiln can’t properly cycle power to the elements, and that means no firing glass. Thankfully, Dan tackled the challenge once again and got everything replaced and working properly. I may be the one creating the fused glass, but behind the scenes he’s often the reason the studio equipment keeps running. Sometimes the real artwork is simply getting a kiln back online so the creativity can continue!
Would you believe that literally the day after Dan finished replacing the relays in my big kiln, another relay decided to fail—this time in my little blue kiln! Fortunately, this repair was much simpler. Unlike the larger kiln that uses three relays buried in a maze of wires, the blue kiln only has a single relay and is much easier to work on. For this kiln, the relay is mounted on the bottom plate, so the first step was flipping the kiln over and removing the bottom panel. Once the cover was off, the relay was easy to access. You can see Dan carefully disconnecting the wires from the old relay before transferring them one by one to the new relay. It’s a straightforward repair, but attention to detail is important since every wire has to go back exactly where it belongs. Once the new relay was installed, it was simply a matter of reattaching the bottom plate and putting the kiln back together. With two of us working on it, the entire process went pretty quickly. Of course, the real test came after everything was reassembled. We plugged the kiln back in, powered it up, loaded the first batch of glass, and crossed our fingers. Thankfully, the repair was a success. The kiln fired perfectly, the glass came out exactly as expected, and the little blue kiln was back in service. After two relay failures in two days, I was more than ready for a little good news from the kiln room!
While creating fused glass artwork is the fun part, none of it would be possible without the tools and equipment that keep the studio running. June turned into an unexpected month of repairs, from replacing a broken saw belt and fixing a leaking flat lap to changing relays in not one, but two kilns. It was a good reminder that behind every finished piece of glass art is a studio full of hardworking equipment that occasionally needs a little attention. A huge thank you goes to Dan, who spent countless hours troubleshooting, repairing, replacing parts, and bringing everything back to life. These jobs aren’t glamorous, and they’re certainly not as exciting as opening a kiln full of finished glass, but they’re every bit as important. Thanks to his patience and persistence, the saw is cutting, the flat lap is grinding, the kilns are firing, and the studio is once again ready for classes, commissions, and new creative adventures. Here’s hoping July is a little less exciting in the repair department and a lot more exciting in the kiln-opening department!
If you would like to see more of my fused glass work, please refer to my website Elegant Fused Glass by Karen. If you get a chance, check out all my site and my Elegant Fused Glass by Karen YouTube. If you’d like to take a class please check out the information on my site about my classes. If you would like to stay abreast of what I’m up-to check out our newsletter. It is published the last day of each month.
Keeping my kiln warm,
Karen
