What are fusing and slumping?

What are fusing and slumping? Glass fusing is the process in which a kiln is used to join together pieces of glass. When heat is applied to glass, it will soften. If you continue to apply heat, the glass becomes more fluid and will flow together. Two or more pieces of glass will stick (or "fuse") to each other. When glass of the same COE is heated and then cooled properly, the resulting fused glass piece will be solid and unbroken. Glass slumping is the manipulation of bending and shaping an already fused glass into or over a mold using the heat of a kiln to take on the shape of a bowl, a plate, or similar object. Other kinds of manipulation done with fusing techniques are combing, which involves using a tool to distort the shape of the glass while it is hot, and fire polishing, which uses a kiln to heat the glass just enough to make it shiny and smooth. .

Typical Kiln Fusing and Slumping PROCESSES AND TEMPERATURES

Process	Definition	Fahrenheit	Celsius
Full fusing	Joining two or more pieces of glass by heating until they flow together	1450 to 1550	788 to 843
Tack fusing	Fusing until the glass just sticks together, with each piece retaining its individual character.	1350 to 1450	732 to 788
Slumping	Shaping glass by bending it over or into a mold	1200 to 1300	649 to 704
Fire polishing	Heating glass just enough to round the edges and give it a shiny appearance	1300 to 1400	704 to 760

Note that the temperatures given are for typical fusible art glasses.

Kilns and Glass vary and may require different temperatures.

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