Valentines Day is ComingStained Glass Express has Three Business Discount Levels.
The Jewel Level: You turn in proof that you are a professional in the art glass industry. This can be that you are a member of an art glass guild that we can see on line. It can be that you have a yellow page ad or your work is in galleries. Or you can show us invoices where you have purchased from wholesalers. This level gives you 15% off product that is not already discounted. If you purchase $500 during the year you maintain your discount level. If you buy $700 or more, you move up to the next level.
The Crystal Level: You become a Crystal level customer by turning in a retailer certificate or by moving up from the Jewel level. This does not make you tax exampt with us but it means you are turning in sales tax information to the State of Maine. (on line customers from other States, let us know what the equivalent is) The Crystal level gives you a 20% discount at Stained Glass Express. If at the end of the year you have purchased $700 at SGE you maintain your discount level for the next year. If you do not, you go to the jewel level or lose it. If you purchase $900 during the year you move to the Diamond Level.
The Diamond Level: You become a Diamond level customer by turning in a resale certificate or by moving up from the Crystal Level. (again on line out of State people, tell us your State's equivalent) This level gives you a 30% discount. If you purchase $900 during the year you maintain your Diamond Level. If you purcahse less than $900 but more than $700 you become a Crystal Level. Less than $700 but more than $500 you become a Jewel Level. Less than $500 there are no discounts other than sales.
These levels are evaluated each January. If you joined a level during the year you have until the January of the next full year. Sales are counted January to December. The amount is figured on the net amount of your sale not the retail.
Please be sure you let the sales person know you are in our database that they they will put he sale with your name and your sales get counted toward your discount level.
If you are an on line customer, unfortunately we have not figured out how to make our on line software do this yet. However, we would program into our Point of Sale Software and when we check you out, the discount is automatically given.
Have no fear if you do not have a kiln, you can rent space in our kiln.
Step 1. Drink the wine! No problem with that step right?
Step 2. Make sure the bottle is clean and dry inside and out.
Step 3. Apply Spray A to the side of the bottle that will facing up in the kiln. Be sure there is no spray A on the bottom as it won't brun off against the shelf. Spray A is very finly ground glass suspended in a medium that burns off clean. It not only helps prevent devitrification (a scummy layer that can appear on the glass after it is fired), it will also help to keep any painted labels that may be on the bottle from burning off during the firing process.
Step 4. Use a kiln shelf that has been coated with kiln wash or covered with fiber paper. Leave enough room around each bottle to accommodate the spread as the bottles flatten out.
Step 5. Kilns are different, so make adjustments as necessary for you kiln. 300 dph (degrees per hour) to 1100, then soak for 30 minutes (this allows the glass, shelf and air to reach equal temperatures) 400 dph to 1450 soak for 10 minutes or until the bottle is flat.. (take a peek)
Step 6. Cool AFAP (as fast as possible) to 1050 d. We don't suggest you open the lid because of the potential to thermal shock the glass. If your kiln doesn't have a controller, turn the power off until the temperature reaches 1050. Cooling quickly through the 1200 to 1350 range also helps to emininate devitrification.
Step 7. Hold at 1050 for 1 hour and then cool 100 dph to 400. the annealing temperature for bottles is somewhere between 1050-850 so you want to go slowly through this range.
That's it. . . you have made a great gift! Add a cheese know tied with a piece of raffia to really kick it up! You can also paint with glass paint, use decals, sandblast designs--use your imagination!
We will slump your bottle for you for $10. You must have it all prepared.
Plugging a soldering iron into a rheostat (or temperature controller) does NOT reduce the temperature. It reduces the amount of electricity coming in but doesn't change the temperature the iron will heat up to. It will just take longer to heat up. It's the same as the tap on your sink. Turning the tap down will make the water come in slower, but the water will still fill up your sink. It'll just take longer to fill up.
The reason some users believe rheostats "control" the temperature is that it is possible to reduce the amount of electricity coming in enough that the amount of heat being lost into the air is enough that the iron can't heat up to full capacity. That's especially a problem with the Weller 100 iron where the temperature is controlled by the tip. If your tip wants to heat up to 700 deg, but you aren't providing enough electricity for it to do that, the iron's heating element is running constantly. This will assuredly produce premature burn out.
The main reason I strongly recommend against using rheostats is they prevent the iron from providing a dependable temperature. The greatest advantage to the Weller 100 is that every time you use it, you can be confident it will heat up to the same temperature - and every time you leave it rest to reheat, it will heat back up to that same dependable temperature. It's reliable. Incoming electricity isn't reliable. It can vary as much as 10% at different times of day or on different days. If you're running the electricity through a rheostat, you'll be getting a temperature variance as great as 10%. That means that today you'll be soldering at 700 degrees, then tomorrow your iron might only supply 630 degrees, then the following day go up to 770 degrees. It's difficult enough to learn to get smooth even soldering without having to relearn how your iron works every different time you use it.
Just thought this opinion on rheostats and controllers was interesting, hope you enjoy!
Stained Glass Express
