Annealing Temp Problem *help*

[InsanityBeader]

I have a digital controller on my big jenken kiln. I usually have it set at 950 all the while I am working. I have seen and heard of people that stack their beads in the kiln while annealing. I have tried this and always my beads end up with little divots where they stuck together. I usually don't shift my beads over into stack but my past few times I have been making more and more and so after about and hour or 2 I shift the ones that are in the kiln into a pile where the beads touch. (I never stack a bead I just put in)

What I was wondering is, should I lower my annealing temp to something like 940 or 930? I know some people in the past mentioned their kilns ran a bit hotter than their controller said and I wonder if that is what is going on since I thought I was supposed to be able to let the beads touch. Or is this a problem typical with morretti/vetrofond and I should just learn to live with it?

[minxglass]

This is what I use: 13504 Picture and text from Heritage Glass.
Elevate your beads when you place them into the kiln to ensure that they don't pick up texture from the kiln interior or shelf. This rack has two levels on which to rest the end of your mandrel. Helps keep beads from touching. The rear level is 1 1/4" high and the front one is about 5/8" high. Length is 6". Actually, mine is shaped in a V and turned over (narrow side at the top)
I keep my kiln at 968 and add my beads as I make them. After you add your last bead, Anneal and cool.
Hope this helps :)
Barb

[Mr. Smiley]

You really shouldn't have beads touch while annealing. I know people do, but it's not a good practice. If you lower your annealing temp too much, you aren't annealing. It's better to get a bigger or another kiln. You can never have too many kilns... Just my .02.

[Cosmo]

Well, theoretically, if the kiln is at the right temperature, the beads won't deform. When I teach class, I put all the students' beads into the same kiln, so it's not uncommon for me to have 60+ beads in there at the end of the day. However, I make sure that when I put a new bead in there it's not touching anything (I use a rack like pictured above) for 10 minutes or so to make sure it won't deform. At that point I move them off to the side and stack them up.

Granted, I'd love to have several kilns around so I wouldn't have to do that, but my bank account won't allow that right now...

[bclogan]

Funny you should ask that question, I was going to ask the very same one. The studio where I learned kept their kiln at 968. During open torch time the kilns get pretty full, so the "older" beads get stacked.

I tried that at home this past weekend in my new kiln, and the beads stuck. So I was wondering if I should turn the temp down a bit, or what????

Barbara

[pam]

If the beads are deforming, you are either sitting them on a hard surface when you put the beads in the kiln and the beads are not cool enough,or the temp reading on your kiln is not right. If the beads are sticking together when they touch after having been in the kiln a while - to me that is at least a half hour - then your kiln is set too high. No matter what the digital readout says, your temp needs to be lowered. As was suggested earlier, lower the temp of your kiln by 10 degrees and try again. If that doesn't work then lower it another 10 degrees. Keep doing this until your beads no longer stick together. But please make sure that the beads have cooled to the temp in your kiln before you let them touch each other. If the bead is above the temp of the bead it is going to touch, then it is probably going to stick. And just to give you a clue, I have heard that some controllers can be as much as 50 degrees off, so this could be a time-consuming activity. An alternative is to bet a high heat thermometer so you can see the actual temp of the inside of the kiln.
Pam

[Jenn L'Rhe]

Susan,
I had a similar problem with my JenKen. Someone on another board suggested that I ramp up to my normal annealling temp. Place a glass rod on the rod rest and leave it for 10 minutes or so. If it starts to slump, the controller temp is incorrect and the kiln is hotter than the temp shows. Then I reduced by 10 degrees until the rod no longer slumped. Mine is set at 940 now. If this info is not correct and I am not effectively annealling my beads, will someone please chime in.
Kay