Calling all Bullseye users

[Nanette Marie]

For all you that use Bullseye; does the opal pink not like to be encased like Moretti's EDP? Seems like every time I try to make a bead out of that beautiful pink and encase it in clear, it cracks. Is it just me or is it Bullseye?
Thanks in advance for any answers you may or may not have. This really pisses me off, I love pink, but that limits me. Poo.

[meemie]

I am a real novice but I like to use bullseye for the pinks as well. I haven't mixed my moretti glass with it because the compatablity numbers are so far off. Using it to encase may be too much and that is why it is cracking.

[chrisdd]

Bullseye and Moretti are not compatible at all, even in small amounts.

Oh duh, I just noticed that you were comparing the 2, not combining them.

[barb]

Nanette,

I will assume that you meant was Bullseye opal pink similar in being encased with Bullseye as EDP is with Moretti clear. I have used the pinks a lot in sculpture with the pink tints and green tints overlayed without a problem. This is a little different then encasing a bead and I don't know if the tints are more forgiving then the clear but frankly I don't like bullseye clear for anything and much prefer the tints if I am encasing.

Barb

[Melodie]

Which Pink?

0301 - Pink
0305 - Salmon Pink
0421 - Petal Pink

Which clear are you using? BE or Schotts?

If you let me know I'll try it out to see if I have a problem also. Also, are you talking about a small core of pink and then a heavy encasement? Or just a general light encasement? I just want to be sure I get it as close to what you are doing.

BTW ... cute pink beads you have up on auction, I just bid on them. hehe I have a DIL that loves pink beads and she has a hard time convincing me to make some for her.

[Kalera]

I can't for the life of me remember if I've ever encased BE pink, but I'll try it and find out if I have trouble too... I usually use the 1101 clear FWIW.

[FlameDancer]

Nanette, I'll try it too. I have the Opal Pink. I'll let you know how it goes.

[pam]

I encase the BE pinks all the time, with both clear and the tints and the only thing I have found that I need to be careful of is that the pinks seem to be more sensitive to the heat and I really need to keep them extra warm as I work on them. So, I think my question would be, is the pink cracking under the clear, or is the clear cracking on top of the pink, or does the crack run through the pink and the clear - which is what happens to me most of the time. I hear the dreaded ping while working and can heal the crack, but I have gotten them out of the kiln with cracks that I didn't hear. Since I discovered this I am just extra careful to keep the bead really warm rather than the kind of cool temp that I normally work with.

[Melodie]

I tried one last night and had no problems. Someone else is also having this problem, only with purple, and I really believe it has to do with their kiln temps. What sort of schedule are you using? If you are using a Moretti schedule for BE that could be your problem, especially since Pam says that pink shocks easily. It could be that your kiln is too far below the annealing temp and the glass is shocking.

Just an idea.

[Nanette Marie]

Wow, lots of replies, thanks everyone. And now to clarify:

1. Nope, I'm not combining Moretti and Bullseye.
2. It's the regular pink, 301, and I'm using Bullseye Crystal Clear to encase this time, but I have used their regular clear and also Schotts with the same results.
3. My encasement is thick.
4. I anneal at 975 degrees for 1 1/2 hours then take 2 hours to cool to 700 then hold for 15 min. then ramp down 200 degrees per hour until 500 and then shut off and let it cool on its own. I own a firebrick kiln. Moretti anneals at 968 and Bullseye at 960 so I figure I'm safe with 975 since I have a fiber type door I keep wrapped in foil and it does lose a little everytime I open it to add a bead.
5. I just compared some pink encased beads (different design to another different design) and see that the beads I worked the longest (figures) are the ones that cracked. Not the quick ones. I'm going to try and give those more insurance heat before I pop them in the kiln and see what happens today.


Melodie, thanks for bidding. If you ever want pink beads let me know, I love working with pink, it's my favorite color, and since I'm still considered a newbie and don't have a following yet, my prices are VERY good for the buyer. And I would even be open to a trade. I'm collecting beads from various beadmakers to put in a display and I'm a long way from filling it.
So far I have two from Jude Rose, one from Marilyn Peraza, one from Leah Fairbanks, one from Brad Pearson, one from Kim Osibin and I'm working on getting one from ToniL of Wildwoods Glass.

[Melodie]

It's definitely not a kiln issue then because your temp of 975 is just fine.

Yeah, I just missed those beads at the last second! I did mark you in my favorite though so I'll be keeping an eye out for some more.

I have a couple projects that I have to get caught up on and then I would love to swap some beads with you!

[FlameDancer]

Nanette, I did two beads yesterday. I encased the pink pearl and they BOTH came out of the kiln cracked. I have never had a casing problem. I don't know what's up with this but I plan on doing a LOT of encasing of different colors today. I wonder if it's the clear. The pink doesn't look like it cracked at all, from what I can tell. What a shame, it looks really pretty encsased :(

[Gardengirl]

Funny - didn't see this thread before. THere is an opal pink in the flowers that I used in my cracked bead. I have to say, though that I've had blue ones crack all up too, as well as a few other colors. I was also using BE clear.

[Nanette Marie]

Cool, Melodie. Looking forward to it.

I did a total of four saturn type beads that same day, two bright green encased with clear and two opal pink. I make a very small initial bead and then heavily encase it with clear, then I marvered into the saturn shape, then ringed it with a black and white twistie then put four dots on each side first of white, then a little black on top to make the white stand out. The green ones are fine, but both pink ones cracked. I haven't had a chance to try this again with the pink but I did work with orange on Tuesday and heavily encased some rounds and they didn't crack.
And to clarify something I forgot in my earlier post, ONLY the pink cracked, the clear was fine. That's what's so weird, the cracking in on the inside. And I inspected the heck out of the green ones to make sure I wasn't missing something (I use a magnifying glass in addition to reading glasses to really get a good look) and nothing, the green was fine.

[FlameDancer]

Nanette, I just got finished torching and I did 7 experiment beads. I did Sparkling Celery, Cobalt, Denim, Pink Striker, Teal Trans., Woodland Brown and Petal Pink all heavily encased. I will report back in the am to see what/if any cracked.

[Nanette Marie]

Isn't that sparking celery beautiful? I made a small bead of that then encased with a thin layer of the odd lot Lt. Aventurine Seaweed green, just gorgeous. So sparkly. And I love that denim color, took the odd lot Cornflower blue and thinly encased it with the tran denim, so pretty. I love all the different colors that Bullseye makes. Can you tell I just LOVE TO ENCASE!!?? And I like each technique (one big swipe or large disk melted down) equally. And yes, I know I'm weird.

[Nanette Marie]

Edited to remove double post.

[Bonnie Celeste]

Hi Nanette,

I couldn't resist posting a reply to this thread. Being a member of Bullseye's Research and Education Department, the title drew me right in and I hope I can be of some assistance. Pam is on the right track in thinking about how the glasses behave with one another. This comes up from time to time and I've found these suggestions to be helpful...

a) Try putting your bead away slightly hotter - once you've cooled the bead in the flame, evening out the temperature - place it directly in the kiln without much additional cooling. Sometimes, this can solve the issue at hand - I've noticed that beadmakers that are used to working with Effetre tend to put beads away a bit cooler.

b) In the lay-up of the bead, try placing a thin layer of 1401 (or 1101) down as the base - then 0301 - following with an encasement of 1401 (or 1101). In this scenario, the glasses will contract as they anneal & cool in a slightly different fashion than without the clear base. The same thing would be helpful with Schott - but in general, other Bullseye glasses will have a better viscosity match to 0301 than Schott.

Let me know how it goes...

Bonnie

[pam]

Okay, now you have the best on here answering your question. Welcome, Bonnie.

[FlameDancer]

Okay, all of the encased beads that I did came out great, NO cracked beads. I listed all the colors in an earlier post. I did two more of the Pink Pearl, both cracked again. It's GOT to be a compatability issue with this glass.

Nanette, I DO love that sparkling Celery, yumm, yumm. I only have one rod of it so I am pretty stingy with it lol. But my favorite, absolute BEST color of BE is the Blue Green Algea...I LOVE that color. I am so glad I bought a bunch of it. I think I have like 1 1/4 lbs. of it.

[FlameDancer]

Bonnie, I will try doing clear base, then Pink Pearl and then encasing it again with the clear and see how that comes out. So far, I have done four of the Pink Pearl as a base, encased in the Crystal Clear and all four have cracked. I have encased many other colors and not one of them has cracked. Very weird. Could there be a bad batch of the Pink Pearl? Or is that even possible to get off on the COE's?

[dgg112]

Nanette, I DO love that sparkling Celery, yumm, yumm. I only have one rod of it so I am pretty stingy with it lol. But my favorite, absolute BEST color of BE is the Blue Green Algea...I LOVE that color. I am so glad I bought a bunch of it. I think I have like 1 1/4 lbs. of it.

"blue green algea??" is that what it's called??? geez I may have missed this one!!
sounds gorgeous, pictures????? :0)

[FlameDancer]

"blue green algea??" is that what it's called??? geez I may have missed this one!!
sounds gorgeous, pictures????? :0)

Debbie, lemme see if I can find a pic for you. Unfortunately, it's no longer available, unless of course, Kalera has more of it??? Hint hint Kalera :)

This is Blue Green Algea with Dark Rose Transparent
16179

[dgg112]

I'm going to have to go check and see if I've got that, I usually go for blue/green!!
OMG I just looked at Kalera's and she's got three new colors I hadn't seen, cinnabar, almond and a raspberry swirl.........yyyyyyyyyyyyyyummy!! I NEED some of these!!! lol

[Nanette Marie]

BLUE GRFEEN ALGEA!!!! OMG, I LOVE that color and can't find anymore. I've only got about 4 rods and so wish I could find more.

Good thing I don't know where you live!! hehehe

It's funny, but I've looked back on some other pink beads I have encased with clear and the're fine. But, I'm going to try Bonnie's suggestion next time. Thanks Bonnie!!


Okay, all of the encased beads that I did came out great, NO cracked beads. I listed all the colors in an earlier post. I did two more of the Pink Pearl, both cracked again. It's GOT to be a compatability issue with this glass.

Nanette, I DO love that sparkling Celery, yumm, yumm. I only have one rod of it so I am pretty stingy with it lol. But my favorite, absolute BEST color of BE is the Blue Green Algea...I LOVE that color. I am so glad I bought a bunch of it. I think I have like 1 1/4 lbs. of it.

[dgg112]

Ok question!! is the blue green algae opal or transparent????

[Bonnie Celeste]

Blue green algae is a mix of white (0113) with transparent green and blue aventurine glasses. I remember that style having a fair amount of variation and some rods had very little white in the blend. Regardless, it's an interesting mix...

Thanks for the warm welcome!
Bonnie

[Nanette Marie]

Okay, Bonnie: Since you may have some pull with the powers at Bullseye, could you PRETTY PLEASE TALK THEM INTO MAKING BLUE GREEN ALGEA A PERMANENT COLOR?????
I love Bullseye, and if it weren't for some of the reactions you get with Moretti colors (ivory with silver, copper green, etc.) I would only use Bullseye. I love the consistency and the colors. Plus, I love how the rods are so perfectly formed and longer than Moretti's, less waste. And I like doing sculptural and Bullseye is so much easier to work with for that type of work, it rarely gets soupy and out of control.

I always lamented that there was no real ivory color, but I just saw the new colors on Kalera's site and ordered a bunch of the new Almond color. Can't wait to try it.

[Bonnie Celeste]

Hi Nanette,

Thanks for the comments. Just a a warning, the new Almond style is not sulfur based and won't react with silver or copper glasses - I had my hopes up too. Though I'm pleased about some new additions in the neutreal family.

I'm pretty sure the Blue Green Algae is a true Special Production limited edition, but I'll look into it.

[Nanette Marie]

I'm just happy to get an ivory, if it reacted that would just be icing on the cake. So many times I need ivory for a design and it's just not there.

Thanks Bonnie for looking into this. I think that color would be a real impressive seller if they made it.