Annealing much later

[margriet@stainedglass.nl]

Yesterday I annealed all my beads I have made sofar in my fusing kiln.

Some beads are already a few months old.

Was it worth doing this so much later, or have I to anneal my beads immediatly?

[Doolollies]

A lot of people batch anneal. I sometimes do. I get a little torch time but not enough time to run the kiln properly so I anneal them later. Some times months later. Your larger beads of course will need a longer soak time but as long as they were not cracked before annealing they should do fine.
Linda

[mteeters]

Please tell me how to anneal once you have taken your bead off the mandrel! I am new to all this and have been searching the site for some information about how to kiln the beads I made before I got my kiln. I heard somewhere you could put them in a bowl of rock salt? Is this true?

Also, am just beginning to work with Boro. If there is an area where this has been discussed on this forum; will someone please direct me to the information so I don't ask alot of stupid questions that have already been discussed!

Thanks to everyone for all the great information.
Mickey

[margriet@stainedglass.nl]

I have used the schedule mentioned in the Book
"The Complete Book for Glas Beadmaking" (fantastic book btw =D> )

http://www.beadmaking.nl/annealen.jpg
First I got my kiln to a heat of 521 degrees celcius (970 F) in 120 minutes
I let it soak for 30 minutes.

Then in 60 minuten to a temperatuur of 454 degrees celcius (850 F)
Soak 15 minutes

Turn of kiln and wait to room temperatuur.

You can download here (http://www.microsoft.com/netherlands/ondernemers/ondernemen_financien_en_administratie/boekhouding/calculatorplus.aspx) the professional calculator from microsoft windows to turn American measures in Europian measuren and v.v.

It is in Dutch :roll: , but I assume there is an English version also.

[DarleenMB]

skip the bowl and ROCK SALT? what on earth for?

I kiln annealed for 4 years. Your best bet is to lay them out across the kiln shelf close to, but not touching, each other.

and it doesn't matter how long it's been since you made them. If they are not broken or cracked, you can anneal them anytime.

[margriet@stainedglass.nl]

skip the bowl and ROCK SALT? what on earth for?


Darleen, i don't understand this sentense. :-s Please explain.

[sassy]

A bowl of rock will not anneal the beads. You must have a kiln to properly anneal them. I sometimes use a bead rack in the kiln or sometimes I just put them in a pyrex bowl and place it in the kiln and anneal them. Works for me.

[e. mort]

People sometimes use rock salt in a pan inside their kilns to anneal the beads. That way if you are off on your temperature you don't get a big mess in the bottom of your kiln. Drew Fritts recommends using a pan full of popcorn salt to lay your marbles in. It keeps them from rolling around, and if they are a little too warm and pick up an imprint, it is a pretty minor one.

Eric

[laurellanestudios]

I'm glad this topic came up. Here's my situation and question...

I always anneal as I make beads. Therefore, my kiln is on for many hours, most days. My electric bill has had a noticable increase since I started making beads so I assume it's the kiln.

I'd like to start batch annealing but am so afraid of ruining a batch of beads!

Question...

Should I use a fiber blanket or vermiculite (spelling?)? I've seen people use a crockpot of vermiculite but have heard that the crockpot does not need to be on. True?

Appreciate your help.

Kathy

[DarleenMB]

Darleen, i don't understand this sentense. :-s Please explain.


sorry. I should have type it "skip the bowl. And rock salt?"

And Kathy I doubt seriously your kiln has raised your electric bill all that much. There have been a number of discussions (some of them getting really technical) about the amount of electricity an annealer uses. General consensus is "not much."

[sassy]

I don't get to torch a lot during the week, Maybe an hour here and there at night so on weekends I usually batch anneal all the beads I have made during the week. This works out well for me.

[Cosmo]

I'm glad this topic came up. Here's my situation and question...

I always anneal as I make beads. Therefore, my kiln is on for many hours, most days. My electric bill has had a noticable increase since I started making beads so I assume it's the kiln.

I'd like to start batch annealing but am so afraid of ruining a batch of beads!

Question...

Should I use a fiber blanket or vermiculite (spelling?)? I've seen people use a crockpot of vermiculite but have heard that the crockpot does not need to be on. True?

Appreciate your help.

Kathy


Before we got our kiln, we used vermiculite. We put it in a coffee can and sat the can on an old hot plate. Honestly, I don't know why. Once you put the first bead in there, the vermiculite heats up on its own.

[Mr. Smiley]

Vermiculite worked good for me on several occasions... then batch anneal. You may lose a bead or two, so it's up to you to decide whether or not batch annealing is really more affordable. What are your beads worth? Can you lose a few and still be ahead on the electric bill? That's an individual choice. ;) I run my kiln while I'm working all the time. The chili Pepper is really like running a toaster or two. Not much added to my bill. :love:

[Tanya]

If I don't want to run the kiln and I'm making small beads, I put them in a fiber blanket. I rarely had a problem until the bead size grew and/or I did some heavy encasing. If your beads survive the cooling process and then the reheating to annealing temperature, then they'll be fine. Once done, they'll be as well annealed as those put straight into a kiln. There are people out there who will batch anneal for bead makers who don't have a kiln. Someone generously offered to do this for me before I got my kiln, but I ended up getting my kiln before I could take her up on her kind offerr (she wasn't going to charge me anything for it except postage to get the beads back to me.)

When I first got my kiln, I batch annealed the many beads I had made up to that time. I set the kiln to 965 and put the beads on a fiber blanket in the kiln. This was apparently too high (there can be quite a bit a difference between what the temperature reads and what it actually is). I got imprints from the fiber blanket. Now, I try to anneal my beads before they come off the mandrels. I also run my kiln at 950. Drew Fritts has an interesting discussion in his book on how to tell where your kiln temperature is without using cones. I think I might try it out sometime.

[RuskinDesigns]

I have been making beads for 4 years and ONLY batch anneal due to the same reasons stated above. I used a fiber blanket for 3 years and have switched to a coffee can of vermiculite with no additional heat. I am in the garage and even during the winter I do not have beads crack other than occasionally and that is usually due to finicky color combinations. I even make some large beads - 2 inches by 1 inch thick.

I take all the beads off their mandrels and when I have enough to fill the kiln I thread them on old mandrels so they are not resting on anything and the end of the mandrels are resting on some metal bars I have on the floor of the kiln to prop the mandrels up off the floor. Hope that makes sense.

[margriet@stainedglass.nl]

Thank you all so much for your advise! You all know already so much about beadmaking. :biggrin:

You suprise me all everytime with the good advise I got when I asked a question. Even if it maybe a real newbie question.