Harrrrumph! These frickin frackin crackin' beads are anoying me!

[sleekbeads]

Rant:

I have five pressed beads that cracked on me today.
All were kiln annealed.

These beads were actually made weeks ago.
Have been sitting here just fine.
then today, I realized I hadn't yet cleaned them... and my batteries in my
dremel were dead.. so I had to old school it and clean them with a reamer.

Do you think it is possible that I was just so furiously trying to clean these out that the pressure of me clanking the reamer through the hole caused the breakage?

They were all pressed beads and they all cracked in a straight line right down the middle following the bead hole.

:(:(:( I am very upset.

Joanna

[kimberly]

I doubt that the reamer caused them to crack. Pressed beads are notorious for cracking along the length of the mandrel. When you press, be sure that you don't press the beads too thin and put quite a bit of extra heat in the bead along the mandrel line before you put them in the kiln.

[sleekbeads]

Kimberly, thanks.
Although after inspecting a few of them carefully found that they were not pressed that thin.
However, I do feel better knowing what you just said to me... that they are notorious for that.
Thanks for the tip on heating the line of the mandrel... I'm hoping that will help.
I would have hated to send these off to someone and have them crack... but unfortunately in this business... that is always a possibility.
:(blah!

Thanks.

Joanna