Word to the wise......

[Hothead Beads]

NEVER water anneal a bead made on a 1/2 inch hollow mandrel! I was making a BHB and it went south on me, so of course it went for a water bath! Mistake! The water came shooting out of the top of the mandrel! :shock: Ouch......no serious burn, but got my attention!
Be careful with your hollow mandrels.

[nagibeads]

YEEOWW!! Thanks for that heads up!!! Hope you are ok and heal up fast!

[lldesigns]

Thanks for the warning! I never would have thought of that but it makes sense.

I bet that got your pulse pounding! Hope all is A-okay.

[Karen Hardy]

Water Anneal :lol:

[Dale M.]

If you are not doing a "blown" bead put a plug (small bit of cork) in "hand" end of hollow mandrel it will prevent the steam jet principle, also it stops convection heating of mandrel from hot gasses flowing through mandrel...

Dale

[evilglass]

LOL....from, uh, recent personal experience...

Don't give even an itty bitty thing a bath and then reuse the hollow mandrel immediately.

I wondered what that bubbly popping noise was when I was starting to blow the second time on that mandrel. Then it heated up the mandrel in an instant and steam started coming out the end!

Minor burns on thumb and finger holding the mandrel (which got dropped into the perlite very very quickly)

[Norskiglass]

~it will also warp your mandrel;)

[Karen Hardy]

I had the "hot mandrel syndrome" recently when I cleaned some
1/2" hollow mandrels and tried to use them right away.
I noticed a...er..."warm and toasty" feeling traveling
along the mandrel, that quickly turned superhot as the
water boiled inside.
Dropped that mandrel like a....like a...hot mandrel.
Owwwww.

Won't be making that mistake again.

[danielle]

I assume just sticking your thumb over the other end would help, which is what we do with big glassblowing pipes when dunking the glass-end in water.

[artwhim]

The beaders' version of "Old Faithful"!

[Venessa]

I assume just sticking your thumb over the other end would help, which is what we do with big glassblowing pipes when dunking the glass-end in water.

That's what Tink and John teach in their class, and I have done so several times without incident!

[evilglass]

That's what Tink and John teach in their class, and I have done so several times without incident!

Well, that's a good idea, LOL.

I'd have thought of it sooner or later.....yeah, right, ;)

[Miss Kate]

Oh Weimy,
You are too funny! Thanks for the heads up though, and glad you didn't get hurt.

Miss Kate

[playswithfire104]

That's what Tink and John teach in their class, and I have done so several times without incident!

Ditto.

[Tink]

Yep. If you're gonna water anneal something on a hollow mandrel, hold your thumb over the mouth-end hole. That will trap a column of air inside the mandrel and prevent steam and hot water from shooting out.

This is also the reason that we recommend dipping your hollow mandrels long enough before you plan to torch that they will be completely dry. Any bit of moisture inside the tube (including any that might be in not-yet-dry bead release) can cause steam, which can cause the entire mandrel to get hot. So no flame drying of release on hollow mandrels, mmmkay?

[loco]

Ohhh thank you so very much! Now I just have to try this... Just because I want to see my own geyser! Please O please let it work.... Oh oh what a perfect way to use some of THAT nasty non CIM black!

[evilglass]

Ohhh thank you so very much! Now I just have to try this... Just because I want to see my own geyser! Please O please let it work.... Oh oh what a perfect way to use some of THAT nasty non CIM black!

LOL....hold it with a pair of pliers :)

[Hothead Beads]

Okay, its time for the dumb question of this thread.. What is water annealing? :oops:

Sticking the bad bead in water instead of finishing it and sticking it into the kiln.

[LaurieBSmith]

Ya know...this would make a good science fair project. Lots of action, sound effects....and a personal geyser!

I'm actually going to do it deliberately and see if I do it safely and repeatedly, then show my grandson who will be doing a science fair this coming school year....

One never knows from where ideas spring....or geyser!

I love to water anneal an ornery bead....it seems so fitting to end its ornery life with so much drama!