Can you heal a cracked bead??

[Antoñio]

Hello everyone!


The other day I was working on a large hollow bead. Sometimes they are 30 to 40mm in diameter. Since I have a minor torch I have to constantly move from side-to-side to keep the bead evenly heated to keep it from cracking up.

On occasion, either when I put two incompatable colors together or when I am too slow to heat both sides, I hear/see the bead crack. I am always able to reheat and seal the glass WHILE I am working on the bead but would like to know if anyone has experimented with kiln "healing" or other methods ( say with a torch) to fix tiny cracks in a bead ?

Thanks in advance!

Antonio

[Ellen Black]

Hi, I copyed/pasted this information from the ISGB. Sharon Peters gives a real good explanation. You can look up this post and further information in the ISGB archives. Ellen





Re: Broken Bead repair--how to?
Sharon Peters <sharon.peters@smartassglass.com> -- Wednesday, 29 August 2001, at 1:01 p.m.

If the break is in the surface decorative detail, that can be fixed - but if the base bead is cracked, it's almost impossible to repair in the flame without having it stick to the mandrel forever. When I crack a base bead, I just file it away and use it for reference.

But if it's an eyeball or fin that pops off, here's how to fixit:

1) If the bead is still on the mandrel:

Put it back in a cold kiln, and bring it up slowly to 1100 degrees. Take it out of the kiln (I use a thick wad of wet paper toweling to hold the hot mandrel) and put it down toward the end of the flame and warm it thoroughly; then move it into the hotter flame and you can work on it again. Flame anneal and kiln anneal again, as usual.

2) If it's off the mandrel:

Dip a new mandrel in a little bead release and slide the bead on. Wipe off the big glob that pushes up on the end, hang the mandrel horizontally (I use a candy box lid) and let it dry - I let it sit overnite. Then put in a cold kiln, and continue as in #1 above. Good luck on your fixings! *sharon*

[Antoñio]

Thanks Ellen !! I will try what you have posted and report back here.

I have noted that I am able to heal a crack if I have it occurs *while* I am working on the bead. Even if the crack occurs between the added decorations on a bead I am able to just heat the bead all over evenly and heal the crack.

However, I have never tried what is suggested in your post however, I see no reason why it shoudn't work....especially since most of my beads are thin-walled hollows.

Thanks again for the help !

Antonio