Beadmaking Supplies
 

I took a course about a month ago and they used some sort of gardening gravel (starts with a V I think) - Vemitrolite? Vermitolite? I cant remember and im trying to order the supplies I need to start lampworking ASAP!!!!:razz:

We used this gravel to put the already made beads into, so that they could cool down (instead of a fiber blanket)...if I could get this gravel, it would probably last longer and cost less than purchasing a fiber blanket.

thanks for any help!!!!

Vermiculite.:smile:

You can keep it toasty in a crockpot too, which further helps slow the cooling process.

You can purchase vermiculite at Home Depot for super cheap.

I mix it with coconut fibers and sand, and use it as a substrate layer for my critters. (Tarantulas).

In Christ: Raymond

Vermiculite won't shed nasty splinters in your skin either. You'll want a kiln in the long run.

Celeste

yep vermiculite. When I first got started I used it and it cut down my cracking a great deal. some people (myself included) say that if you put it in a crockpot it helps even more.
Just remember that vermiculite is not a substitute for annealing in a kiln. There is a much greater likelyhood of them cracking in the future.

Fiber blankets .....that's MY preference. My first ones lasted over six years and they are not dust-producing. I've never had splintering issues. Before I bought a kiln, I put them on a separate table, just like I would a kiln....and now they are on top of the kiln, so they take up no space.

And I personally believe that a crock pot does nothing except use electricity and take up space.

You will need a kiln just as soon as you toss a bead in the trash that you wish had survived the slow cooling in vermiculite or a fiber blanket.

Have fun....you are embarking on the grand obssession.....I think that in literary terms that was DaVinci's Sistine chapel.....but lampworking is as addicting!

You only get splinters from your fibre blanket if you can't resist patting your beads like a bunch of babies in a crib...Or if your teen-age sons come along and try to pull it apart.

Celeste