Japanese Annealing Beads?
 

Some members in my group went to a Japanese workshop not too long ago and the instructor had some vermiculite type annealing beads that he used to anneal his beads. Supposedly this is how all Japanese beads are annealed? At least that is what I have been told. If you look at all your Japanese books, you see a tray with small balls in them. It looks sort of like styrofoam balls, but it is not. It is also not vermiculite. This is obviously used for satake glass, but I was told you can anneal regular 104 glass in it as well and it will anneal properly the same as if in a kiln? It retains heat a lot better than a fiber blanket or vermiculite.

My electric bill skyrockets to about 400 in the summer and I want to save some money and batch anneal. If I used this medium to anneal, would I have to anneal it later on in a kiln, or would it be just as stong as if I had annealed it directly from the kiln? Boy this would definitely save me money AND time. My kiln takes awhile to heat up.

My question....I want to buy some. Where do I find this miracle annealing medium? I'd love to find out where to purchase it and also some feedback from any members who have used it themselves and their opinion of it.

A3 International sells it(scroll down to annealing bubbles):
http://www.jplampwork.com/a3supply.htm

I am not sure it really anneals the beads....but I am no expert!
If you do try it, can you report back to us?
Thanks so much!!!

Hi There!

We're having a similar discussion about this product in this thread:

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...ealing+bubbles

I know that Malcolm at Artco is attempting to secure enough of the Annealing Bubbles for general sale - hopefully, he'll have an update for us soon.

My personal opinion on this product: Although I am still awaiting a "verdict" in terms of whether or not there is sufficient heat generated to properly "anneal" your finished beads using a heating method such as a crock pot, etc. and the "Bubbles" alone, I personally think this product is FAR SUPERIOR to vermiculite for use in your crock pot to SLOW COOL your beads before doing a KILN BATCH ANNEAL subsequent to cooling.

If you have a chance to use the Annealing Bubbles, I'd love to hear your feedback and findings!

DeAnne in CA

Thanks for the info. I will look into it.

Just a heads up - don't let the myth going around about satake not needing proper kiln annealing fool you! I was fed that line and have a rather expensive pile of frit to show for it. High lead content or not, beads need proper kiln annealing.

A crock pot hits 300 degrees on high, so with or without annealing beads it isn't going to get hot enough to anneal glass. These beads might insulate well enough to give a slow cooling rate and are less dusty than vermiculite, but you won't get the strain relief that soaking and ramping from annealing temp will give you.

Robert

I asked Akihiro about his comment on "annealing 104 glass in this "annealing bubbles." What he meant was that "you can safely cool 104 glass in this." The Japanese word for "annealing" actually means "gradual cooling" so there's a difference there. "Annealing Bubbles" may prevent thermal cracks in the cooling process but they don't anneal beads.

But it is true that most Japanese beads are not annealed in a kiln.

Thanks, Emiko, for sharing that. At a Gathering a long time ago I bought a bead from one of the Japanese artists that was attending and a couple of years ago I found it broken. It made me wonder. I guess this one didn't get annealed. I haven't really heard on anyone else complaining of breakage, so it could have just been a freak accident.

I agree totally, and I really think this product is FAR SUPERIOR, as previously stated, to vermiculite to doing the "slow cool" thing!

Thanks for clarifying this - it's so important with all products to make sure nothing so important gets "lost in translation". I think it's great stuff, myself!!!

DeAnne in CA

For what it's worth, last summer I made a variety of beads out of satake. They are ugly & I left them in a baggie on my balcony (where I torch) since then. (Bad beads! stay outside in the cold!) They haven't broken yet.... I cooled them in an unplugged crockpot of vermiculite.

& there's no way I'd sell those freaky things, someday when I suck less at the crazy volcano torch & crazy soft glass & can make stuff I'm will to show others, yet alone sell, I'll anneal them.

Do you have this tutorial in a pdf format? > Making Beads (The Devardi Glass Tutorial Series) by Fine Folly Glassworks. I've been searching for it on forums, but in vain - no luck.
I know it's rather an old thread, but perhaps someone has this guide. Thanks.