Karla, in your case the bead collar wouldn't be necessary right now. But if you ever intend to make and anneal at home, it's a heckuva lot nicer having the collar than opening the top of a kiln to place a bead. (I speak from experience.) Unless you plan to only make beads less than half an inch in diameter with no thin extensions and no inclusions of metal (leaf, shavings, etc or cz's), a kiln to pop beads into immediately is a must. All those are foreign material and can cause a perfectly good bead to crack if simply cooled in a blanket/annealing beads/vermiculite.
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ESC
Soft glass on a Minor/concentrator since 1996
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