Annealing Glass bonded to steel
I am very new to lampworking, sort of fiddling around with a variety of things at the moment, reading tutorials, etc.
I tried something on my own that seemed to work really well, but is not quite complete.
I cut a steel rod into a short section and heated it using my torch, allowing me to bend it into a "c" shape. I then created a bead in the open space, filling in the C to make a ring. It looks really cool and I would like it to last. Unfortunately, the glass has visible cracks in it already, although the surface is smooth. I let it cool in vermiculite, but did not anneal it in a kiln.
If/when I gain access to a kiln, will I be able to anneal the glass that is already bonded to the steel, or will the different cooling properties of glass and steel prevent the glass from ever forming a good, crack free structure?
If I CAN do it, what do I need to do differently??
Thanks!
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