Baking Soda Beads - 2 questions

*Naos* · #1 2006-07-07, 4:50pm

1) How long do I soak them in vinegar and water before I anneal them? I'm using a half vinegar/half water solution.

2) I over applied on some beads and I can see hairlines fractures on the surface where the pitting is...This is normal for OPAQUE (like Ivory) baking soda beads but these are transparents...are these beads now considered a loss?

Normally, I would just toss them but I was going for an antiquity feel and the authentic roman glass beads I have are unstable at best, same pitting, same veined look in areas...crumbly...

I needed them just for photos anyway so if I can't sell them, it makes no difference...just wondering...they look really cool - nice and crackled on some...others there is no crackling, just pitting...

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have!!

klrglass · #2 2006-07-07, 5:02pm

Newbie - Can you explain what happened. You made a bead, rolled in baking soda and let cool before annealing to soak in vinegar? Could you explain the process? Love the way it looks but have no idea how to do it. Thanks!

*Naos* · #3 2006-07-07, 5:07pm

klrglass,

Yes, I made the beads, rolled them in baking soda but let them cool in the fiber blanket before annealing because you have to stop the process of the baking soda on the glass first (or at least I think so... LOL).

So I have them soaking in vinegar&water to neutralize the reaction before I anneal them...anybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong...but it seems to me the glass, if still reacting to the baking soda, would be unstable all the way through the annealing process? So it's best to stop the progress before annealing?

LavenderCreek · #4 2006-07-07, 6:12pm

Hey Amber, I've never done it that way. Maybe I do it wrong! I just roll the bead in the baking soda, let it bubble and do its thing and then put it in the kiln when I'm finished with it. I haven't had any problems with cracking at all, neither with opaques nor with transparents...at least not to my knowledge! I haven't heard that the baking soda needs to be neutralized.

klrglass · #5 2006-07-07, 6:16pm

Teresa - are any of the beads in your galleries done with baking soda or do you striclty use enamals to achieve your surface texture?

*Naos* · #6 2006-07-07, 6:33pm

Teresa, no you probably do it right but I did remember hearing that the baking soda will keep going if you don't neutralize it. I'll try putting it straight in the kiln and see if that changes the crackling issue.

Toni Lutman · #7 2006-07-07, 6:40pm

I haven't done any for years, but I could swear I used to encase them after the baking soda. Hmmm.

I don't think I have any around to check though.

*Naos* · #8 2006-07-07, 6:43pm

Toni, I would do that if I wanted the bubbly effect but what I'm looking for is an aged surface, pitted and rough. I have that on most it just seems the reaction went overboard on some of them.

Toni Lutman · #9 2006-07-07, 6:44pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by *Naos*

Toni, I would do that if I wanted the bubbly effect but what I'm looking for is an aged surface, pitted and rough. I have that on most it just seems the reaction went overboard on some of them.

Ahhh. Never tried that, so I'll shut up now.

*Naos* · #10 2006-07-07, 7:06pm

Oh no worries, Toni! I'll try the bubbly beads soon, I'm sure! LOL

playswithfire104 · #11 2006-07-07, 9:27pm

I put mine right into the kiln too. I did notice that if I tried to do dots or stringer decoration over the baking soda it all came off later. I think it has something to do with not being able to adhere to the rough surface. I don't have any backing for this just my guess.

Kevan · #12 2006-07-08, 12:02am

I tried encasing a baking soda bead and the bubbles got really big and just kept coming up through the glass on top. This is a hollow bead that my husband made with baking soda on the outside. It kind of looks like seeded glass.

LavenderCreek · #13 2006-07-08, 1:09am

These are a few that I did recently with baking soda on the surface. I really like the weathered texture. No, you can't do alot of decoration once the baking soda is on, it doesn't stick. Maybe soaking in vinager and water after the bead comes out of the kiln wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm going to try that next time I make one of these.

Kevan · #14 2006-07-08, 1:26am

I should do this on a goddess. Make her look like she's been at the bottom of the ocean for a couple of hundred years.

Cherine Perrin · #15 2006-07-08, 5:28am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToniL

I haven't done any for years, but I could swear I used to encase them after the baking soda. Hmmm.

I don't think I have any around to check though.

I encase them too...

JanMD · #16 2006-07-08, 5:52am

I have always admired the look you get with baking soda (see especially Karen Ovington's work at http://www.ovingtonglassstudio.com/Custom_Beads.html) so I made a whole set for a friend one spring. She loved it and wore it all the time, that is UNTIL all the beads disintegrated, fell to pieces, and crumbled into lumps nearly simultaneously, about two months later.

Now, many years later the 'Aha!!' moment --> <<<...but it seems to me the glass, if still reacting to the baking soda, would be unstable all the way through the annealing process? So it's best to stop the progress before annealing? >>>>

This sounds right to me. It may be that annealing stops the process. But maybe not. Hmmmm!!!

JanMD

krfteldy · #17 2007-01-25, 6:30pm

Could someone explain to me the process of rolling beads in baking soda? How is it done and what's the purpose? I've never heard of this before.

Thanks.

Nancy

swanseafarm · #18 2007-01-25, 6:38pm

I never do the vinager soak. I just keep heating the baking soda and burn off as much as I can. And what doesn't burn off in the torch burns off in the kiln, I believe.

I do lots of baking soda texture on my bone beads and never have a problem.

ChrisB · #19 2007-01-25, 6:51pm

Ditto

Quote:

Originally Posted by krfteldy

Could someone explain to me the process of rolling beads in baking soda? How is it done and what's the purpose? I've never heard of this before.

Thanks.

Nancy

artwhim · #20 2007-01-25, 9:13pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevan

I should do this on a goddess. Make her look like she's been at the bottom of the ocean for a couple of hundred years.

Here is one that I used baking soda on and then cooked the snot out of:

She literally has a "bubble butt"!

Chau Nguyen T · #21 2009-02-15, 12:49pm

Chris and Nancy,
Making a bead then roll it in a dish of baking soda to give it pitted looks like Cathy's goddess. Or encase them in clear to bring out the bubble like Cherine's beads.

Alison D · #22 2009-02-15, 1:56pm

Roll your hot bead in baking soda and then put it back in the flame to cook it well. Then anneal. A vinegar /water soak after would not be a bad idea.
The beads tend to be unstable and can fall aparts weeks, months or years later. I had some beautiful ornaments that only lasted 6 months. Luckily I didn't sell any.

Mitosis Glass · #23 2009-02-15, 10:05pm

Interesting -- I was wondering if they glass would be less stable. Sounds like that's a possibility.

honey*bee · #24 2009-02-16, 7:53am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alison D

Roll your hot bead in baking soda and then put it back in the flame to cook it well. Then anneal. A vinegar /water soak after would not be a bad idea.
The beads tend to be unstable and can fall aparts weeks, months or years later. I had some beautiful ornaments that only lasted 6 months. Luckily I didn't sell any.

In "The Complete Book Of Glass Beadmaking" that's how she says to do it. Roll it and then cook it some more in the flame. She doesn't say anything about vinegar though.

I have been wanting to try this technique, and I have wondered how to get a bead with a bunch of bubbles in it and now I know!! Thanks for asking this question.