Half Beads

[Winny]

What am I doing wrong, some of my beads are falling in two off the mandrel others are splitting as I remove them, need advice as I made three beads yesterday and one was cracked when I took it from the slow cooker and an other broke once I had removed it from the mandrel and had left it on the kitchen side in one peice and came back and it was 2 halves, yesterday I was trying for a bigger bead and was happy with what I had produced untill they broke, thinking of making them into cabs If I can find some nice person to slid them in beside a fuseing but I have one bead I am happy with left - not even cleaning it properly until its baked. These arn't huge beads just biger than that I'd made before, 12mm ish hole to hole and round, I was pleased as I had got nice holes on all of them - simple things make me happy but advice on keeping them in one piece

[clasicat]

I would guess it's cos you didn't flame anneal them long enough Winny - i.e the beads have cooled unevenly /too quickley.  It's worth bathing them in the very top of your flame for a little bit to help stop this. Mind you I could be totally wrong and I'm sure someone else with far more knowledge than me will be along to give a better explanation!   

[Josephine]

I think Claire is right, the beads have cooled down too much. You need the bead to cool down enough that it doesn't go out of shape when you add your surface decoration but if you then put them straight into your vermiculite without warming them up again, the core of the bead may have cooled down too much.

[Winny]

Hopefully I'll be going back out to the workshop this evening, got to drive to Glasgow in 1/4 hour, a 18 mile journey will take me an hour cause its sunny out - squash lessons, kids. but I'll give bathing it in the end of the flame next time, I was trying to but maybe not long  enough, been playing with frit and stringers.

[Winny]

Ok I had a short time at the lamp, last night and I have three beads that didn't crack, they are also smaller than what I had bin trying but in one piece, spent a lot longer slowly cooling them in the end of the flame, put the in the slow cooker, after a long while switched off slow cooker and just left them in there to completely cool, all in one piece now all I need to is save up or a kiln with a little door but Such a simple thing that keeps every thing in one peice Thank you, I should know better than try and rush

[mazmeabead]

Hey Winny;

Glad your beads are sticking together - I went through similar too

So hows Burnie behaving himself?.

Maz

[TiaraHelen]

Just a thought, I've been using some of BeadySam's bargain fibre blanket since I got back from the flame off and it's been brilliant with everything, much more success than the slow cooker, so I'd recommend it.  Before, nearly all the lentils I made were cracking, but I haven't lost one since.