What kiln?

[bearyboo]

Hey all!

I am new too lampworking but i have been doing it since august and i want to start incorporating my beads into my jewellery. I have heard that before doing this i need to anneal my beads in a kiln? Forgive me if i am wrong but i am new at this and seeking advice

If i need a kiln, what would you recommend? I will probably be doing around 30 beads a week at first until i get the hang of it them possibly 50 a week thereafter.

Any advice and price guides would be appreciated! I am using effetre glass if that makes a difference?

Thank you
















week thereafter. 






Any tips on what to buy and price guide please?

[Zeldazog]

Hi there

If you to the top right of the page and type kiln into the search box, it will bring up loads of threads where this subject has been endlessly discussed.  There's a lot of why's and wherefores to consider, people's experiences, and so on - so well worth trawling through.

You'll probably find that most of them are in the kilns sections, there's at least one in fusing boards and one on the technical section

When you do the search, make sure you do it at the forum front page, rather than in a specific board, otherwise it only searches that board, rather than the whole forum.

[Redhotsal]

As Zeldadog has said there is quite a lot of info already on here. Go to the FH home page and put "what kiln" into the search bar. Choosing a kiln is a bit like choosing a car - there are lots about, having different prices and they all vary, so to start you off, have a think about the following:

1) Are you just annealing beads, or do you want to do other things with the kiln, such as enamelling, fusing, Precious Metal Clay and so on?

2) To begin with will you make a lot of beads in one sitting or will you only make one or two? Batch annealing (where you anneal the beads after they have been cooled) is an efficient way to go to begin with as you only need to run the kiln, say, once a week. If you are a serious beadmaker though you'll find this method can be inconvenient and you may want to anneal your beads as you go. If you do the latter you'll need some kind of bead door to allow the mandrel to stick out of the kiln.

3) What size and how many beads will you make? If you want to make big stonking 38mm lentils you will probably lose a few of these to thermal shock if you cool in vermiculite or annealing bubbles. If you just want to make 12mm spacer beads you'll get away with cooling then batch annealing.

From a technical point of view you OUGHT to anneal your beads, especially if you are using them for jewellery or if you are selling them. It does make the beads stronger by "ironing out" any stresses that are put into the glass by rapid cooling. Annealing bubbles only allow the beads to cool at a slower rate than leaving the glass in the open air -  they do NOT anneal. If you make tiny beads you'll probably get away with not annealing but if you make big beads, or if you mix up your glasses and use lots of inclusions and want to make whacky shapes then you just won't get away with not annealing as your beads may just break. This could be on the same day, or a couple or weeks, or even several months later. Commerically made beads from China and India are not annealed but you often see lots of cracked ones in the packets.

There is a thread on here where people are happy to "rent out" kiln space for "newbies". You can send your beads to these people and in exchange for postage or perhaps a chocolate bar they will happily anneal your beads for you.  Link is: http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1939.0

[bearyboo]

Thank you for your replies. I will go and have a look for the other posts now