Bead door use

[dangerousbead]

I've got a new Paragon SC2, wahey, had tons of help with schedules and fear etc from HelenP, but can anyone advise me what to put at the bottom of the kiln to support the beads, or do they just wave about in the hot air? How many can be rested on the resty thing, won't they be crowded if there are more than one or two in each cradle bit? 

[Funky Cow]

I pop them in as I go along, and just have to make sure that the bead is cool enough not to pick up the imprint of the kiln floor, and not too cool that it cracks! Sounds hard, but you get the feel for it quite quickly. Also, don't touch the bead you're just putting in and one already in there together - they stick! I find that once they've been enjoying the kiln for a while, I can shuffle them up to make room for others without them sticking. Hope this helps - I was a bit unsure at first, coz it seemed strange to put them on the floor of the kiln!
If you're planning to batch anneal though, there's load of info on here about setting up racks and various contraptions inside the kiln to accommodate that

[glassworks]

the best trick is to take your finished bead and hold it under your worksurface, if the glow is gone you can pop it in the kiln without fear or marking or sticking.. also, get into the habit of putting the first layer in "deep" towards the back of the kiln.. then the next layer in near the front etc...

[dangerousbead]

Staggering them! Brilliant, I hadn't thought of that. Cheers!

[Billie]

Not to close to the door though as that area might differ in temp slightly to the rest of the kiln

[turnedlight]

Have you got a little window? I have found that the glow appears to go, but when you put it in the kiln you can sometimes see that the bead is still glowing! I try to put a bead in, then turn it gently for a few seconds before putting it down on the bottom of the kiln (with the square mat under.)