How vital is a kiln?

Speaking of the Cindy Jenkins book, she notes in it that a kiln isn't
absolutely vital for annealing beads, that it can be done with the torch.

Almost every bead I see advertised is 'kiln annealed', is it absolutely
necessary or is it something that is vital only for more advanced beadwork?

Enquiring minds and my credit card want to know. I've heard from E K Miller
and their shipping costs to the UK are very reasonable. I'm not sure if I
should be glad or terrified!

-Su

You can do searches on Wet Canvas about annealing, and see everything from
truly helpful information to "char this marshmallow" type flamewars about
it. (I do NOT exaggerate!)

For myself, I disagree with this notion, at least with the glass commonly
used these days (Bullseye and Moretti in particular). You CAN make very
small beads that will not immediately crack from thermal shock, but someday,
somehow the risk is always there. I feel better safe than sorry. Now, that
said, as a beginner, when your beads are generally less than perfect G who
cares? Yes, it's nice to save the goodies, and batch annealing is great to
preserve keepsakes. But at first, just worry about the torch and learning to
understand the glass and what you're doing. A kiln is a big expense, and not
something I'd recommend until you're sure you want to keep at it. (I didn't
get mine until I'd been making beads about six months, then I was totally
hooked.) In the meantime, flame anneal by all means, then let them cool in a
fiber blanket, and don't work too big.

KarenK

"Su/Cutworks" wrote in message
...
Speaking of the Cindy Jenkins book, she notes in it that a kiln isn't
absolutely vital for annealing beads, that it can be done with the torch.

Almost every bead I see advertised is 'kiln annealed', is it absolutely
necessary or is it something that is vital only for more advanced
beadwork?

Enquiring minds and my credit card want to know. I've heard from E K
Miller
and their shipping costs to the UK are very reasonable. I'm not sure if I
should be glad or terrified!

-Su

You can keep your (smaller) beads together using fiber blanket or
vermiculite. You can cool your beads in the back part of the flame. It is
theoretically possible to use the flame to anneal the beads, but do you
really want to spend 2-3 hours slowly cooling a single bead to room
temperature? And do you have enough hand skills to make this cooling even
across the bead?
Starting out, you may not want to invest in a kiln, but before you try and
sell your beads, you should have them and anneal the beads as you go.

--
There are no mistakes, only unexplored techniques

"Su/Cutworks" wrote in message
...
Speaking of the Cindy Jenkins book, she notes in it that a kiln isn't
absolutely vital for annealing beads, that it can be done with the torch.

Almost every bead I see advertised is 'kiln annealed', is it absolutely
necessary or is it something that is vital only for more advanced
beadwork?

Enquiring minds and my credit card want to know. I've heard from E K
Miller
and their shipping costs to the UK are very reasonable. I'm not sure if I
should be glad or terrified!

-Su

KarenK wrote:

You can do searches on Wet Canvas about annealing, and see everything from
truly helpful information to "char this marshmallow" type flamewars about
it. (I do NOT exaggerate!)

Ack, no thanks on the toasted marshmallows!
:-)

Now, that
said, as a beginner, when your beads are generally less than perfect G
who
cares? Yes, it's nice to save the goodies, and batch annealing is great to
preserve keepsakes. But at first, just worry about the torch and learning
to
understand the glass and what you're doing. A kiln is a big expense, and
not
something I'd recommend until you're sure you want to keep at it. (I
didn't
get mine until I'd been making beads about six months, then I was totally
hooked.) In the meantime, flame anneal by all means, then let them cool in
a
fiber blanket, and don't work too big.

This is pretty much the conclusion we've arrived at, as it will take us at
least that long to get a feel for the whole process of beadmaking. We've
both been submerged in the books today, and are getting really excited about
the chance to start ruining some glass. My husband felt it would be at
least six months before we manage to produce much that's worth putting in a
kiln, and by then we should know if we want one. As it is, we now have a
feel for the costs, and the complexities of the set-ups, and know that what
we want to try is at least physically feasible. Artistically remains to be
seen.

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated.

-Su

IMO, a kiln is absolutely vital if you plan to use or sell your work,
because un-annealed beads have a much higher rate of breakage. Some people
feel that smaller beads don't need to be annealed, but I've had encased
spacers break from cooling too fast, so I respecfully disagree with that.
Also, using a fiber blanket or vermiculite does not anneal the beads, it
just cools them slightly slower than leaving them in the air. However,
there are countless threads on great forums about this subject which give a
lot of technical information and advice for people looking at kilns and
annealing.

This subject is one reason why I don't recommend Cindy Jenkins' first book
by itself for beginners, along with the fact that she doesn't cover safety
much at all. I recommend Jim Kervin's book "More Than You Ever Wanted To
Know About Glass Beadmaking" for the beginner - it covers more on equipment
and safety. Having both is a nice balance.

Here are links to some threads on annealing:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=184922
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180962
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128169

Here are some forums so you can do searches:
http://www.isgb.org/forum/
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=89
http://www.artglassforum.com/ (you have to be a member to access)


--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

Speaking of the Cindy Jenkins book, she notes in it that a kiln isn't
absolutely vital for annealing beads, that it can be done with the torch.

Almost every bead I see advertised is 'kiln annealed', is it absolutely
necessary or is it something that is vital only for more advanced
beadwork?

Enquiring minds and my credit card want to know. I've heard from E K
Miller
and their shipping costs to the UK are very reasonable. I'm not sure if I
should be glad or terrified!

-Su

That's one of those odd bits of misinformation that I think has lagged
over from the early 90's when lampworkers, as a whole, didn't know as
much about glass as other types of glassworkers. Annealing is absolutely
necessary when selling your work, though not necessary when you're just
practicing. Flame annealing can reduce breakage, but it still results in
a high breakage rate, and beads can break years after making them. I
used to flame-anneal (being one of those early 90's lampworkers) and I
found that my beads (small round ones made with a Hot Head) could, and
would, break utterly spontaneously even ten years after I made them.
After I batch-annealed the remaining beads two years ago, none of them
have broken. How's that for a testimonial?

You can make beads for yourself, or give them away, but if you sell them
without annealing them, there is a really good possibility that they
will eventually break, which could harm your reputation. Buyers really,
really hang onto that reputation... I have heard people say "Don't buy
her beads; I bought a bead from her five years ago and it broke". You DO
NOT want that reputation following you around!

Last but not least, I have had one of my "flame-annealed" sculptural
beads actually explode with some force. It's not a myth!


Check out www.wetcanvas.com and www.isgb.org for archived discussions on
annealing... they can get quite heated. (As it were, lol!)
-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Su/Cutworks wrote:
Speaking of the Cindy Jenkins book, she notes in it that a kiln isn't
absolutely vital for annealing beads, that it can be done with the torch.

Almost every bead I see advertised is 'kiln annealed', is it absolutely
necessary or is it something that is vital only for more advanced beadwork?

Enquiring minds and my credit card want to know. I've heard from E K Miller
and their shipping costs to the UK are very reasonable. I'm not sure if I
should be glad or terrified!

-Su