As mentioned in the Gallery thread today, there have been some reported cracking problems with CIM Plum Unique.
I did some testing on this glass a couple of months ago, so I've just checked the bead I made and can confirm that it hasn't cracked at all. So maybe its not down to using SIS with it.
My bead is CIM Plum Unique with CIM Desert Pink Unique, and a band of Effetre silvered ivory stringer and silver wire around the centre.
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Bluebottle_pics/P1140785.jpg)
Maybe it likes to be annealed a little hotter Julie? That is the only thing i can think of...
I anneal at 500, Gem, not particularly hot at all.
Quote from: Lush! on November 07, 2011, 05:46:41 PM
I anneal at 500, Gem, not particularly hot at all.
Well thats me stumped then :P
Ooh, nice colour.
Sorry Julie, didn't mean to hi-jack the gallery thread. Thanks for starting this one :)
That is one fab bead you have there Julie! Maybe it is the celedon and plum combination that's the problem then rather than the SIS - all of my larger lentils have cracked, smaller ones don't seem to have yet, and the small spacers I made of the individual colours are fine. I made the SS lentils in the same way for both the large and small ones and in the same way as I made the red and green ones - all of the red and green ones are fine. If it was to do with how I press the beads I would have thought I'd have problems with the red and green beads as well as the plum and celedon. They came out of the kiln ok, I cleaned them and made up the bracelet before they then cracked. Ho hum - anyone who has some plum and celedon fancy seeing what happens if they make similar beads?
I've got regular and unique plum and celadon, I'll have a go at mixing em all up tomorrow.
Thank you Julie! :) Will look forward to hearing your results.
Oooh now thats a fab colour combo !!!
As promised, I had a play with CIM Unique Plum and Celadon (I used the regular Celadon as I think that's what Karen originally had a problem with ???)
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Bluebottle_pics/P1160025.jpg)
There's no cracks yet, and I really can't imagine that there will be but I'll hold on to the beads for a while and keep checking them.
It looks like the Plum is a spreader though, see how the Celadon dots have a dark centre?
Scrummy! ;D
Lilley - how do you use the lentil press, that is, do you do one big press or several little ones? It might be that the red green combo is a bit more forgiving of your technique? - and Julie might be doing it a little more gently??? Just a thought, as this hasn't been solved yet...
I used unique plum and unique celedon. I used a straight sided lentil press, I gather plum and celedon side by side into a sphere with the lenght just shy of the length of the press and start pressing when there is just under what I reckon the bead needs then add the wrap of SIS which usually brings the glass up to the right amount. I reheat and press until the bead is the right shape adding glass as necesary if it needs it. ThenI ensure the faces and edges are fire polished and the bead warmed through before putting it in the kiln to anneal. I haven't had any problem with pressed beads until now and I do use a press for lentils and rounds pretty frequently - all the red/gren ones are still fine. What do you reckon?
Sorry - I lost track of this thread! It sounds like you are doing everything right, so it is still a bit of a mystery... ???
Uh oh ....
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Bluebottle_pics/P1160476.jpg)
I noticed the Unique Plum side of the bead is well and truly cracked. I'm writing to Kathy Seamands at CIM now, see if she's come across any similar problem with this glass.
Good luck Julie
I wrote to her not so long ago with a cracking/compatibility problem with maple and butter pecan and have not had a response.
I think it's a shame that these odd lots and new colours don't appear to be thoroughly tested before being sold.
It does seem that there are now some quality control issues that just weren't there when this glass first came out. It's such a shame as it really is my favourite brand.
Kazx
Quote from: Lush! on December 02, 2011, 09:42:21 AM
Uh oh ....
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Bluebottle_pics/P1160476.jpg)
I noticed the Unique Plum side of the bead is well and truly cracked. I'm writing to Kathy Seamands at CIM now, see if she's come across any similar problem with this glass.
Totally Irrelavant Comment
I am really impressed that your nail varnish complements the bead colour. THAT is attention to detail!!
I'm glad you noticed ;)
It is a real pity that this is happening with the unique plum and celedon - but on a personal note I am reassured that it is not me and my technique!! Here's hoping you do get a response Julie.
Hmm I missed this
I think there is more than one unique plum - I have used one of the lighter ones (I think it is the one whose code ends with 3) in lots of beads and have had no problems encasing. I've used it with silver leaf, gold leaf, khaos & clio. But I have had problems encasing my bog standard plum which is close to the colour in your beads Julie. I'd be really interested to see what Kathy says.
Its a shame because the reactions you get from plum are gorgeous.
Kaz - I've always found CIM a bit unpredictable with encasing - I try to make test beads but you know whats it like when you find a fabulous reaction/combination and you know you should wait till the first bead is out of the kiln to make more but you just can't stop. Or is that just me?
Sarah
xxx
They weren't encased though. Base of butter pecan, dots of maple, dots of butter pecan and dots of inoffensive effetre sky blue. And twisted
Here's a photo - you can see the crazing.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6445570291_d0b6601c04.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheekycherubdesigns/6445570291/)
IMG_0161 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheekycherubdesigns/6445570291/) by Kaz ~ CheekyCherubDesigns (http://www.flickr.com/people/cheekycherubdesigns/), on Flickr
Kazx
Oh my Kaz - that simply shouldn't be with this combination. The only thing you've used that isn't CIM is the sky blue, and even that is in such tiny amounts that it shouldn't make any difference. I'd be interested in seeing any reply that you do eventually get. Shame too, they are very pretty beads.
The sky blue won't be the issue. The truth is that sometimes CIM isn't compatible with itself. Anyone remember a report by Corina Tettinger about how the pinks didn't play well together and that some colours need to be annealed at different temperatures?
Still, in such small amounts it's rather shocking to see that kind of incompatibility - even using a different COE of glass in those quantities I wouldn't expect to see that kind of crazing. Shame, I love using CIM but am becoming more and more careful in my selection of it due to this problem.
Me too unfortunately - using reliable combinations or colours in their own.
Kazx
Sorry Kaz - I misunderstood and those are so pretty. I think Shirley's right about CIM though :(
When it first came out there were a few issues and I remember there being annealing ranges for most of the colours. I think it was Dora who did a long post here on compatibility and there was also info on the CIM website. I don't know if we still have Dora's post but I can't find the info on the website anymore.
Sarah
xxx
At least a lot of the CIM colours are so nice you can use them by themselves.
Here's the info from Dora. http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2276.0
There was definitely something from Corina too, probably on her website, and mainly about the pinks.
I just had a phone call from Kathy following my email to her.
I'm not sure we really came up with a definitive answer to the cracking Plum Unique problem (Sarah, my Plum Unique has a -1 at the end) but it seems that its most likely to be related to annealing temp/soak time.
First of all, she explained that compatibility is not only an issue across glass manufacturers but the base formula of each glass needs to be taken into account. CIM glasses fall into five different formulae: Reds, Opals, Opaques, Transparents and Moonstones. If you look up each colour on the CIM website, you will see in the description which of these formulae it is. The Moonstones are Peacock, Haylong Bay and Cirrus and I was already aware that these require a different annealing schedule.
Using Plum Unique (an Opal) with Celadon (an Opaque) should not actually cause a compatibility issue, but they are from different formula groups so its not completely out of the question.
She did suggest a work round for any glasses that have thrown up this problem: start your bead with a base of clear as a stabiliser, then encase the clear with the coloured glasses. Also increase the soak time for any problem glasses, or make them at the start of the session so they garage for longer.
She does accept that most of us (definitely including me!) are not prepared to adjust our kiln programme depending on what glass we use so she certainly isn't saying that we should put up with this. I think the point here is that the problem has arisen in a Unique/Ltd Run glass, not a regular line. I use other Opals regularly and have not experienced a problem like this before.
Also I realised that I did anneal the two beads I've shown in this thread at different temps. My first bead, the one with Unique Plum and Unique Desert Pink, was garaged at 500 degrees and annealed at 510. But in-between making that bead and the one with Celadon, my controller was replaced, and the bead with Unique Plum and Celadon was garaged and annealed at 520. I think this actually contradicts what Kathy was saying so doesn't really get us anywhere though!! :-\