Batch Annealing in a paragon bluebird

[beading bloke]

Hi. Polly put the kettle on and myself have finally made some beads that look roundish and worth switching Kylie the kiln on for , we have been putting them into a pot of vermiculite with a very old and very large copper soldering iron ( I heat this in the flame and then bury it in the pot thus heating up the pot) Yes I know it may seem a strange think to do but it warms up the pot a treat and we were unable to get a slow cooker from asda because they had sold out ( the £6 ones) .
   Q1/  Would it be best to remove all the beads from their mandrels.
   Q2/ If so what is the best way of keeping them in the kiln.
   Q3/ Should I place them in the kiln and then switch on ( they are all cold ).
    What temp should I take Kylie to and for how long.I have read the instructions more times than I can remember and they may as well be in Eskimo for the sense they make.
   Q4/While this batch annealing is taking place can i still add new beads on a mandrel.
  Sorry if this is a bit long winded but its just the way a talk, by the way anyone out there who knows a place to sell 3cwt of "off set beads " please get in touch, many thanks BB
 

[Mary]

http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=859.0

This thread has lots of good info, the first post has a schedule for the Paragon SC2, I'm guessing the controller is similar? Basically you ramp up slowly from cold, hold the temp, then cool slowly.

If you are making more beads, no reason why you can't add them while they are hot, once it's up to temp, called garaging. If you like, you could set the hold for longer to give you time to work. I set mine for 10 hours, then once I'm finished I skip to the next stage (by pressing "higher" twice on the Sentry controller) to start ramping down.

Hope that is some help!

[Trudi]

Hi Alan

1 - yes you can remove from mandrel - but don't clean them till after they've been annealed

2 - I use a normal wall tile on the floor of my kiln and put the beads on (best not to have them touch)

3 - Here's a schedule for an SC2 (I'm guessing that programming a bluebird would be the same? - perhaps someone else with a bluebird could say...

Select a free programme slot - PRO1 (or another free slot)
Ramp1 149C
Temp1 520C
Hold1 60mins
Ramp2 78C
Temp2 371C
Hold2 0000mins
Ramp3 0000

It's basically the schedule Lorna (Pixiewillow - thanks again Lorna ) posted on GH a while ago, with a longer hold at 520C that will anneal beads up to about an inch in size.? If you are wanting to batch anneal larger beads, you will want to add more time to this hold segment to allow the glass stresses to be fully evened out before cooling.
http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4335.0

[beading bloke]

Hi Mary . Many thanks for your help, will read the link when the wife stops finding me More jobs to do.

[beading bloke]

Hi Trudy. Many thanks, will give that a go and let you know how we get on. Alan

[Lush!]

And once you've done all the wife's very important jobs here's another one for you ... find your camera and show us a piccie of them roundish beads 

[suzanneC]

I have a paragon bluebird and Martin from Tuffnells sent me this info when I got mine.
To batch anneal beads from cold program use as follows:
Select PR1
Ra 1 - 0736
Oc - 0154
Hld1 - 00.05
Ra 2 - 0314
Oc 0354
Hld 2 - 00.05
Ra3 - 0703
Oc - 0545
Hld3 - 01.00
Ra4 - 0523
Oc - 0452
Hld4 - 01.00
Ra 5 - 0001
Oc - 0000
All the rmainder set at 0000

This heats your kiln up from room temp - 5450c in around 1-2 hours, keep it there an hour, cool to 450 Oc for an hour then turn off.

[polly put the kettle on]

Julie we can't even get a picture next to his name BUT
help is at hand Thomas is home from uni at the weekend so watch this space


Suzanne thank you will be coping that down and giving it a try

sallyx

[polly put the kettle on]

Thank you Thomas now we can see his ugly mug