Everything you need to know about ANNEALING

[Ilona]

Just wondered if this is possible.

I have never batched annealed, but due to the higher fuel costs, I thought it was wrong to have the kiln on for only a couple of hours and to save it for the weekend.

I now have a nice stash of beads that need annealing and have some small racks that I can use so that half the kiln could be left empty for annealing as you go. But can this be done?

If it can, does anyone have a good schedule?

[Revontulet]

Hi Ilona. When I put my kiln on for 'as you go' I often put in a few beads from cold and bring them up to temp as the kiln ramps up to the holding temp of 500 then leave them in until I finish working, and then ramp up to anneal them with the others as usual. I don't have the exact schedule to hand but I'll dig it out for you tomorrow...

[Sherry Bellamy]

You can certainly do this, no problem.  When I've done it, I've used a fairly slow ramp up, two hours to get to 968F. But that's me....I'm pretty conservative.

Just get 'em up to that annealing temp, faster or (I advise) slower, and then put in your new beads as you make them.  Ramp them all down together, and you're golden.

I ramp over two hours to 700F, then...actually, I don't remember my program, sorry. I've had it so long that it just does it's thing, but it takes a few hours, then shuts off at 200F.

[glassworks]

the temprature rise to above 250c is the most critical.. once they are up to there (GENTLY) you could probably speed the ramp up to 500 a bit... if you could turn your kiln on two hours or so before starting you could have  a nice slow ramp up to 500 while you get the kids ready etc, then come to the studio with a toasty kiln and ready to go..

[Mary]

Just watch what colours you are using, pinks and reds don't always do well with a prolonged soak, they can go dark and muddy. And things like Terra can spoil too.

[Pandanimal]

Just watch what colours you are using, pinks and reds don't always do well with a prolonged soak, they can go dark and muddy. And things like Terra can spoil too.

Is that why my very first heart went kinda purple! it started out a deep ruby pink but came out of the kiln brownie purple. I will put my pinks to one side and run a special pink anneal next time. thanks.

[Mary]

What a shame! If you're garaging as you go, it's a good idea to save those colours for the end of session. Some pink frits are really bad for going "off"!

[Ilona]

Well I have had a go tonight and put my little racks in and then heard a ping half way through, My lovely ivory heart had split in half

Never mind though, at last I will have saved a few pennies on the electric bill.


Ilona

[Lush!]

I will put my pinks to one side and run a special pink anneal next time. thanks.

It sounds like doing a whites wash and a coloureds wash!  (but much more fun  )

[Sherry Bellamy]

Ilona, did the 'ping' happen on a bead that you were batching? Or was it one that you were just working on during that session?

[Pandanimal]

Seems we are both broken hearted! What is it with hearts?

[Ilona]

Hi Sherry,

It was a batch bead. It was a large thin heart, the best heart I had made so far. So maybe batching doesn't like hearts

All the other beads have cooked nicely.

I usually heat my kiln up on full so it heats up fast, but this time I heated it up slowly to 700.

I am pleased that I was able to do this and now I can play anytime without having to have the kiln on every time.


Ilona

[Mary]

Ilona, it would be the fact it's thin. Thin areas, especially near a mandrel, cool much quicker than the rest of the bead, so they are vulnerable during the cooling stage. They are best put straight from torch to hot kiln, it's a shame to risk losing them.

[Funky Cow]

Just wanted to drop in and say thank you all you lovely people who have passed on your knowledge in this thread - I have learned a heck of a lot here 

..... um, and also understood why some of my pinks have been disappointing 

[Amber]

Okay, so I've done several bulk anneals now, but have yet to try an anneal-as-you-go. I've got the schedule, but how long will it take to get up to temperature and then to do the actual annealing?

I've got an SC2.