Batch annealing schedule - moretti glass beads in an SC2.

[*Nicky*]

Oh ive got a kiln shelf, so i can just put that on the floor of the kiln and then place the unmandreled beads on to that ?

[Caroline]

yeah, thats it

[*Nicky*]

cool - ill do that now !

[Trudi]

Great this helps me - I've been making beads too - I've ordered my kiln and it's due next week - and I can't wait. But I find a lot of talk about shelves etc a bit confusing - but I guess when I have it in front of me and I can picture things it will make more sense!!

Is a shelf just a flat thing that covers the base of the kiln?


I have made some beads - taken them off the mandrels and cleaned them a bit - with a pipe cleaner - not a reamer (waiting for that) does this mean that these are more likely to break if I put them in the kiln - am I better off leaving them be!

[Mary]

If they are going to break with cleaning, it will happen while you are doing it. The ones that survived are fine to anneal. In future, better to leave them till after they are annealed, it's too easy to break them in half with a reamer!

[Trudi]

Hi

So these should be ok to anneal then?

Thanks

T

[BeadyBugs]

Yep - they sound like they'll be fine to be annealed Trudi.  Have fun with your kiln.

Hp x

[Trudi]

OH MY GOD – please help me

Have just got my kiln and no wonder people are scared stiff to turn them on!! Why don't they write these things in plain English!

Nb – I have a paragon SC2 – with bead door

Do I need to do some sort of empty firing  before I start on the beads?

Ok I need to batch anneal first as I have loads of beads!!

I don't understand all this talk of kiln wash / glass separator – if this was really necessary wouldn't this be supplied when I bought it – or wouldn't this have been advised to buy when I ordered – I ordered it direct from Cherry Heaven (but looked like the Paragon site when I logged in!)

I do have a shelf (It's at the parents house right now – wish I'd bought it round with me) – how do I know if it's a fiber or fireclay shelf – I think it's the fireclay one I need?? How do I tell what type I have? (I have ordered some ceramic blocks but they haven't arrived yet)

I thought that I'd need to put the beads onto the shelf – resting on the floor and then start the process? (I know that you can't put bead etc directly on the floor)

Venting – do I just need to leave the ceramic bung off – in the manual it says to remove it – but when the venting is complete – to put it back in to conserve energy  for the rest of the firing! – when is that? (Helen's post earlier says to remove it completely)

I'm just wondering if there are different ways of doing things

Going from the schedule that Helen kindly posted – I just want to see if I understand this (daren't even look that the controller book yet – head hurts!)

PRO1 (or another free slot) _ I guess this is for pre-programming?
Ramp1 149C – not really sure what ramp means!
Temp1 520C – ok get this
Hold1 60mins – for 1 hour

Ramp2 78C - ?
Temp2 371C – ok temp
Hold2 0000mins – don't know why this is zero?
Ramp3 0000 – is this to turn it off / stop it?

After it stops – how long does it take to come down to room temp so that you can open it up?


After I've mastered this bit – I'll look at annealing using the bead door – but I can't figure out where the beads will rest inside the kiln yet – I'll figure out the batch process first!

Now where is my Jack Daniels ..........

[Mary]

Okay Trudi, step away from the bottle! Lol!

Kiln wash etc is for fusing and ceramics. Basically so melted glass and glaze won't stick. It's still a good idea to use thin bead release to coat the floor of the kiln, because kilns do go wrong and melt things into puddles, which would ruin the kiln floor.
Otherwise you don't really need anything in your kiln. Your ceramic shelf would be heavy, like a thick tile. You might have a fibre shelf which is good for laying directly on the floor, but won't bear weight if it's propped on supports.

Yes, do an empty firing, it burns off manufacture residue. It will smell and might smoke, leave the cone out so it escapes. Other firings leave the cone in. The hole is to let gases out, beads don't create any, you'll just let heat out.

Ramp is the speed the temp is changing, in degrees per hour. So on that schedule it climbs slowly, holds, then drops slowly. You don't need a second hold before the fast cool phase, after the second ramp. Ramp 3 isn't switching it off, it's just telling it there is no next segment, because you have the option of programming several (4 I think?) segments.

Wait till the displayed temp is room temp or thereabouts before opening it (be patient!). This will take maybe another hour or more.

Have I missed anything? Best of luck!

[Vicki]

you sound just like I did a month & a half ago Trudi

[BeadyBugs]

Hehehe!  What are you like - I was just as bad!  Right - I'll attempt to answer all this - VERY LONG POST WARNING!!!  Sorry!:

Do I need to do some sort of empty firing  before I start on the beads?  Yes - Turn kiln on and select SPD3 and then start it and let it run.  This will crank the kiln up to a temp, then cool it down, which should burn off some of the impurities in the kiln lining.  For this stage leave the BUNG OUT so any fumes can escape.

Ok I need to batch anneal first as I have loads of beads!!

I don't understand all this talk of kiln wash / glass separator – if this was really necessary wouldn't this be supplied when I bought it – or wouldn't this have been advised to buy when I ordered – I ordered it direct from Cherry Heaven (but looked like the Paragon site when I logged in!) Kiln wash is used to protect the bottom of the kiln just in case the kiln over heats and melts your beads.  They are easier to remove from the bottom of the kiln, and will cause less damage if there is a barrier there - ie kiln wash, or fibre paper or board.  I use the fibreboard square that came with my kiln.  You should have one in a cardboard sandwich with your kiln.  If not contact Rob or Petra.  A spare ceramic kitchen or bathroom tile will do the job too.

I do have a shelf (It's at the parents house right now – wish I'd bought it round with me) – how do I know if it's a fiber or fireclay shelf – I think it's the fireclay one I need?? How do I tell what type I have? (I have ordered some ceramic blocks but they haven't arrived yet)  You could use either type of shelf to line the bottom of your kiln for annealing, doesn't matter, both would do the job (but ONLY use a plaster one for fusing!!).  A fibreboard shelf is just that, a thinnish, light weight square of cream coloured fibrous board about 5mm thick.  A plaster (fireclay?) kiln shelf on the other hand is about 1/2 and inch thick, just fits in the kiln, and is hard and very heavy.  As far as I know, you would use the ceramic fibre blocks for firing silverclay/PMC with a blow torch primarily, but they can also be used in a kiln for all sorts of stuff, not sure you need them really at the mo though if you've got a flat shelf?

I thought that I'd need to put the beads onto the shelf – resting on the floor and then start the process? (I know that you can't put bead etc directly on the floor) Technically you can just rest the beads on a shelf on the floor of your kiln if you want to, I tend to use the wire mesh mandrel kebab set up though.  Simply because at 520C beads are in the zone where the glass can slump, or become sticky (although I've never had any do this when using this schedule).  Everyone uses a different method, some people place their beads on an ceramic bathroom tile, a terracotta garden type dish with or without vermiculite, there are loads of ways of doing it.

Venting – do I just need to leave the ceramic bung off – in the manual it says to remove it – but when the venting is complete – to put it back in to conserve energy  for the rest of the firing! – when is that? (Helen's post earlier says to remove it completely)  Nope - you don't need to vent (open the door or remove the bung) at any point when annealing or fusing in an SC2.  The only time I'd recommend you leave the bung out is when you do the first dry run, incase there is any smoke or fumes that would be better off escaping.  The rest of the time, the bung stays in the 'ole.

I'm just wondering if there are different ways of doing things  Yep - lots of them

Going from the schedule that Helen kindly posted – I just want to see if I understand this (daren't even look that the controller book yet – head hurts!)  Mine did to at this point - honestly once you've had a go you'll be fine.

PRO1 (or another free slot) _ I guess this is for pre-programming?  There are 5 (I think?) empty slots in the controller for you to program your schedules into.  If you program this schedule into slot 1 (Pr01) it will stay there, til you decide to change it.  You can then enter other schedules into the other slots.  There are 5 pre-programmed SPD (speed) schedules too, which simply heat up the kiln then cool it down.  You probably won't use them again, just once for your dry run as stated above.

Ramp1 149C – not really sure what ramp means!  It means the amount of degrees per hour by which your kiln will heat up or cool down

Temp1 520C – ok get this
Hold1 60mins – for 1 hour

Ramp2 78C - ?
Temp2 371C – ok temp
Hold2 0000mins – don't know why this is zero?  Cos you don't hold at this temp, you go straight to Ramp 3
Ramp3 0000 – is this to turn it off / stop it?  Yes - at this point it will beep for a few seconds to let you know it's finished the schedule.

After it stops – how long does it take to come down to room temp so that you can open it up? About 2-3 hours

After I've mastered this bit – I'll look at annealing using the bead door – but I can't figure out where the beads will rest inside the kiln yet – I'll figure out the batch process first!  Some people have a metal rack - I think Mary posted a pic somewhere.  Some people just rest the beads on the piece of fibre board in the bottom of the kiln.

And if you aren't completely comatose after all that....with a liberal splashing of Jack Daniels - I hope it goes ok trudi!  Good Luck!

HP x

[BeadyBugs]

Ooo gosh!  Sorry Mary - just spotted your post - cheers.   I think I just lost a couple of days whilst writing that!  LOL!

HP xxx

[Mary]

Well done Helen! Hopefully we covered the lot between us! 

[BeadyBugs]

Hehehe - thanks Mary!   That's if I haven't confused the poor girl more!  I think I need a JD too now!

HP x

[Trudi]

Hey - thank you so much for the info - I really have to say that there are sooo many very helpful peeps in here  - and so many of us would be so lost without your help.

And it has helped me so much - when I started to read the instuction booklet it really made my head spin. And hopefully this post will help others to!

I'll be firing up at the weekend!

Trudi