Curious Newbie Q about Annealing
 

I have only been lampworking since January, so please bear with me. I'm not trying to start any trouble, I swear!

Also, I tried searching for the answer, but evidently am not very good with the Search function. :-s

Anyway, I batch-anneal all of my beads (COE 104). My husband made a heat-treating oven, and that's what I'm using for now. We are not looking for a kiln right now, but it's not completely out of the picture, either. My question is, are some beads "too small" to bother annealing? Or can even very tiny beads have stress?
I ask because some of my recent beads are about 5/16" diameter with about 1/16" holes. My assumption is that they would need annealing regardless of size, but I'd rather not waste time if it's not needed.

Any thoughts?

Someone who understands the chemistry can explain it much better, but the heating and cooling of the glass causes stress, making it unstable. Annealing decreases the stress. Your own use, your choice, but any beads to give away or sell I would anneal.

I've heard that said, that small beads don't need annealing, but I would not take the risk. I agree with Rachel, any beads you don't keep should be annealed. You can find some nice deals online :) Best of luck.

That's a good point, it's really not worth the risk of having them break!! Thanks to both of you!