Oh Cherri, I'm sorry you're having cracking problems
I hear you on the frustration front - it IS annoying and disappointing. I feel especially bad because I was the one encouraging you to try the Lauscha...
I can tell you that from my experience, I stay entirely away from adding any 96 - even in the smallest amounts - to my beads 'cuz I'm just too skeered to try the whole "ratio" thing. If it came right down to it, I'd make my own multi-color frit in 104 and use that instead to help avoid the compatibility game.
On using black, I strictly use CiM "Hades" and have no problems, save for the occasional bead that I admire a wee bit too long before sticking in the kiln.
If you decide to go the Hades route, I just purchased mine from ABR Imagery
http://www.dichroicimagery.com/produ...oducts_id=8372 I know it's a bit pricy - and I think Frantz has it too and maybe on sale - but Frantz doesn't have PayPal at the moment, so I went with ABR for convenience.
Hope you get to the bottom of the problem soon!
