Vetrofond 256 dark pink problem

[cherylsart]

Has anyone ever had trouble with beads cracking when made from this glass? I made some small beads, about 10x7mm and rolled them in a 96 frit blend. When I went to ream them out, every single bead cracked in half. Normally I'd blame that on thermal shock but I treated these beads the same as all the other ones I made and the others (made with Moretti white and a 96 frit blend, same size, didn't crack. Different blend but from the same company. They aren't annealed yet; I have them batched, which I've been doing for a couple of years with no problems. Anyway, if anyone has any info on this glass, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

[likes to make glass stuff]

Multiple problems, probably all not helping, but cracked in half usually=thermal crack. Adding in unannealed and cleaning and I'd bump up the likelihood of that a lot.

However-the pink family tends to be less forgiving when mixing furnace glass with the italian glass. I believe I've read that it's due to there not being lead in the pinks. If they were crumbly or spiderwebby cracks, that's what I'd be saying.

I'd wait to clean them until they've been annealed, too. No need to add in more stress.