Beads resting on floor?

[kokeshikitten]

Hello-
I have a chili pepper kiln and will be using effetre as soon as my new concentrator comes in a few days.
My question is, when I anneal them, is it ok to have my beads resting on the fiber interior floor? Or should I have some sort of mandrel rack inside? If you suggest a mandrel rack, do you know where I could purchase one?
Thanks in advance for your input!

[nitefire]

I have a kiln with fiber floor and i just put my beads on it. Just make sure your bead is not glowing hot or still in a molten state before you place it on the floor of the kiln. My kiln floor has a semi-hard coating over the fiber blanket floor. I always wait about 30-40 seconds for my bead to cool (out of flame) before i put it in the kiln.
Elaine

[Kara]

Its fine to let them rest on the floor of the kiln as long as you don't let the kiln get to hot and make the beads slump or get textured. There are inserts that can be bought that fit the Chili Pepper to rest the mandrels on. We mostly do batch annealing at the moment. I use mandrels to stack the beads on then put the mandrels on the rod rests.

Oh yes, and what Nitefire said! Don't put the beads in too hot, unless you like textured beads hehe

[Firebug]

I like using a kiln rack. I find that I don't always let the beads cool sufficiently to lay on the fiber, so a rack solved my problem!

Here is where I got mine, Inspiration Toolworks:

http://www.inspirationtoolworks.com/lampworking/0025/

Cheers
Kathy

[InspirationToolworks]

Just FYI, they are currently out of stock, but I'm working to get more.

Thanks!

-Jeff

[PolychromeBeads]

I went to the hardware store and bought a length of 1" steel pipe just slightly shorter than the inside width of the kiln. Set it on the fiber floor about an inch or two in from the door, and lean the mandrels on that. Cost me less than a dollar, and I can spread the mandrels out or scrunch them up on one side (when there's no danger of them sticking). I had a tendency to forget and put my beads in a teensy bit too hot.


Aimee

[beadgoodies]

I haven’t had much luck letting the beads touch each other in the kiln. When ever I do it, at least a few beads get nicked! It’s NOT worth it, imo. I even lowered my kiln temp to 900 while I’m working and let the beads soak at that temp until I need more room and then move them down to the floor. I still get chipped beads! I’ve now made it a personal rule to never let the beads touch the floor or each other if I can help it at all. If you can get some kind of rack for your kiln, it would be worth it!!

Candy

[kk5336]

I have a Chilli Pepper and I had an extra rod rest. I put that in the middle of the kiln with some space on each side of it. When I make my beads I don't have to worry if they've cooled enough, etc. I put the mandrels on the rod rest and when it gets filled up, I then move the mandrels to the floor of the kiln. All you need is about 5 minutes with them on the rod rest and you can move them. I have my kiln set at 955. After being on the rod rest, I pile them up on either side and on top of each other. I usually with do about 30-40 beads a session. I have never had any trouble with nicking, breaking, etc.

Kathie
Good Omen Designs

[Karen Hardy]

I too bought a kiln rack from Jeff at Inspiration Toolworks.
Plug, plug, plug. I love it. I can put the beads in the kiln when they
are a smidge too hot and I never have any flat spaces on them from
the kiln floor (this used to happen all the time before I got the kiln rack).

Also, IMHO - I think a kiln rack is benificial since it allows the heat
to flow AROUND the bead and keeps the entire bead at the same temperature.
I've also seen a lot of my cracking issues vanish when I started using kiln racks.

[InspirationToolworks]

They are back in stock! I did have to raise the price to $16.

Thanks!

-Jeff

[loco]

I use a piece of expanded metal for a rack and have a blanket in the bottom. My kiln has no doggie door, my eye site won't all for the use of one. I put the tip of the mandrel in one of the slots and add beads along the bottom. When it's full, it's what I call orgy time and move them all to the left. If a piece has been in at least 20 minutes I stack um and have only had one glass kiss. Cost: Around 4 bucks. Time to cut and bend: About 5 minutes. Shipping: $0.00, picked it up at home depot. Apperance: 2, but I don't care if the inside of my kiln is pretty!

[KayG7]

Depending on the height of your kiln, you can also get a stainless kitchen grater -- one with large holes for shredding cheese on one side. Just set the grater in the kiln with the large-hole side facing the bead door. You can place the end of your rods in the holes and load a bunch of them without ever having to stack them to the side.

[amazon]

These just arrived at my house yesterday and I have to say, they are fantastic.

http://www.jaychantell.com/catalog.php?category=11

Scroll down to the firebrick kiln tiles. Absolutely worth the money!