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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2013-07-23, 7:59pm
kansassky kansassky is offline
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Default Bead repair? How do I do it?

Opened the kiln and found a couple beads had boo-boos from touching the kiln floor. I want to try fire polishing them to remove the flat spots. I left them on the mandrels.

Do I just put them back in the kiln as it heats up? When kiln reaches garage temp, remove and slowly introduce to the torch flame? Flame polish?

Hints or ideas
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  #2  
Old 2013-07-24, 1:50am
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Put them back in and let them heat up, then leave them in at garaging temp for a while to stabilise - you can make a few other beads as normal and then go to fix these ones. Have a wet cloth handy to run along the bare mandrel to cool it so you can hold it without burning yourself, it'll sizzle but cool quickly! Introduce the bead back in at the very top of the flame and let it heat up gradually. Then you can do whatever you like to it.
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  #3  
Old 2013-07-24, 9:20am
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I use very long needle-nose pliers (bent at 90 degrees at the end) to pull hot mandrels back out of the kiln. Warm the tips, reach in and grab the mandrel near the bead.The bend in the tip will let you dip the hand-hold end into a glass of water to cool it quickly and keep the business end hot. The pliers came from Harbor Freight and cost about $5.

Robert
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  #4  
Old 2013-07-24, 10:22am
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Hemostats work well, too.
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  #5  
Old 2013-07-24, 12:34pm
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I've done this with small to medium sized beads and it worked well, but haven't had as much luck with larger beads (1 1/2" or more in size). Maybe I needed to soak the bead longer in the kiln before introducing to the flame? I have a kevlar glove that I use to hold the mandrel until it cools off.
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  #6  
Old 2013-07-24, 1:37pm
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I have done this with large cracked beads, you just have to make sure you stay in the upper flame for a while.
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  #7  
Old 2013-07-24, 1:51pm
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I've done it with a 40mm lentil (so yeah, about 1.5"). I did have it in the kiln for at least an hour while I made other things, though.
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  #8  
Old 2013-07-24, 4:20pm
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For large beads, I'd suggest ramping your kiln up a little higher, somewhere in the 1050 to 1300 degree range, depending on how much temp fluctuation your kiln has, and then let the beads soak for a half hour or so. Don't forget to turn your kiln back down after the soak.
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Last edited by artsyuno; 2013-07-24 at 4:25pm.
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  #9  
Old 2013-07-25, 12:46am
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..yeah and when grabbing the mandrel out with pliers/hemos, don't touch the mandrel after for a bit I did that the other week duh
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  #10  
Old 2013-07-25, 1:50am
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You have to ramp the kiln up more slowly...
Mine ramps all the way up at the fastest rate because I'm putting hot beads into it. But when you start from room temp it's a whole different story....but maybe you already know this. =)

I have done it by just grabbing the mandrel part that's sticking out of the kiln. It's warm, but not bad. I wave it in the flame until the mandrel cools off more, then I can reach up higher to get a better grip. Then I focus on what I want to do to the bead. I don't know, maybe risky, but it works for me, lol!
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Last edited by truegem; 2013-07-25 at 1:53am.
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  #11  
Old 2013-07-25, 9:56am
kansassky kansassky is offline
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You guys are awesome!!!! Took all of your tips to heart. Last night, I got brave. And....wait for it.....I was successful!

Yay!

I feel so happy that I can fix my screw-ups--well, sometimes. Thanks for your help!

Dix
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  #12  
Old 2013-07-26, 5:45am
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When I'm doing this kind of work I keep a tall glass (plastic) of water on the bench and, while holding the mandrel near the bead end in the pliers, I dip the hot hand-hold end in the water. It cools instantly and then you go into the flame. No toasted fingers or juggling hot mandrels. Quick and clean.

Robert
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  #13  
Old 2013-07-26, 1:59pm
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[quote=truegem;4367980]You have to ramp the kiln up more slowly...
Mine ramps all the way up at the fastest rate because I'm putting hot beads into it. But when you start from room temp it's a whole different story....but maybe you already know this. =)

QUOTE]

I've never ramped up more slowly and I haven't had a problem. I find that heating the beads to a higher temp and giving them a soak does the trick.
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