Beadmaking Supplies

[dulceisler]

I took a course about a month ago and they used some sort of gardening gravel (starts with a V I think) - Vemitrolite? Vermitolite? I cant remember and im trying to order the supplies I need to start lampworking ASAP!!!!

We used this gravel to put the already made beads into, so that they could cool down (instead of a fiber blanket)...if I could get this gravel, it would probably last longer and cost less than purchasing a fiber blanket.

thanks for any help!!!!

[Anzie]

Vermiculite.

[beadbroad]

You can keep it toasty in a crockpot too, which further helps slow the cooling process.

[RaymondMillbrae]

You can purchase vermiculite at Home Depot for super cheap.

I mix it with coconut fibers and sand, and use it as a substrate layer for my critters. (Tarantulas).

In Christ: Raymond

[CelesteK]

Vermiculite won't shed nasty splinters in your skin either. You'll want a kiln in the long run.

Celeste

[meadowesky]

yep vermiculite. When I first got started I used it and it cut down my cracking a great deal. some people (myself included) say that if you put it in a crockpot it helps even more.
Just remember that vermiculite is not a substitute for annealing in a kiln. There is a much greater likelyhood of them cracking in the future.

[LaurieBSmith]

Fiber blankets .....that's MY preference. My first ones lasted over six years and they are not dust-producing. I've never had splintering issues. Before I bought a kiln, I put them on a separate table, just like I would a kiln....and now they are on top of the kiln, so they take up no space.

And I personally believe that a crock pot does nothing except use electricity and take up space.

You will need a kiln just as soon as you toss a bead in the trash that you wish had survived the slow cooling in vermiculite or a fiber blanket.

Have fun....you are embarking on the grand obssession.....I think that in literary terms that was DaVinci's Sistine chapel.....but lampworking is as addicting!

[CelesteK]

You only get splinters from your fibre blanket if you can't resist patting your beads like a bunch of babies in a crib...Or if your teen-age sons come along and try to pull it apart.

Celeste