Kneth Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Has anyone tried titanium rods for bead racks? The standard rack that I bought has rods that sag and get a green and black coating after firing at cone 6. The coating can flake off onto the pieces below. Cone 6- 1222 C and 2232 F, titanium melts at 1668 C and 3034 F. That doesn't mean that the rods won't sag or react with the atmosphere inside the kiln though... Oh wise ones, please share the knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Bridge Pottery Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 There is nickel chrome wire which is what you have been using or Iron/Chrome/Alumina (kanthal A1 is a make) that goes to higher temperatures. I would try that as I think others have had success. I have certainly fired a few pendants to cone10 with old element wire cutoffs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanthal see nichrome at the bottom for the wire you have. I seem to remember talk about titanium exploding before it melts. Might have remembered that wrong though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kneth Posted January 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thanks, Joel. I will not try titanium. The Kanthal A1 looks great: Kanthal A-1 (Resistance heating wire and resistance wire)A ferritic iron-chromium-aluminium alloy (FeCrAl alloy) for use at temperatures up to 1400°C (2550°F). Kanthal A-1 is characterized by high resistivity and very good oxidation resistance. I've been mostly finding thin gauge wire used for vaporizers, lots of that going on here in Colorado. I'll keep looking for heavier gauge rod. I suspect it will be expensive, otherwise they would be using it for the standard bead rack I bought. Greatly appreciate your wisdom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Bridge Pottery Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Yea lots of it used in vaping tech. http://www.omega-wire.com/products/ica-alloys/ This site does say "Additionally, at high temperatures the ICA Alloys tend to creep and become embrittled. Hence care must be taken to adequately support elements made from these alloy types." I think depending on the length you are trying to span and how much you use them will determine how well they work. They will probably break in time if you use them a lot to cone10 temps depending on the weight you are adding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 look for posts about this made by Pugaboo. she solved her problem and showed photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kneth Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 We really have a problem with the wires sagging and oxidizing and flaking off at cone 6. I found some really nice "ceramic" rods at CoorsTek, order online, here:http://css.coorstek.com/scripts/css512.wsc/op/op_indexB2C.html#65982 about 1 mm thick, or 18 gauge, goes to a very high temp, would probably last forever unless you dropped them, about $10 each for 8 inches. All good, except there is a $150 minimum order. Shucky darn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Whats 150$ really if you need beads badly You could maybe meet the minimum with rods and a few kegs of beer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kneth Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Coors? Yuck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kneth Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Potters don't let other potters drink Coors. PBR, yes. Coors brothers are evil, they support some truly nasty organizations. I'd still buy their rods, tho. No place else to get them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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