Glazing inside of long tube bead

[TwinTide]

Hello everyone,

I am new to ceramics and attempting to make super long tubular beads. I am wondering how I can glaze the outside and inside and then fire. Is this possible? Does anyone know if I can use a specific wire to string them in the kiln without the wire sticking? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thank you

[JohnnyK]

Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of ceramics. 

Why do you want to glaze the inside of the beads?

[LeeU]

The wire you want is Kanthal /Nichrome. Glazing inside the bead would result in fusing to the wire. How long is super long? If too long, the tubes may be prone to warping, especially with you being new to learning techniques for the handling of clay.  You can buy pre-cut rods that are about 9" long and rest on a bead tree (just search major ceramics suppliers).   The rods will also slump if too much weight is strung on them. You'll have to test.

[Mark C.]

You can glaze the inside or the outside but not both.

If you glaze the inside you can rest bead on a shelve and fire and the inside will be glazed .

Most only glaze the outside

for the outside hand on rod or wire as LeeU said above on a bead rack and then the outside is glaze but not the inside.

If by chance you figure out a new way to get both done please let us know as this question is asked a lot here over the years.

[NancyAmores]

 

I use 14 gauge kanthal wire pushed into some firebrick, the tubes are unglazed inside. I put tape over the holes before dipping, then remove tape and touch up the holes with a brush. They aren't super long, maybe 2". The wires sometimes have to be bent to keep the ends from touching the brick.