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Firing Beads and Pendants


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I've recently made porcelain and earthenware pendants. Have bisque fired them no problem. My dilemma is I want to clear glaze both sides and can't find

out how. I have heard you can hang them up in the kiln, can anyone tell me how and what I should use. I have made a hole in them, but did see

some small hearts made with a wire inserted in the top to form a loop. What wire would that be? I'd hate to waste all the time and patience

I've put in to these and not be able to finish them.

 

 

 

Thanks Annie

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I've recently made porcelain and earthenware pendants. Have bisque fired them no problem. My dilemma is I want to clear glaze both sides and can't find

out how. I have heard you can hang them up in the kiln, can anyone tell me how and what I should use. I have made a hole in them, but did see

some small hearts made with a wire inserted in the top to form a loop. What wire would that be? I'd hate to waste all the time and patience

I've put in to these and not be able to finish them.

 

 

 

Thanks Annie

 

 

Go to this page and then pan down about halfway or more: http://www.bigceramicstore.com/Supplies/KilnFurniture/StiltsBeadTilePlate.htm

 

Your local ceramic supply should have similar things. Also all you need is nichrome wire and a little clay to make your own.

 

Jim

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I've recently made porcelain and earthenware pendants. Have bisque fired them no problem. My dilemma is I want to clear glaze both sides and can't find

out how. I have heard you can hang them up in the kiln, can anyone tell me how and what I should use. I have made a hole in them, but did see

some small hearts made with a wire inserted in the top to form a loop. What wire would that be? I'd hate to waste all the time and patience

I've put in to these and not be able to finish them.

 

 

 

Thanks Annie

 

 

Go to this page and then pan down about halfway or more: http://www.bigcerami...adTilePlate.htm

 

Your local ceramic supply should have similar things. Also all you need is nichrome wire and a little clay to make your own.

 

Jim

 

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Thank you for your reply Jim. I followed your advice and unfortiunately as I live in Australia, the cost of postage was 4 times the cost of the bead rack. It was just what I needed, now trying to find the same thing

 

here in Australia but having no luck. Did see an article on using kiln posts to hold the rod, again no luck, as kiln posts here in Aust are round and the ones I saw in the article are square, only available in

 

America and the UK. So its back to the drawing board now, unless someone else can help me. If I do find a way of making my own, could someone tell me what gage to use for rod and gage for loops on

the pendants?

 

 

 

Annie

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Thank you for your reply Jim. I followed your advice and unfortiunately as I live in Australia, the cost of postage was 4 times the cost of the bead rack. It was just what I needed, now trying to find the same thing

 

here in Australia but having no luck. Did see an article on using kiln posts to hold the rod, again no luck, as kiln posts here in Aust are round and the ones I saw in the article are square, only available in

 

America and the UK. So its back to the drawing board now, unless someone else can help me. If I do find a way of making my own, could someone tell me what gage to use for rod and gage for loops on

the pendants?

 

 

 

Annie

 

 

There must be a place in Australia where you can get nichrome wire (or any wire that will take kiln temperatures). If you can get that, then it is easy to make your own bead racks. Check with ceramic supply stores.

 

Jim

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Thank you for your reply Jim. I followed your advice and unfortiunately as I live in Australia, the cost of postage was 4 times the cost of the bead rack. It was just what I needed, now trying to find the same thing

 

here in Australia but having no luck. Did see an article on using kiln posts to hold the rod, again no luck, as kiln posts here in Aust are round and the ones I saw in the article are square, only available in

 

America and the UK. So its back to the drawing board now, unless someone else can help me. If I do find a way of making my own, could someone tell me what gage to use for rod and gage for loops on

the pendants?

 

Annie

 

 

If you can get nichrome rods or some other heat resistant metal, why not saw some grooves in firebrick using one on either side? I used some old kiln setter rods years ago for pendant/bead hangers.

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Thank you everyone for your answers and suggestions. I like the idea of using kiln bricks with a groove cut in them. Will give that idea a go.

 

 

 

Annie

 

 

Hi Annie

 

I have made my own stands and used some nichrome wire I was given from an engineer to fire my pendants. Not sure if the kiln may have been too hot for the wire to cope with or the wire needed to be thicker. Ended up with a nice melted collapse of pendants in the end. I am having a problem sourcing nichrome or kanthal wire in Australia too. I will try a thicker gauge next time if I can find some. Would love to know if you manage to get on to any, will let you know if I do as well.

Cheers

Kath K

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Hi Annie, hi Kate

 

I bought nichrome wire (very fine, like beading wire) for insertion as little loops into clay pendants before firing... and... I bought kanthal wire (1.5mm dia.) for the bead 'trees' (think spiny cactus) I made out of stoneware clay, from NSW Pottery Supplies. Outlets at Homebush, Sydney and one in Brisbane, also do internet or phone orders.

http://www.nswpotterysupplies.com.au/ .

 

Good luck.

Irene

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For the pendents my kids made I used one kiln brick sliced in three. The centre support will prevent them from sliding into one another. After glazing, before you put them on the rod I suggest you clean the pendent hole well with a Q-tip so the glaze doesn't run and stick to the rod.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I make beads and pendants myself. I use a 0.9-1.5mm nichrome wire for the rods. 0.9mm for beads and 1.5mm for pendants as they tend to be heavier. For the loops on pendants I use a 0.5mm nichrome wire. I also use a metal bead rack. I got mine from Bath Potters in the UK, not sure if they deliver to Australia, maybe email them?

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  • 1 year later...

I'm having the same problem, Annie, of finding a supplier of kanthal wire of the right gauge in Australia. However, Tetlow Kilns in Melbourne kindly sent me a couple of lengths of 11 gauge (3mm) kanthal wire to try, and if it works, I think I might be able to arrange something through them. The technician at Tetlow told me that the rods would have to be fairly thick (at least 3 mm diameter) to have the physical strength at temperature. The main problem will then be cutting the wire to length required because it is stronger than I am, even armed with a big-ass side-cutter. The other things I'm going to try are lampwork bead mandrels - stainless steel rods that glass workers use. I'm only firing to 1050 - 1080 C so they might be ok and they have the advantage of being really really cheap(!) Making your own bead frames is a good idea because you can tailor them your needs. It might help to have a heavy ceramic cap over the slotted sides to dissuade the wires from flipping out of the slots if they want to sag a bit. Also, the shorter the rod, the better chance there is that it won't sag and drop the beads onto the kiln shelf. I'll be interested to know if you find an Australian supplier of kanthal wire. 

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I use ex-bicycle spokes.  Stainless steel double-butted.  It might be worth trying a bike shop to see if they have any old ones after they've re-built a wheel for someone.  They don't last forever, but they last as long as the wires that came with my commercial bead firing stand.

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I am soooo lazy.  I made a bowl. then squished into a square/rectangle shape.  When it was leather hard I cut small wedges out of two opposite ends.  This is where I place the wire to hang the pendents after the bowl was bisqued fired.  This way if the glaze dripped, the bowl caught it.

 

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  • 2 months later...

Further on the use of kanthal wire for beads. The stainless steel mandrels work really well, both the thinnest and thicker ones. I fired them to 1040°C with beads on them, supported both ends and had absolutely no sign of deformation. They performed better than 11 gauge kanthal wire. Here's where I bought them ($4.80 for 12 X 25cm rods, 1.6mm diameter) http://beadglass.com.au/. Hope this helps someone.

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  • 4 years later...
On 12/13/2014 at 2:44 AM, Chilly said:

I use ex-bicycle spokes.  Stainless steel double-butted.  It might be worth trying a bike shop to see if they have any old ones after they've re-built a wheel for someone.  They don't last forever, but they last as long as the wires that came with my commercial bead firing stand.

I am dragging up an old conversation here but am wondering what temperature  you were firing to using the spokes, Chilly ? Sounds like a great solution compared to expensive rods!

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@Susanne.Very affordable fecral  wires can be found on AliExpress searching: "fecral wire 15AWG," which is just  about right thickness (~1-4 - 1.5 mm).  Here are my the stand designs which proved to be convenient  for a small kiln. It's high-fire chamotte  clay  with kaolin coating to protect from glaze drips.  

20190907_110120.jpg

20190907_110112.jpg

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