milkymoonceramics Posted December 12, 2022 Report Share Posted December 12, 2022 Hello I make tiny white pieces of jewellery, I push nichrome wire loops into the tops of the pieces and hang them onto wire bead racks and fire at home. I never used to have a problem with this, but since I have been firing at home and not taking them to a shop to be fired, I have found that the tops of my pieces sometimes get sprinkled in a ghastly black dust at glaze firing, presumably from either the nichrome wire or the bead racks. I bought a new bead rack and this doesnt solve the issue, and it has happened with several different wires. Any ideas what might be causing this and how to prevent it? My pieces are very white and delicate so it is basically ruining everything I make Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted December 12, 2022 Report Share Posted December 12, 2022 Are you reusing the wire? That may be the prob. Ask what they used where you used to get them fired, and their method. Anything else changed? How are you making the holes in your pieces? What are the underneath of your shelves looking like? What is the roof/ lid of kiln lookIng like? I have to throughly vacuum roof and spy holes before each firing as there is a fallout of black specks from the spyholes if I don't. Ask at the other place first. Contamination of glaze or brushes or work space? Rae Reich and Hyn Patty 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted December 12, 2022 Report Share Posted December 12, 2022 Something is different than before, you need to figure out what. Is it the same bead rack, same wire, etc? How big is your kiln? Could the dust be from your thermocouple? Babs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted December 12, 2022 Report Share Posted December 12, 2022 10 hours ago, milkymoonceramics said: Hello I make tiny white pieces of jewellery, I push nichrome wire loops into the tops of the pieces and hang them onto wire bead racks and fire at home. I never used to have a problem with this, but since I have been firing at home and not taking them to a shop to be fired, I have found that the tops of my pieces sometimes get sprinkled in a ghastly black dust at glaze firing, presumably from either the nichrome wire or the bead racks. I bought a new bead rack and this doesnt solve the issue, and it has happened with several different wires. Any ideas what might be causing this and how to prevent it? My pieces are very white and delicate so it is basically ruining everything I make Is the thermocouple sheathed or unsheathed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted December 13, 2022 Report Share Posted December 13, 2022 If it's coming from the bead bars you could try alumina rods instead if the loops on your jewellery are large enough. Image below is from Aliexpress, you can find separate rods in various sizes there also. (longer ones on the river in South America but they are out of stock) Rae Reich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milkymoonceramics Posted December 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2022 12 hours ago, Babs said: Are you reusing the wire? That may be the prob. Ask what they used where you used to get them fired, and their method. Anything else changed? How are you making the holes in your pieces? What are the underneath of your shelves looking like? What is the roof/ lid of kiln lookIng like? I have to throughly vacuum roof and spy holes before each firing as there is a fallout of black specks from the spyholes if I don't. Ask at the other place first. Contamination of glaze or brushes or work space? I have tried contacting them but no picking up the phone or replying, they must be mega busy! Thank you though that's very helpful, I hadn't considered it might be coming from elsewhere in the kiln so I will give it all a good vaccum and see if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milkymoonceramics Posted December 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2022 9 hours ago, Min said: If it's coming from the bead bars you could try alumina rods instead if the loops on your jewellery are large enough. Image below is from Aliexpress, you can find separate rods in various sizes there also. (longer ones on the river in South America but they are out of stock) Amazing thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milkymoonceramics Posted December 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2022 10 hours ago, Babs said: Is the thermocouple sheathed or unsheathed? Unsheathed I think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted December 13, 2022 Report Share Posted December 13, 2022 What state is the roof or the lid of your kiln. Is this occurring only on the top shelf or on different shelves? A photo would help. As @neilestrick says could be a disintegrating thermoc. Are uou stacking shelves flat when not in kiln . Maybe stuff adhering to underside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyn Patty Posted February 9, 2023 Report Share Posted February 9, 2023 Also you might want to swap to Kanthal wire. I used to use Nicrhrome wire myself but it was too low fire. Kanthal can go all the way up to cone 10 and I've had much fewer problems with it since I swapped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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