[Jewelry making - Article 00611] - Re: [Orchid] [Enamel Beads] Vermiculite vs Perlite

[Rene Roberts]

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    I've been making glass beads for about 12 years, and was taught
    to anneal in vermiculite. Since the method works for me, I've
    resisted the urge to buy an expensive "annealing kiln". The dust
    can be a problem, however. I've solved this by buying large bags
    of vermiculite from a commercial gardening/orchard supply place
    rather than at a regular nursery. It is available in particle
    sizes if you buy it through a commercial supplier. I use the
    "coarse". The coarse lumps are much larger than the fine stuff
    you'd get at a nursery (coarse is about the size of lentils), and
    there's virtually no dust. With use over time, as it is exposed
    to the heat of your enameled or glass pieces, the vermiculite
    will break down and gradually become dusty. Throw it in the
    garden and start over with new stuff. A bag of commercial
    vermiculite is about as big as a 50 lb bag of dog food - a lot of
    stuff. But it's very cheap, and if you garden or know gardeners,
    it's very useable. 

    The other thing I do to help eliminate dust is to use a deep
    coffee can full of vermiculite, rather than a shallow pan. There
    is less exposed vermiculite surface area, therefore less dust in
    the air.  

Hope this helps. 
Rene Roberts


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