I always rushed my small glass items out of the kiln to save time. Thought since they were tiny, they didn't need long annealing. Kept finding hairline cracks in my pendants and beads. A fellow blower at a meetup showed me her setup, she soaks everything for at least an hour no matter the size. I tried it on my next batch of marbles, left them in the kiln for ninety minutes. They came out crystal clear with zero stress marks. Now I always give my pieces proper time to cool down slowly. It's made a huge difference in my success rate.
Seen this trend elsewhere?
Learned a better grip technique. Makes the whole process less painful.
Yesterday, I was finishing a floral paperweight and waited to anneal it with other pieces. It cracked overnight, which was really annoying. Some folks insist on annealing right away to prevent cracks, while others say batching is fine and saves on kiln runs. Where do you all fall on this?
I USED to take my vases out of the kiln as soon as they were cool to touch. Big mistake! They would develop hairline cracks within days. Now I wait for the full cycle, even if it takes hours. The difference in strength is HUGE. No more wasted work!
It's disrespectful to the craft and the artists who dedicate their lives to it. I've had to correct more assumptions than I can count... and it's exhausting. Just once, I'd like someone to ask about the technique or the history.
A quick scrub isn't enough to prevent glass from sticking.