Having such a hard time getting beads off the mandrels...please help

[judi]

Hi! I am a newbe and am practicing lots, but...i have so much trouble getting my beads off of the mandrels.....this is a problem for me. i try soaking and pulling and twisting....no luck. Please any suggestions of a better bead realease or maybe i am doing something wrong? Please help as most of my beads remain on the mandrels and i'm running out. Thank you Thank you Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

[VickiK]

What kind of release are you using?

If I can't get a bead off, I try pliers and a rubber glove. If it still won't come off, I have a wooden block with holes in drilled in it, that holds my dipped mandrels. I turn the mandrel bead side down, insert the end in one of the holes, so the bead rests on the wood, and tap lightly on the other end of the mandrel. Usually this works - if it doesn't, I ask my DH to get it off. I don't know what he does, I'll have to ask. Hope this helps!

[krista michael]

It sounds like you are breaking the release UNDER the bead as you make it? If so they may never come off. You can try putting them in the freezer, soaking in coke for a day or two (this one actually worked for me when I tried it), holding the mandrel with a pair of needle nose pliers and trying to twist the bead off with your other hand. What type of release are you using? As for running out of mandrels, go to the nearest welding store and get the stuff to make yourself some or order some premade ones. You'll always need more!

[debco]

I agree with Krista..you may be over-heating your bead release before applying the glass. Try toasting the bead release lightly in the flame... once you get a color change, stop! Then apply the very hot glass. Make sure that your glass rod is very hot when you make your "footprint" bead. If the glass is too cool it will pull on the bead release and can cause problems. Also, only heat the bead release where you want to apply the glass, not the complete mandral. Stuck bead problems is a common problem as you get started, but as your learning curve improves will go away!!! As for brands of bead release, flame dry, sludge plus, foster fire...there are lots of good ones out there. Different brands suit different people...so try several until you find one you like. I use flame-dry for Moretti except if I am making beads on large mandrals...then I use Krag Mudd...works great!
When a bead doesn't want to come off, try soaking it in vinegar over night.. I will also put the mandral in a pair of vice grips and use a rubber jar opener and a pair of stained glass grosing pliers around the bead...
Hope this helps!

[SuzyQ]

Here is my tried and true method of getting a bead off the mandrel. I have very little hand strength and almost every batch of beads I make there are some I can't get off. I have used blue sludge, Foster Fire and now am using Bucket of Mud so the bead release is not my problem (although the Bucket of Mud has been the easiest for getting beads off).

Clean off all the bead release on the mandrel. Take a block of scrap wood and near the edge of the shortest side drill a hole all the way though. Hang that edge with the hole over the edge of a table. Take your bead and drop the longest part of the mandrel into the hole. The bead will be sitting on top of the wood. Using a hammer begin to tap lightly on the top of the mandrel. Increase intensity until the bead moves. Voila you have released the bead!

[judi]

Thank you all. i think i am heating the mandrel too much. i will try all of the ideas! LOVE this forum!!!!

[sailingzees]

If it is a bead you do not plan on saving and you really want to reclaim your mandrels I have a suggestion. It also helps if you have not annealed your bead yet. If your bead is not annealed yet it is full of stress and for the purpose of reclaiming mandrels a stressed out bead is a good thing.

Step #1 PUT ON YOUR SAFETY GLASSES
Step #2 MAKE SURE YOUR SAFETY GLASSES ARE ON YOUR FACE PROTECTING your eyes.
Step #3 Make sure you have taken all fire precautions I.E. you don't have a stack of papers on your work surface etc.
Step #4 With your torch turned on and your flame hot, plunge your cold bead into the flame and it will pop, snap and shatter....well it should anyway.

This does not help with the problem of getting beads to release consistantly but it may halp you reclaim your mandrels.

[Teague]

My favorite mandrel reclamation. don't anneal. Take it outside, hit it on cement with a hammer.

Teague

[sassy]

I have trouble getting beads off when I use new mandrels. After my mandrels have been use a few times, I can get the beads off easily.

[Simply Us]

Besides soaking the bead I also use a 3lb. vise to hold the mandrel. That way I don't have to hold the mandrel with one hand and twist the bead with the other. I only have to twist plus it saves alot of mandrels. I don't bend nearly as many!
good luck
Sandra

[Lisi]

If the bead release is too thin, it can make them very hard to twist off the mandrels. I had this problem with Krag Mud because it was too thin, so I usually have to double dip them. I only use it for my transparent beads, because you can't beat how nice and smooth the holes are! :)

For my other beads I use Alice's Bead Release, which you have to mix up yourself. It's cheap and the beads are sooo easy to get off, and just after a soak for 20 minutes or so! Mixing it up is best done in a blender to smooth out any grit. Foster Fire is great too.

Too thick would be lumpy on the mandrel and a blob at the end after you dip. Too thin is when you can see a line of metal showing thru the release. I try for a little thinner than cake batter consistency. :)

[Jude Rose]

I use a mini vise grip on the mandrel and a mini robogrip with rubber fittings on the bead. Grab both and twist opposite directions, voila!


The bead comes off easily everytime. Whether I've heated the snot out of it, new mandrel, thin bead release. Every single time.

[judi]

Thank you to all that gave me suggestions. i'm having better luck now!
Judi

[margriet@stainedglass.nl]

Judi, Since I use fosterfire I get off my beads easily.