Big Hole Beads

[wendbill]

Any good techniques/exercises to use when laying down glass on big hole mandrels?

My problems seem to be two-fold
1. I can't lay the glass down straight.
2. I'm not rotating the mandrel evenly.

Any suggested tips or techniques as I PPP?

thanks

[Kalera]

I lay down a thin, narrow footprint and then carefully marver it to an even width before applying more glass... it is hard to spin evenly, but with practice you can do it! I find that working cool helps me keep it even.

[beadaddicts]

I wind on a tall, thin disc then let gravity even out my footprint as I melt it down. My base bead gets nice and soupy, then as I'm rounding the bead out (outside the flame) the holes just naturally fix themselves. When adding my decorative elements, I make a point to keep that base from getting soupy a second time.

[deirdreschaneman]

Both of the above suggestions are excellent. I think what it boils down to is that the first layer of glass on the big mandrel pretty much sets the tone for how well the rest of the bead will work.

One thing I do is to make sure I have an extra big gather of glass when I'm using a big hole mandrel so I make it all the way around in one sweep. That seems to help with keeping the bead straight from the beginning.

[J. Savina]

Sometimes it has helped me to make a thin stringer of the glass I'm using for the base. This is to help even out the footprint when it gets a little lopsided. As soon as my footprint is perfect then I add more glass.

J.

[wendbill]

does anyone every draw guidelines on the mandrel so the base isn't wonky?

[Art of Hand]

Hi Wendy
I wrote this tutorial for making rings. Hope it could help you.
http://deesignedbeads.blogspot.com/2008/11/rinig-tutiorial.html

[evvybuns]

Wendy, I'm just starting to really practice, practice, practice making big-hole beads. I feel like a real klutz, but I am improving.

The mandrels I have are actually tubes. After I dip one in bead release, I make sure that the release doesn't close over the end of the tube by blowing through it. This hole allows me to stick in an old mandrel about an inch after I lay down as much glass as I want to use. The inside of the tube end just "rests" on the old mandrel, and I can spin the mandrel more smoothly because I'm not having to support the far end of it so much with just my spinning hand. It makes it much easier to iron out wonkiness.

Diana, your tutorial makes me want to get some ring mandrels!

[wendbill]

Thanks everyone.

[barbaracollins]

Diana, are those ring mandrels solid at the end? If so, where do you buy them?