Vessel Question - HELP!!!

[evenia]

I have been making vessels for a very short time. First with just hollow beads because I didn't have hallow mandrels. But today I started with hallow mandrels. I do great at it both ways. I amaze myself actually at the equal roundness I am able to aquire. Then...I try to add handles and decorate it. It promptly goes to shit. I manage to over heat one side and then try to compensate....blah blah blah. How the heck do you add hot sealed handels and decoration without deteriorating the beautiful even shape?

[dogmaw]

I cheat and decorate before I make it into a vial. Any decorations I add on after are usually raised. I also tend to make lips rather than handles. Sometimes I do add handles, and then I seem to play with them forever.

[adovbs]

Hi Evie,

Sounds like you are getting the hollow part of your vessel too hot. When you are adding handles, gently heat only the areas you are working on and work them further out in the flame.

As for decoration, it depends on what kind. If it's flowers and such, decorate the hollow part before your final shaping "blow out" (while it's still a bit thick) to keep from collapsing what you have. If raised decorations, try to melt them in gently further out in the flame. I think most of your problems are stemming from trying to keep the hollow part a bit too hot while you work.

Hope these tips help a little, anyway. Maybe someone else with more experience will chime in.

[Tink]

Heat control. Use a pinpoint flame to heat the anchor points for your handles. After you blow your vessel out, it should never get so hot that it doesn't "tink" if you tap it with a tool :-) Just flash the body in the flame to keep it warm, which really doesn't take that much heat because it's not very thick.

[Jennifer Geldard]

Since I have a pretty wide flame on my torch, I apply my initial dots for my handles in the edge of the flame.... and I make sure I am running the whole vessel through the flame now and then so that the vessel is as evenly heated as possible...... Dot...... rotate whole vessel through.... dot.....rotate.... dot... rotate... etc. I don't allow myself to linger too long on the handles at all before rewarming.