Drip or Gravity Swirling?

[Teague]

I've heard people say that they use gravity to swirl their frit, but I can't picture how this is done. I understand that you heat it up until it's dripping hot, but then what? Is this something I just have to see?

Teague

[Dragonfire]

Well the way I do it is, once it's basically drippy, I just kind of slow the rotation. The glass sags a little. Then speed back up the rotation and round off again. Makes the cool swirl at the holes.

Michele

[SuzyQ]

When the glass tries to fall of the mandrel it pulls and stretches out the frit dots. As you round the bead back out the swirls kind of happen. Just try it and you'll see.

[Lisi]

Teehee! I tried this just a little while ago, and it was right after I read this thread! I've never done it before and I thought it would mess up the hole "puckers", and it didn't! In fact, it makes your beads have a wider footprint and they're rounder. I'll post pictures of what I did with Effetre lt rose and Val's Ruby Gold Opaque! They look a little like pink marble going in the kiln, and the color should brighten up a little with annealing. :)

[Shawn T]

I don't wait till the glass is falling.
I stop rotating the mandrel and let one spot heat up, wait till it drops slightly and than start to rotate that spot slowly you will see how it starts to swirl the colors or dots. you will have that drop all the way around till you reach where you started if you do it correctly It takes the dreaded PPP to do it this way, I know not exaclty what you wanted to hear.
But when you do it with dots you can get a perfect swirl.
I only have one very old bead to show that I have a pic of, on my computer right now. You can see the end of the bead where the dots made a perfect pattern, when they swirled.

[Gail Joseph]

I don't wait till the glass is falling.
I stop rotating the mandrel and let one spot heat up, wait till it drops slightly and than start to rotate that spot slowly you will see how it starts to swirl the colors or dots. you will have that drop all the way around till you reach where you started if you do it correctly It take the dreaded PPP to do it this way, I know not exaclty what you wanted to hear.
But when you do it with dots you can get a perfect swirl.
I only have one very old bead to show that I have a pic of, on my computer roght now. You can see the end of the bead where the dots made a perfect pattern, when they swirled.
Oh how neat with the "controlled swirl!" I'll have to try that...I'm a big time frit-gravity swirler....I find that some frit blends really pop when you swirl with the right background...Let's see what I can find..hmmmm
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4/gailjoseph/streakysmoosh.jpg--Gail

[Lisi]

This was fun! I can't wait to try it again! Next time I'll try raku and see if it behaves better. :)

[sadiesmom]

Well dang Lisa... I thought that was how you made your swirly beads. Come to find out you didn't even know about the gravity drip... now I'm really confused!!

[Teague]

Thanks everyone! I actually posted the question, and then tried something similar to what everyone is describing. I wanna be like Shawn when I grow up.

Teague

[cherishbear]

I tried it too, sure beats the poking and raking!! :p

http://cherishbearbeads.com/images/a0545.jpg

[Lisi]

Well dang Lisa... I thought that was how you made your swirly beads. Come to find out you didn't even know about the gravity drip... now I'm really confused!!

Really, you thought that? LOL, actually the swirlies I make with twistie stringers, and some of my funky lumpy twisties have as many as 6 colors in them! I make a base bead and go in a stripe around with the stringer 3 separate times in 3 places on the bead (sides first, and then a stripe around the equator) and melt those in. I ziz-zag them to get other effects. :)

Yeah, the gravity thing is new to me, and although i knew about it before i didn't want to try it and ruin my "puckers". It doesn't ruin the puckers, it just makes the bead even rounder! 8)

Here's some more:

[magpiejst]

...you will have that drop all the way around till you reach where you started if you do it correctly It takes the dreaded PPP to do it this way, I know not exaclty what you wanted to hear. .



and why is it dreaded?


judy

[Lisi]

and why is it dreaded?


judy

Judy,

LOL, yeah, sometimes PPP is dreaded, because all of us are like little kids, we wanna have it now! Right NOW!! :badgrin:

[magpiejst]

Judy,

LOL, yeah, sometimes PPP is dreaded, because all of us are like little kids, we wanna have it now! Right NOW!! :badgrin:


But what IS it? What IS ppp? :-k

[sadiesmom]

Practice, Practice, Practice... :)

Lisa... Those are just AWESOME!!!

[magpiejst]

](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

:-D

j

[Shawn T]

\\:D/ Lisa you did an awesome Job. \\:D/
So glad you found out it makes your bead rounder also. I always find out if I start with a base bead, roll it in frit a couple of time and than use the gravity swirl the way I do it, I have a nice even round bead when I am done with it.

Judy you can do it, it really isn't that hard, just make sure and let the bead cool before you start to heat up the spot you want to swirl around. If it starts to get away from you, You can always take you bead out of the flame and let it cool down and put it back in. Make sure it isn't more than a little drop like what is hanging from your faucet right before it drops.

[Lisi]

Thanks for the compliments, you people are great! :)

I'm going to try this with the Raku size #0 and see what happens. I wish I didn't get so much of that olive green color though...

[Shawn T]

Lisa,
I have a page on how to get Raku to pop if your interested.
Of course you may have read it already and have proabably read everything about RAKU. It works for me, but I never have had a problem with raku where as I know many people who have. I feel very lucky with this frit. It seem to like me. 8-[

[Rachel_D]

Ah ha, so that's how you get those lovely swirls at the bead holes. Thanks - I'll try that next time I get to the torch. By the way Lisa, beautiful beads.

Rachel

[Lisi]

I'm hooked on this! Here's some more...

[Lisi]

Thanks for the compliments, and you people are what keeps me going! :D Here's some more, and these are my favorites next to the green ones! They are Blue Healer's Razzle Dazzle Berry frit, but I think you can get near the same effect with Val's Tutti Frutti. Will have to try that tonight. :)

[Shawn T]

Oh Lisa stunning beads!
Are these from the day you made over 100 beads?
I really love the Razzle Dazzle Berry, and the last set in the top pic.

Come on the rest of you some us what your Gravity Swirl beads look like.

[Lisi]

Oh Lisa stunning beads!
Are these from the day you made over 100 beads?
I really love the Razzle Dazzle Berry, and the last set in the top pic.

Come on the rest of you some us what your Gravity Swirl beads look like.

Yep, that's the day I was in a really good non-drug/alcohol induced mood, and I plugged away out there! It was horribly humid and was soaked from head to toe. I only got really irritated when my eyes started to burn from the sweat! :-x

I'm still in high gear, gosh I wonder how long that will last! :confused:

[Lisi]

Here's a couple more, mixed pinks/purples and Boro Bora over Effetre white. Yummy! :D

[Lizabeads]

I thought all ya'll knew about the gravity swirl.. I did that when making enamel beads.. makes the colors pop better...lol If it gets to drippy pull it out and turn the mandrel like hell while blowing on it...lol #-o