? about dots

[Cracked Baubble]

I have several people asking about nursing necklaces (these are necklaces moms wear while they breastfeed to help keep baby from being so distracted) I love fondling dot beads, the texture of the dots with the smoothness of the glass just begs to be handled but I wonder what your thoughts are on durability. The last thing I would want is a dot of glass to come off in a baby's hand....
like these (http://cgi.ebay.com/BeadDock-Lampwork-by-Lauren-Pink-Purple_W0QQitemZ5016163566QQcategoryZ34070QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem) they are goregous but those dots look pretty delicate

[BillBrach]

I'm probably qualified to answer this, as I've done over 3,000 dot beads in the last 14 months. Most have 9 or 12 dots, you do the math.

If the dots are properly applied, they will NOT come off as they become 'one' with the bead.

When you are about ready to apply the dot, put just a tiny bit of heat where the dot is going to be attached. And when applying the dot, push it down against the base bead slightly, spreading the dot out a bit.

I bring the bead up under the flame, to warm it at the point of attachment, and then press the dot in. I pause for a fraction of a second or so, letting the flame heat the dot and stringer, and then pull the stringer back to burn it off.

Incidently, making the proper size stringer is very important to getting the dots done right. Too small or too large and they will be inconsistent in size.

Actually, this is MUCH harder to explain than to do :grin:

[Cracked Baubble]

wow thanks for all the great info Bill