How do you make Lacittino twisties?

[Beads-on-Toast]

Hello to you!!

I have been struggling with my lacittino twisties and i am looking for some guidance or maybe a tutorial?

I also think i may be using the wrong black as when i pull them it goes transparent purple which i know black can do.

Should i be using intense black?

i just think i am doing it all wrong full stop!

Any advice or links would be GREATLY appreciated
thanks

Anna

[Passing Glass]

Hi there. I don't know if this will help you or not, but this is how I make laticino twisties. I'll describe a black and clear one since that 's what you seem to be trying to do.

First cut 9 pieces of glass about 3/4 inch - 1 inch long. You will cut 4 clear, 4 of intense black (if you want it to stay really black) and the 9th one you can make either clear or black at your preferance. That one will be the center or core of your twistie, so if you want a clear core, use clear, if you want a black center post running through your twistie, the 9th piece should be black.

Next, preheat all of the pieces. This step isn't entirely necessary but it sure makes it nice.

Then get a steel mandrel to use as a puntie and grab your core color (the 9th piece) with a pair of tweezers, hemos or holders of some kind. Heat the end of the piece of glass and stick the puntie into the center of end of the glass so the glass is kind of a continuation of the puntie. Only put the puntie in about 1/8 inch, it doesn't take much. Then you alternately place the other 8 pieces of glass around the core which you have stabbed with the puntie. Heat a piece of glass and a corresponding spot on the core and lay it down so they stick together, be sure to keep them straight. You would have 4 black and 4 clear attached to the core when you are done - sort of "laying on top" of the core piece. The picture below of a WWII German rocket launcher is kind of an illustration (inventive, ain't I?). It only has 6 "pieces of glass" represented by the barrels around the outside instead of 8 but you get the idea. The empty space in the middle would be filled with your core piece of glass and the puntie would be inserted into the end of the core piece. I'm calling the "ends" the barrel openings facing the camera.
39407
Get the idea? So you have a little package of short rods going black/clear/black/clear around the core and you'e holding onto it with a puntie stuck into the middle piece. Now, heat the other end of the core and stick another mandrel into the other side to make two handles for your package. Put the whole shooting match into the flame and turn it to make sure everything melts evenly. It's best to melt from one end to the other, so you avoid trapping air bubbles. Don't twist yet! Keep everything straight as best you can until the whole thing melts into a football shape. Pull it out of the flame and wait till it gets a skin on it and pull and twist! Taa-daa!! Laticcino! Enjoy. Any questions?

This method makes a very pretty latticino in my opinion and it also makes a rather large/long one. So if you have short arms, use less glass! :lol:

(Sorry I have no illustrations!)

[Sue in Maine]

Btw, there is no true black. Black is really just a dense dense purple so when your glass thins out and looks purple, that is normal. You're doing okay.

For those wanting a thin line of black, sometimes it helps to encase your black in clear and then pull a stringer. It helps it to not spread out so far and turn purple. (That's a tip I read somewhere.)

Sue

[Moth]

I always use a clear-encased length of intense black in twisties. It does stay black no matter how thin you pull it.

Another option is commercial black filigrana. It also stays black when pulled thin.

[Dawn >^..^<]

Hello to you!!

I have been struggling with my lacittino twisties and i am looking for some guidance or maybe a tutorial?

I also think i may be using the wrong black as when i pull them it goes transparent purple which i know black can do.

Should i be using intense black?

i just think i am doing it all wrong full stop!

Any advice or links would be GREATLY appreciated
thanks

Anna


Hi Anna,

Look at the post "Doin' the Twist" in the Gallery section. I've described how I did the latticino in the beads I posted there.....And have fun!

[flamewerks]

Murano black is a good black to use, as well.

I also have a tutorial for two types of twisties posted on my site.

Flamewerks Glass Studio Tutorials (http://www.flamewerks.com/tutorials/tutorials.htm)

-Mona

[khebden]

Being relatively new to glass, I get frustrated with control of blob sizes on my Fireworks torch when trying latticino. I have found filigrana works wonders for making lacy latticino with little to no effort. Just group 4-5 filigrana rods together, twist as you pull out. The sizes are perfect, and its no fuss, no muss.

[wetnoodle33]

here is what i do:

1 ) take clear rod, and heat.
2 ) smash the clear blob into a paddle.
3 ) add a stripe of clear on the top of your paddle, right in the center.
4 ) smash that into a wall, so you now should have a "T", when you look at from the side.
5 ) do the same for the other side of the paddle, so you should now have an "X" when viewed from the side.
6 ) add strips of black or whatever color in between each clear "wall".
7 ) then stripe on a row of clear on top of the black stripes.
8 ) heat everything up, but be sure to marver and use those mashers to keep everything under control.
9 ) punty up, heat, pull, and twist.

there you go. sorry no pics and it's probably hard to imagine, but i'm in study hall right now, and this periods about over so i have to hurry. hope that helps a little!

~Ryan

[swamper]

Nice instructions but mathematically if all nine rods are the same diameter, 8 won't fit nicely around one without a lot of work. Six is the number that will go around a rod of the same diameter nicely.

[wetnoodle33]

sorry if i wasn't clear, but you flatten the clear ones into "walls", so that you aren't really putting all 8 full diameter rods upon one. does that make sense? it's kinda hard to explain without pictures, so maybe one of these days i'll get my dad to go to my studio with me and snap some. :D

~Ryan

[swamper]

sorry if i wasn't clear, but you flatten the clear ones into "walls", so that you aren't really putting all 8 full diameter rods upon one. does that make sense? it's kinda hard to explain without pictures, so maybe one of these days i'll get my dad to go to my studio with me and snap some. :D

~Ryan


Ah, yes, like spokes around the hub of a wheel? Thanks for clarifying.

[wetnoodle33]

yes, that's exactly it. when you pull and twist the whole thing out, it makes a very nice latticino.

~Ryan

[swamper]

Very nice tut. Nine rods is a bit too much for me to handle.

I do it similarly by shaping a large blob on the end of a rod of clear into a fattened rod about 3/4" long. I lay down stripes of intense black or even white with stripes of clear in between.

Placing the white or black stripes at different intervals gives a different appearance to the latticino. I punty up both ends with a maria, heat and pull and twist.

I usually get a length as long as my arms cane pull - 40 inches - of 2-3 mm size cane.

The white latticino looks particularly nice over a light transparent color with corresponding white and transparent colored flowers melted in on the surface.

The base bead can even be a white heart - an awesome look with just one transparent color, white and clear. I'm color challenged so the lack of a many colors and the use of latticino appeals to me.

Linda

[collectiblesbyrose]

Mona...great tutorial!

[wetnoodle33]

i convinced my dad to go out to the studio with me to take pictures, so i'll probably make a latticino. maybe that would help. :D

~Ryan

[InspirationToolworks]

Here is another tutorial, written by Karen Hardy, using one of my optic molds:

http://inspirationtoolworks.com/lampworking/0035/

(click the link at the top of the page)

-Jeff

[Carolyn M]

I have a dead easy way of making latticino twisties with sparkly centres. Get a rod of goldstone filigrana, heat up about 2 inches of it, lay down thick stripes of black (I use vetro) along the length of it, melt in, punty up to a mandrel, twist and pull. It takes about 3 minutes. I do the same thing to make clear and black, or any colour for that matter. Below are some beads with twisties using this method

[flamewerks]

Mona...great tutorial!

Thanks, Rose!

[raindance]

I use the graphite optic molds Heather talks about in this tutorial:

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49645&highlight=Optic+Mold

Go down to Post #9 and click on the link. When I saw each one was under $20 (that's also including shipping!), I immediately ordered a couple. They're the only ones I've found that I could afford. I got the 1/2" x 3/4" instead of the larger size and I'm glad I did. The smaller ones are perfect and very manageable. Some of the other molds I've seen were much bigger than I wanted. This was just the size I was looking for - the same size I used to painstakingly make without them.

The first time I used it I jumped for joy...it worked like a dream! \\:D/ I pulled four 20" encased vine stringers in the time it usually took me to make just one without the molds! To make latticino I use a clear rod in the mold, then stripe my color or colors in the grooves, then encase, melt the encasement smooth and pull. You can use them to make barnacle canes, too!

They make 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10-point molds in the 1/2" x 3/4" size. If they don't have the size you're looking for listed when you get there, you cand send them a message and they will list it for you.

These are really fun and easy to use! I'm soooo glad I got these!