Encasing help needed badly

[LadyCrow]

For the life of me I can not make an encased flower bead.Is there a secret way to hold my mouth to get the flowers to stay put? Mine look good up until I add the clear glass,then I have a messed up jumble not even resembling a flower.So then I tryed to encase a fish...looked more like an underwater flame that wound up craking when I took it off the mandrel.
Margie :D

[Kikki]

It sounds like your base bead is too hot when you add the clear glass.
Try keeping it cooler, just wave it in the back flame every now and then while you melt the clear gather.
With time you'll learn howw cool you can keep it without it cracking.

[Dasi]

Start by encasing the bead much cooler then you usually work. Do not worry if the bead cracks a little at first.
What torch are you using? Your O2 supply?
I have encased on a hothead and a minor with one small concentrator. It is possible but it takes a while while you melt the clear.

Spin the bead in the upper part of the flame, about 6-7 inches up. Melt your clear about 3 inches from the tip of the torch. When you clear is ready for a swipe, twirl the bead out of the flame once or twice around before you do your swipe. This insures the bead is hard on the outside before you swipe.

[Anne Ricketts]

For the life of me I can not make an encased flower bead. :D
Welcome to my world! :lol: After taking Kristen Frantzen Orr's class though helped out a lot! She keeps the base bead warm but not hot and then heats up a gather and lets it cool down just a bit before she swipes it on. It does help keeping that base bead cool because the flowers don't smear that way!

[lainee733]

I "dot" my clear encasing on. i keep the base bead warm, not hot, melt the clear gather and dot or plunge it over the flowers all the way around then melt in. it is the only way i could keep the flower "together"

[LadyCrow]

That Must be where I went wrong.I was trying wrap the clear on top of my design. I will try it y'alls way. I've been doing more sculpture type beads because I don't make good flowers yet...lol Thanks for the help...again
Margie :D

[Sheltie19]

WEll.. I have learned something.. I can make flower beads.. but as soon as I try to incase them.. they just spread.. and don't look anything like a flower.. I keep thinking I have that bead cool..... it is not orange.. and looks like the color of the glass I am using.... I am going to try that dot... I just have a horrible time with my clear... maybe with using a hot head torch.. I just don't get it hot enough... just seem's like the clear is just real hard to get on....

[Vicki B.]

Not sure if I should answer because I am hardly proficient. But I am on a HH (2 years now) and this is my experience:

1. If you keep your base bead with flowers cool enough, you can get decent encasement with the HH.

2. Spot encasing (like of small flowers or other areas) is a good way to experiment - remember that usually the rest of the bead may have already been encased over vine or frit etc (this tip and many others on encasement from Mary "Moth" - "da expert." I do use a blob from a full rod to get coverage of the whole flower rather than just the center. Here's a discussion on Wet Canvas: http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225979&highlight=encased+florals

3. "Round and round" encasement of the whole bead with stringer (I like 3mm Vetro commercial stringer - with the jaggedy ends and other impurities removed & cleaned with Windex on a rag) works OK for me.

4. It's all about the placement in the flame, and "feeling" that the stringer is melted enough to push in right next to the previous round - sort of between the last round and the base bead. This is difficult on the HH because the base bead often gets too hot while you are doing this. Try tilting the bead while you are doing this as you first get next to the lh side (I'm rhanded) and then again at the ending side. This also helps to keep the base bead out of the flame.

5. A tip I learned this week by re-reading Deanna & Brad's Dots book is to keep layers from spiralling, turn the mandrel in both directions - a turn or two away from you and then reverse and turn towards you.

6. The thing I've been unable to do well on the HH is encase round and round with a full rod. I read on another thread that a method is to first make a flattened paddle and use that, but I haven't tried that method yet. Think that would work best for small beads.

I'm interested in what the rest of you discover.

BTW, I noticed a thread on "arm rests and the like" (some of you were in on that discussion.) If you haven't found a way to rest your arms or wrists while doing this, that could be a BIG help. Use something simple for this if you can't afford one of the commercially available solutions. I couldn't get placement of anything without a place to steady my arms, although some folks seem to be able to work without anything.

[LadyCrow]

Thanks Vicki,
I too am on a HH so when I go back to the torch I will try it your way. Once again I scorched my fingers (yes I am a clutz) so I'm taking off today,if I can stand it....lol
And Sheltie,I'm glad you learned something from my question too. Yhanks Everyone.
Margie :D

[Sheltie19]

Yes thanks for asking that question... I have had a hard time too.. Glad to know I am not the only one with problems.. LOL
Sorry to hear you burnt yourself.. I did that about 2 months ago... just cooked one of my fingers.... Don't think it will ever be right... Still peeling skin now. Hope you didn't burn yourself too badly.... Keep me posted on how you get along with the encasing... and I will keep you posted.
Sheltie

[mandyjw]

Sheltie, was it you I said I would email an encased floral tutorial to? I'm sorry if it was, I have been busy and haven't gotten to it.

I use lauscha clear and it really makes a difference. I know some people have compatibility problems, but I haven't whatsoever. Sometimes the key is just to turn DOWN the torch and work slow. Don't drag the clear on the base bead, heat it up and kind of spot it on there. Don't get it too hot, just hot enough to melt. You want your base bead hot enough so it dosen't crack. Practice is the biggest thing like with everything.

[Sheltie19]

Mindy... yes it was me who wanted you to email your encasing techniques to...I would still like to have them..... I would so greatly appreciate it.
Happy Beading
Sheltie

[LadyHaak]

Practice, practice, practice. It took me a year to feel like I could encase a floral bead without ruining it at the last minute!

I keep the bead warm at the end of the flame while I heat up the clear. When the clear is ready, I take the bead out of the flame for a couple of turns so it's fairly cool. Touch the clear rod to the bead. I keep the rod at about a 90 degree angle to the bead. That way I can keep heat directed onto the clear and NOT the bead. I also use an oxidizing flame. Really hot and pinpoint. Less likely to heat the base bead! Heat the clear (really hot), swipe down while lightly pushing the clear into the crease between the last clear swipe and the bead. (If you push too hard, you might break the bead release). It takes me several swipe/pushes to get one rotation around the bead. Be patient. When you have your bead covered with clear, go back to the beginning and really heat it up. Heat the creases slow and hot, so they close and you chase out any air that may be trapped under the clear. Round out your bead. Ta-da!

Hope that helps.

[Heather/Ericaceae]

I encase almost the same way as Laurie... It's SLOW but it works! I completely agree with everything she said, especially about the oxidizing flame. My technique is a little different because I wind on the clear in one slow step, melting the rod as I go. This requires really careful flame placement, but it works for me! I keep the base bead well below the flame. For melting the clear, I watch the flame... When the flame starts to show a little orange where it hits the bead, I know it's heating the glass. But if the actual surface of the glass starts to glow orange, I know I'm heating it too hot and might be causing scum. These cues help me position the bead and rod. I use nasty, scratched Moretti clear so I have to be REALLY careful! Someday I will get some "good" clear, but I have 5 lbs to go through until then... I'm too stubborn not to use it!