Hearts with twisted loops - photo tutorial the way I do it

[fyrsmith]

Hearts photo tutorial for the way I do them, with twisted loops. I didn't realize how many steps there are until I did this tut. If there is anything that is missing or unclear, PM me and I'll answer and/or fix the tut. -Don-

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[bead crazy]

Love it!!!!!
I have never seen anything like that press thing you have what is that? (sorry Newbie here)

[fyrsmith]

Hi Lori,
I love making my own tools and this is one of them. It is a press (see 11th pic) made of stainless steel pipe sawn up and welded. There are two sizes of the top part, for different thicknesses. Handles are wooden coat hanger pegs, welding was done by Zora in her H.S. welding class. Pipe diameter was about 2", any fairly shallow cylindrical press from those like Cattwalk who make presses would work.

-Don-

[suzanne]

Don, you and Zora did an absolute fabulous job! Can't wait to try this one!

[Labrador]

Very nice tutorial, just love your hearts =D>

Thanks for taking time to share

Sophie:smile:

[Bunyip]

Great tutorial! Thanks for taking the time to put this together!

[Byrdbeads]

Thanks for the tutorial! That is about how I was making them but never would have thought of a FORKED punty LOL Will make it lots easier now LOL Also love the tools too. I got oa bicone marver from you a while ago and love it. Didnt use it much at first but now use it every day (since I figured out how to use it LOL) Anyway, Thanks!!

Robyn

[Karen Hardy]

Wow. I gave it 5 stars just for the "forked punty" alone \\:D/ !
What a great tute - well done!!!!

[truegem]

Can it work with soft glass?

-Patti

[ginko]

The forked punty is way cool. Thanks for the tut!

[Toni L.]

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing this with us :D

[Crazy Woman]

Thank you, thank you! I've always admired your hearts.... Definitely a 5 Star tutorial!

[lripster]

Awesome tutorial!! Thanks!

[mtarara]

Great tutorial, you make it look so easy!!! I love your beautiful work!!
Mary T.

[Blueflameart]

Thank you Don. Great tutorial. Very nice of you to share it with us. My sister has some of those kind up on Ebay. Wonder if she learned them from you? Thanks again!

[playswithfire104]

Thanks so much! I'm gonna give it a go very soon!

[pipojasper]

Wow! You just opened my eyes to a whole new way to play with glass! Thanks :)

[Sharon Abood]

Thank you Don! This is a great tut! I love the tools and the punty!

[Himalayan Fanatic]

Hi Don, Fantastic TUT! Is the toothed rake a clipper blade? Thanks!

Pam

[SadiesJewels]

This is great! So clear and it looks so simple - which I am sure is a false impression!

Sadie

[fcfmountain]

Very enlightning,your basic practical nature serves you well. But I didn't know anyone actually lived on Kodiak Island. Visited as a sprout and rode around with my parents friends in a surplus WW2 landing craft. I kept asking if there was a machine gun on board after seeing the size of the bear tracks all over the beach. You've got a great hobby to keep warm and make some side money too. TIM

[Over the Moon]

Great tutorial - love that forked punti...thanks! :love:

[Heather/Ericaceae]

Gorgeous pictures and such an unusual process! Definitely food for thought. Thank you so much for sharing. Very very cool!!! Oh - and is that a plane blade you're raking with??

[fyrsmith]

Thank you all for the compliments :) Its nice to be appreciated.

truegem: I haven't worked with soft glass, but I don't think this technique would work very well. So much of my work and boro in general depends on how stiff it is and being able to heat one side while the other is cool enough to hold its shape. I would love to know how it goes if anyone wants to try.

blueflameart:
what is your sisters name on ebay, I would love to see them.

Himalayan fanatic: Close, it is actually from a beard trimmer. Using it makes all the lines move down in parallel, which gives a different look than using a pick. I think that the last heart (blue/yellow) in my post in the Gallery may have been first raked with the comb then pulled further with a pick.

mtarara: Not to blow my own horn, much :) , but it just seems easy. The most important thing to pay attention to and to learn for this to work is "heat base" and "heat gradation" thorough the piece. Having the heat level change from one end to the other is what makes the glass stretch in a pleasing curve toward the tip. And of course you can't see the gradation in pictures.

-Don-

[StLouisBiker]

Don, you're so generous to share your technique. So far I haven't been fortunate enough to win any of your eBay auctions but continue to try. Thank you.

[Starrr]

Don, this was the most informative and easy to understand tutorial I have ever seen. I love your handmade tools, and now know what to do with all the used dog grooming clipper blades I have, and the forked punty, genius!

Thank you for sharing.

Edie

[Simply Us]

Wonderful! Love the forked punty. I'll be trying this this weekend with soft glass. I really think I can make it work.
Sandra

[krixbeeble]

wow! what a great post. thanks! nice visuals for me haha. :-D

[FlameDancer]

Hey Don....fantastic tutorial! Thanks SO much for sharing this with us. I love the twistie look of your hearts. Mine are just a concoction of anything I have sitting on my table. Yours is so precise.

The loop is pretty much the same way I do mine. I love the way they hang from a silver chain.

[Simply Us]

Don I made about 10 this weekend with soft glass. By the last ones they were starting to look decent. I got a little creative to do it but basically following your instruction it is possible to do in soft glass. I'll try and get a photo later.
Sandra

[Mr. Smiley]

Nice job Don! Can I borrow Zora, so she can take pics for me? I promise to send her back eventually! :lol:

[StLouisBiker]

Most definitely a 5-star thread. Thanks again.

[Toozygoot]

I have always admired your work! Your tut is perfectly clear. Thanks for generously sharing your technique, especially your ingenious forked punty. I'm going to try to make these for my sisters.

pat

[jknappcampbell]

Don, thanks for this , it's awesome. I will also try it with soft glass and see how it goes, using some of the "stiffer" colors. We will see. I've always admired your work.
thanks,
Jill

[Rhapsody Fire Beads]

Wow Don!! Fantastic tutorial! I have one of Don's hearts and they are just so beautiful! He has some beauties on Ebay that are a real steal!!!

~ME~

[PaulaD]

Don that was fabulous. Thanks so much!!

Paula

[fyrsmith]

Thanks everyone for the nice feedback! :)

Sandra, yes please post pics here.

Brent, I'm afraid if we let Zora visit, she would never come back. She really wants to go live in NY city. She loves the colors you get in your pendants, and can hardly wait for the Barracuda to get here.

-Don-

[Kevan]

Wonderfully done tutorial, Don.

[Lara]

Cool, thanks Don.

[Simply Us]

Don here are a few I did this weekend with soft glass. I need to do ALOT more pp but it is a start! Thank you again for tut. I just love your hearts!!!
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Sandra

[fyrsmith]

Sandra,

Wow, great hearts! I especially like the first one, very nice form & curves. I think the loops might be a little delicate though.

-Don-

[Rose Leslie]

Frysmith, Where do you get the press that you have. OR did you make it. That is so cool. I would love to get one. The tut is fantastic.

[fyrsmith]

Rose Leslie:

The press is made from a piece of stainless steel pipe sawn up and welded to a base. I have several top parts to give different thicknesses. So essentially it is a cylindrical press made from 1 1/2 inch pipe.

-Don-

[blaqmor]

Hello Don:

Thank you so much for the great instruction! Your photos are very good, which is a great help for the language challenged. The forked punty hints at some glassblowing experience, and is a great touch if one is keeping the lobes of equal height. Best of all is the twisted loop, which is so much easier and esthetically pleasant in this application. I used a Stanley knife blade to pull the crease, which worked for the boro if the gather was hot enough. Your method is genius, I thought that maybe a metal pet flea comb might work for this also.

I have made on mandrel hearts before, but this technique allows greater freedom to display the result. Images below in order of manufacture, examples are taken from a total of 19 that I made, I didn't want to bore you with the rest!..I didn't anneal any of the ones pictured....

Images #1, 2 and 3 are soft glass. Images #4, 5 and 6 are boro. Interestingly, although they appear to be around the same size in the photos, the last one is considerably larger than the first!

Thank you so much for the great tutorial!

Now..., if only I could achieve the colors that Brent gets from boro!!

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Images below are boro.

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[fyrsmith]

David,
Great hearts! Looks like that first one got so excited dancing that its wing just flew off. :) I agree 100% about Brent's colors.

-Don-

[swanseafarm]

Don's da bomb!
Fabulous tutorial.
:)

[blaqmor]

David,
Great hearts! Looks like that first one got so excited dancing that its wing just flew off. :) I agree 100% about Brent's colors.

-Don-

Thanks, Don. Yep, I didn't bother annealing any of them, I was having so much fun making them! Thanks so much for the twisted loop, I really like the look!\\:D/

David

[G.L.McBead]

Thanks for the tut.
G.

[beadgirl]

Thank You for the tut with great pictures. Can't wait to try this one.
Tools...oh my ,drool!
MarieAnn

[lampworker1]

Thank you so much, I have admired your hearts, now I can try it.

[WestCoast]

Don I love your heart tut...I will have to give it a try with soft glass.... I'm hoping to get into boro one day.( but then what will I do with all my soft glass after I get hooked)
I have one of Don's fish from our OB exchange and I love love love it. Don you rock!!!!

[fyrsmith]

Thanks for the compliments. Several people have done this in soft glass successfully, but you do have to be careful not to get the loop too thin. Have fun!

-Don-