Big Holed Bead tips?

[WhiskerWood]

I would like to make a big holed beads so I can silver core it,
anyone have any tips on making big holed beads???

TIA!!! :-D

[Anakin's Glass Eye]

You can use stainless steel tube of various diameters from the hardware store or buy special big hole mandrels from a place like Arrow Springs. Don't use copper tube. It transmits heat way too easily.

For me the hardest thing about doing a big ring/donut is keeping the whole think hot enough while you work on it. You have to pay lots of attention to keeping the whole thing warm. I have a tendency to do very intricate designs which take a long time. I've had many crack while in progress. I've noticed that transparent colors that are less viscous like dark blue, grass green, and amber crack more often. I've done many with an opaque white or ivory core and not had any problems.

Getting a very uniform, symetrical shape will take lots of practice.