Can't get beads off mandrel -- very frustrated!

[vickgould]

Hello,
I'm pretty new to the lampwork thing and am still just only making basic beads. My problem is that I can't get the darned things off the mandrel. What in the world is the trick and what am I doing wrong? I have tried washing them off and I have also tried putting the metal end of the mandrel into ice water to shrink the metal. Today I had a decent time at the torch and I only got one mandrel to release the bead. I have to say that I could really get addicted to this, but trying to get the beads off is killing my hands. I use a pair of pliers on the mandrel and one of those anti-slip things from my kitchen to wrap around the bead. It's worked in the past, but today, I can't get anything off. If you have any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

[aleacim]

Are you useing bead release?

[bubblebabeuk]

ummm soak it a while then try again? maybe overnight!
I take mine outta the kiln, dump them in a vase of water, crunch off the exposed bead release (its kinda theraputic), dump them back in the water again, then to get them off, I dont use pliers as I couldn't get a good enough grip so I use adjustable mole grips! maybe thats a thought, also I grip the bead with non-slip stuff or a damp dish cloth.
I vaguely recall being told to try putting them in the freezer, or tapping the mandrel end on to vibrate the bead release loose. alternatively your gonna have one pretty pot stick aren't you!

[Karen Hardy]

Sounds like an obvious question - along the same lines as "is it plugged in",
but are you USING any bead release on the mandrels?

If you are, then you might consider double dipping the mandrels to
help it slip off easier. If that still doesn't work, maybe try a different
brand.

It's really not rocket science (I promise you!) just some bead releases
work better for some people, and others work better for other people.
I'm a Fusion gal myself. I use it for Boro and soft glass. works great!

[Karen Hardy]

Are you useing bead release?

HA! We posted at the same time! Great minds think alike!

[bubblebabeuk]

Are you useing bead release?

PMSL I so wanted to ask that! :hide:LOL but assumed since the beads don't normally stick that she must be? :-\"

[bubblebabeuk]

I use a pair of pliers on the mandrel and one of those anti-slip things from my kitchen to wrap around the bead. It's worked in the past, but today, I can't get anything off.

;-)

[vickgould]

LOL! YES, I'm using bead release and I have double dipped. But... yes, I'm still a beginner. I got a good chuckle. Anyway, I was wondering if maybe I heated the mandrel itself too much? Would that do it?

I don't have a kiln, so I have a friend batch anneal them for me after I take them off. I'm about to go out and pound them on concrete. But I actually have some I want to keep (how ironic, isn't it?)

[Hayley]

What brand of bead release are you using? Some are better than others . . . some need to be cracked before putting in water (as in twisting the bead to loosen it from the mandrel before soaking).

Also - get yourself a pair of vice grip, the kind that locks the grip, much better than plier.

Welcome to our addiction!

[vickgould]

It's called Bead Separator by Fusion Products International and came with my Hot Head Torch Beginner Kit.

[firegoddess41]

Soak them (your mandrel and bead) in vinegar overnight. Rinse them off really good and you may be able to get it them. This is always my last ditch effort.

Good Luck!

Mary

[Hayley]

I haven't used Fusion but understand that others do use it on this forum. Hopefully someone who has will post.

[Hayley]

If you are new to lampworking, you are probably making normal size beads . . . they really ought to come off the mandrel easily.

[vickgould]

Thanks. I'll try the vinegar.... and hold my nose.

[vickgould]

I would think they should come off easily too. Maybe I will try triple dipping in the bead separator tomorrow and see what happens.

[evvybuns]

I've started using Bead Separator again after using Bucket of Mud and am very pleased with it. I recently got some new mandrels and used them yesterday. The beads which have come off the new mandrels came off kicking and screaming. After my first try, I had the stubborn ones soak in distilled white vinegar for a couple of hours.

I think the problem is related to new mandrels, even though I had roughed them up with steel wool before applying the bead release.

[ROC]

Yep, yep and yep. The freezer trick worked well on some large beads that wanted to stick (30-35 mm long) AND then I grabbed that mandrel with the channel-lock (sp) pliers and twisted while I did the karate yell. Finally worked!

[KEW]

Well, I'm a Fusion beadmaker myself and it happens.

Did the release crack inside the bead while you were working on it? That can sometimes make for pot stickers or tossed beads.
Stupid question, but you are twisting the bead as you are trying to pull it off?
Another stupid question, but you aren't being a mite too gentle, trying not to bend the mandrel, are you? Mandrels are pretty much disposable in beadmaking, expecially in the beginning.

I soak them for a while before I try to pull them off. Someone suggested a few weeks ago that you take them outside and tap the mandrel on concrete to break the release. Haven't tried it myself, but it does make sense.

My second to the last resort is the freezer - and sometimes (believe it or not) it can take a few weeks. In, then another try, then back in.

My last resort is asking my DH to pull off the frozen bead.

[vickgould]

I may be being too gentle, but that's all I can do. (Actually, I have quite strong hands from playing the piano for hours upon hours when I was younger.) I definitely don't bend the mandrels though!

I think I'll try the vinegar overnight today and then the freezer tomorrow. My DH already tried to get one off and couldn't.

BTW, my concrete comment was just a joke before, but if it works maybe that'll be my last ditch effort if I can't get them off because by that point, if they break, then I'm no worse off.

[vickgould]

I do think that the mandrels may have something to do with it, but I did notice that the time I got the beads to come off, the bead release cracked off pretty easily. Today, I've had to scrub off the bead release. That's why I'm thinking that maybe I heated up the mandrel too much and that the bead release is stuck to the manrel.

[lenora]

I had a really hard time getting my beads off the mandrel a while back. I thinned out my bead release, and they came off much easier. Part of it was just the brand of bead release (sludge plus). Then I tried Smooth and Tuff, and the beads came off too easy. They were coming off the mandrel while I was still working on the bead! So I mixed the two, and now I have the perfect bead release for me.

[villa design]

I've also soaked stuck beads in olive oil. It's worked every time.

[BeadMaven]

This may sound funny but of its not the bead release...are you using mandrels that came in a beginner kit?

Be sure you are using stainless steel mandrels....anything else and the beads are on there for ever....plant sticks! lol

Ask me how I know ;) :lol:

[Carolyn M]

Do you have access to a bench mounted vise? If so, put two pieces of scrap wood in, put your mandrels in between and tighten. This gives you a rock hard grip on the mandrel. Then wiggle those beads off. This is how I've been doung it since I started, and I've never had a bead stick. BTW, I always use a thin layer of bead release, it comes off more easily.

[Rachel]

I use a pair of vice grips that can lock on the end of the mandrel and twist off the beads that come easily. For beads that give me a harder time, I grab them with an old wash rag that is dry or any kind of cloth and something magical happens and it removes even the toughest of beads. there is magic in that old wash rag. I don't know why but this works for me. I have the most trouble with long tube beads that are thin on 3/32 mandrels and such. I also put a dryer sheet in the water I am soaking them in. That helps sometimes too. And if it just won't come off, it gets tossed.

Good luck!

[Tink]

Holy moley. Reading through what so many people do to get their beads off the mandrels is amazing! I confess, if I'd ever had to soak them or pound them or use a vise on them I probably would have given up the art form years ago. LOL!

Are you guys really having that much trouble taking your beads off the mandrels? Is it every bead that's this way or just a random rogue bead occasionally?

[bubblebabeuk]

yeah I twist the bead back and forth, to help break the bead release under it! I used to try and twist the bead on the mandrel all the way around but it didnt work any where near as well! I use fusion too! sticking beads only happens to me when my bead release is too thick, so it may well need thinning out with water to the correct consitency!

[bubblebabeuk]

Are you guys really having that much trouble taking your beads off the mandrels? Is it every bead that's this way or just a random rogue bead occasionally?

Just random ones! ;-)

[vickgould]

I have to say my DH's vice grips stink! The grips don't lay flat with each other -- what good is that? I think he got ripped off. I will try the bench vise next, but I have the mandrels right now in the freezer. I soaked them overnight in vinegar and thought some magic would happen this morning, but no such luck. Bummer deal. I have one bead that I don't really care about, and I went out and banged it on the concrete in the garage and it did NOTHING. Guess this is my last ditch effort before I have to admit to myself that they're toast.

[Terreverte]

Sometimes the bead release cracks under the bead and the glass gets stuck permanently on the mandrel. (Plant sticks!) Also, if the madrel is bent and the bead is a long focal, it won't come off in one piece.

An overnight soak and pliers work 98% of the time for me, I use a combo of Bucket of Mug and Sludge+. I just recently learned a trick here at lampwork etc, that seems to work well for most the stuborn ones. If you hold the mandrel vertical with the bead at the bottom, then use gravity to bounce the mandrel end several times on something hard (like concrete). Seems silly, but it vibrates the bead release loose and allows the bead to be coaxed off. Good Luck!

[villa design]

Are you guys really having that much trouble taking your beads off the mandrels? Is it every bead that's this way or just a random rogue bead occasionally?

It rarely happens for me nowadays and if the freezer thing doesn't work, I give up then. Lazy that way. :lol:

[Mopnglo]

WD40 is your friend. :) Try giving it a spritz with this stuff, it's helped me in the past.

[squid]

Holy moley. Reading through what so many people do to get their beads off the mandrels is amazing! I confess, if I'd ever had to soak them or pound them or use a vise on them I probably would have given up the art form years ago. LOL!

Are you guys really having that much trouble taking your beads off the mandrels? Is it every bead that's this way or just a random rogue bead occasionally?


I use heavy duty FF and Smooth and Tuff - mine slide right off. The occasional bead requires a pair of pliers to hold the mandrel, but it slides right off too.

I'm with Tink - I would have given up long ago if I had that much trouble! :lol:

[vickgould]

THEY CAME OFF!!! After the freezer, I used the vise grips and a anti-slip kitchen pad and wrapped it around the bead. I used my pliers on the outside of the pad over the bead and twisted. I did lose 2 beads. They crack when you don't want them to and when you decide you don't care, they won't even break off the mandrel. I'm down one mandrel too. But at least I got the rest off....FINALLY. Thanks to all of you!

[Carolyn M]

Holy moley. Reading through what so many people do to get their beads off the mandrels is amazing! I confess, if I'd ever had to soak them or pound them or use a vise on them I probably would have given up the art form years ago. LOL!

Are you guys really having that much trouble taking your beads off the mandrels? Is it every bead that's this way or just a random rogue bead occasionally?

I use the bench mounted vise because I can put 5 mandrels in at a time and the beads are are off in seconds. It's fast and easy

[KEW]

It's a good idea, Carolyn. I may try it.

[Norskiglass]

May sure you are using 309 s.steel mandrels and that you flash heat the release as well as the mandrel before applying the glass. As I suspect you are using soft glass of some sort you may consider laying the core down and working as far off the mandrel as possible in other words ~try not to over work the glass & the mandrel.

~Enjoy!

~W~

[Lorraine Chandler]

If I had to do all of that to get my beads off a mandrel I'd probably quit!!

I made my own mandrels from rods I purchased at my local welding supply. I cut them, ground the ends on a grinder to a nice round smooth end and then I took sanding paper..smooth not heavy and sanded the mandrels where the bead release would go.

I thinned my bead release until when I pulled the mandrel out I could see the mandrel through the release...has the consistancy of half and half or light cream.

I use foster fire...will never switch unless they quit making it.

I soak all of my beads overnight and in the morning I twist the bead back and forth and then pull as straight as I can...

When I tried to use my release thicker I had all sorts of problems. ](*,)So very thin release for me.:wave:
Lorraine

[tiggybubba]

I am having a devil of a time getting beads off the curved mandrels....any suggestions for that?

[evilglass]

I normally use channel locks to grip the mandrel and twist it off with my fingers...that's just my method-I've got crappy grip with my right hand due to a childhood injury to my index finger, and my left hand just isn't as smart, LOL. Once in a while, I'll have one fight with me and I hand it to Mr. Evil who usually gets it right off.

[evilglass]

oh yeah, and on the "is there bead release on the mandrel" question-

At the Ren Faire I sell at, I tend to meet lots of folks who ask how I do this stuff (typical show thing, LOL). This year, there was a vendor who was really curious about the basic process. I described winding the bead on a mandrel, coated in bead release, of course, and they said "bead release??". I explained that it's a kind of clay that you put on the metal mandrels to keep the glass from sticking, else you have plant pokes.

They said "so *that's* how you get them off!!!"

Seems their little SCA group had moved into trying to make glass beads....and despite all their efforts, couldn't get them off the mandrels. No one knew about bead release, LOL.

Wonder if I'll have competition from them this year?

[Dragoneyes]

HI all, I am new to lamb working as well but have not had a bead stick to a mandrel yet. If you dip the mandrel slowly in the release and bring it up slowly is should coat enough to not stick a bead. Also try contacting Arrow Springs and get their Dip-N-Go Sludge. It works great. Now I am not advertising for them its just I've never had a problem with their bead release. Arrowsprings.com. They also have a wide verity of glass and tools as well. After the beads come out of the annealer I soak the beads in warm water for an hour,(by that time the water is cold), using a pair of vice grips (small) I put the grips on the end of the mandrel and twist the bead toward the faucet which is the opposite way the bead went on the mandrel, and it comes right off. If a bead is stubborn I put a dish rag or some other cloth on the bead and twist. If you put pliers on the bead it will crack every time. After all it is glass. Good luck

[Jackie]

If you overheat the bead release it will cook it on the mandrel and the bead either won't come off or will be very difficult to come off. So you just warm the mandrel with release on it so that it will accept the glass then focus the heat on the glass not the mandrel. On another post people were saying that they always put fabric softener in the water to soak the beads and it makes them come off easier. I do use locking pliers just for a firm grip and often Tpaper or cloth to grip the bead, this has nothing really to do with stubborn beads it is just easier to grip that way.