Seeded/Bubble Moretti Tips

[NLC Beads]

I'm sure Tink can chime in with more - I never even thought of encasing it, for some reason - but here's what I've sent out in the past...

Ok, some stuff you need to know before lighting this stuff up….
1. Clean it off – yeah, common sense, I know, but my glass rack is very open and this was on the top shelf, and my house… well… can we say cleaning isn’t my first, second, or even third priority? *blush*
2. It’s incredibly shocky – worst stuff I’ve ever used. Bring it into the flame very slowly, lots of jabbing or waving, whatever you do. While you’re working it, it might also just drop a chunk off – if you bring it into the flame too far, the hot end that you’re attaching to the bead will just stay there and there will be a break maybe ½” into it. And don’t point it towards yourself…
3. It’s semi-transparent, so don’t use it for encasing unless you want a hidden effect. It’s basically a transparent glass, but the bubbles obscure things, also.
4. The clear looks awesome layered over other colors.
5. Jim tried putting a stringer inside and melting it into a bead that way – pretty cool effect, also.
6. I’m serious – point it away from yourself. No beadmaker flambé, please.
7. Enjoy, and please share your results!

Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with... Unless they're like me and just LOOK at rare glass... Here's one of my more recent frogs on a hollow ice cube...
Nikki

[Tink]

Excellent, Nikki! I love the idea of putting a stringer INSIDE the tube! Brilliant!

John washes all the glass the day before he ships it, so what we send out should be pretty clean when it arrives.

Yes. It is shocky! Here are a couple of things I do to deal with that:

First, you can heat it in a pure fuel flame for a few seconds. That's about 850 degrees -- cool enough to not shock it, but hot enough to heat it through. Any carbon deposits will disappear when you add O2 to the flame and begin to work.

Another way I've found to deal with the shockiness is to melt a small bit on the end of the rod, then smush it end-down on a marvering pad or similar surface. My theory is that the little bit of molten glass transfers its heat to the next segment of glass when you smush it. Repeat two or three times, and the rod starts behaving normally. LOL!

This rod pulls out into pretty cool stringer, too. You can encase it in a transparent color if you wish before pulling, or leave it as-is.

I'm sure I'll think of more things to add!

[NLC Beads]

I've found that even melting the end down still makes that last 1/4" pop off into the tray of forgotten glass bits... At least, it does here.

That was a copy of what I sent out - my glass rack didn't involve much cleaning, until I was using a rod at a time on my torch. Then I'd wipe it down. I figured fair warning. :)

I've also added wisps of it in multi-colored (like blues) stringer leftover beads that I've melted together and twisted parts of to look like a water bead... Little air bubbles in parts like trails just looks cool.