Those look cool! Thanks for the pic.

Those are very nice Kare. They look pretty sturdy too!
Thanks :)

Oh and talk about sturdy!!! lol Those are very cool Jodie!

Thanks! :)

Copied from the tut thread:
Shelly, Is that zig-zag or wig-wag? One is done by raking wraps the other is done by twisting tube. The pipe-makers have so over-done these techniques that many now look down on them. I even saw a tee-shirt that said "Friends don't let friends wig-wag" LOL!!! Nevertheless, really nice designs can be made with raking. Parts of my ornaments are done that way. See the http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=71543 thread.

Also, please post a picture of what you are asking about in this thread.

-Don

Here's a butterfly I made from the tut. They're quite fun to make.

Here's the tool to which Dawn was referring. I love it!!! Makes a world of difference when making holes as in the twistie tutorial.

And some twists using the tool.

Sure Don... I hope whoever owns these beads doesn't mind me using their pic!

I've seen lots of variations on this look and really like them... I'd love to know how you do it!

thanks
Shelley

make a disc with whatever colors you want, then dots for clear alternating on either side of the disc, then melt in... the clear will push the color about

Warning: Cross Post :roll:

Well I finally got the new torch set up and some time to melt glass. Not the greatest piece in the world, but it's a start.

First attempt at working with tube. Didn't get the scum cleaned off the end, but I was more worried about practice rather than presentation at this point.

It's done with GA's Havana Moon-Light
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...bePendant2.jpg

I apologize for the lack of natural light in the picture. I live in the Pacific Northwest and we won't see the sun for another 6 months at least:wink:

Have a great day.

Jodi

Jodi, lovely implosion!

I have trouble photographing soft glass and boro is really tough! But you look like you've conquered that.

And nice loop!

Here's a link to Cosmo's tutorial:
http://www.soleiletlune.com/tutorials/wave.html

ETA: I got Cosmo/Chad's/Soleiletlune's Boro Beginner's pack yesterday and it's a nice selection. It included a printout of the tutorials on his site -- including this one.

You can get a similar effect by making a twistie cane, winding two or three wraps on the mandrel, taking a 3mm stringer and applying it around your bead in a wave pattern from side to side and then encasing.

What Shawn, Dawn and Cosmo said. These "wave" beads use the clear melting in to move the color around. Its a very different and smoother effect than what you get with raking. Very nice beads.

-Don-

My Newbie boro lesson of the day -- flying glass can catch your shirt on fire!



This is the second time that I've been trying to do the butterfly cuts that a small piece has flown off. The first time, I managed to avoid the flying glass. This time, it got my arm and as I was getting rid of that piece, I smelled my shirt burning! I held the shirt away from my body and blew out the flames so I only got the one burn on my arm. But it was a tad too exciting and, worst of all, I lost the butterfly!

awww... hope your okay...
look!! you can almost see the butterfly in the shirt!!


no really, hope your okay..

two words
leather apron

I cross posted the tut I was asked to do for wetcanvas over in our boro tut thread. I figured Dawn wouldn't mind :) enjoy

Thanks! I'm fine -- well one small burn on my upper arm... but an amusing tale since all ended well.

Paula, thanks, actually Dawn has been reposting over in this boro Tutorial thread. So thanks for posting here. And thanks for the great tutorial!!!


Beckah- Glad no serious burns

Thanks so much Paula - I was going to PM you about it but you were already on it!

Beckah,

If you are having pieces of glass actually break off as you are cutting, you are using too much force. Try getting the glass hotter, use less force and make several snips with reheating in between.

-Don-

I'll try that! Thanks for the tip.

Maybe someone can troubleshoot some of my other issues as I felt quite discouraged this morning.

I'll start with the easier problem. I was trying to make a wave bead yesterday and I built up the glass fine but when I started melting it down, I saw that the bead release had blistered and broken away. I didn't finish melting the glass down because it would've ended up on a bare mandrel. I've tried straight Smooth 'n Tuff, straight Dip 'n Go sludge and a mix of the two. The straight Dip 'n Go has been the best so far but it isn't marvelous. Should I switch to a boro specific bead release? And, which one is recommended?

I'm also having trouble with implosions. I'm using a MiniCC with NG. It seems to me that I need a pretty bushy flame to melt the boro. However, when I have the bushy flame and I point the flame at the "rim of the tire" the entire ball of glass gets so hot that it starts separating from the rod. If I go to a more pointed flame, it seems to be too cool and the glass never seems to melt. Yesterday's implosion got so wobbly on the rod that it eventually rocked over and attached itself to the rod.

Beckah I use Fusion Bead Release since my Bucket O' Mud did the same cracking thing on me. The Fusion works really well for me.

As for the implosions I have the same problem with my rod wanting to melt off. I just try to be really careful that I don't get that part as hot.

like with beads and mandrel, you have to direct your heat so it doesnt hit the rod...

Hi everyone,

I just posted a pic tutorial on loops done on a pin in the other thread. Please comment.

-Don-

Don, It appears to be a very useful method and one I had not thought of before (like that is a surprise) However to be honest almost any technique will be helpful ;)
Thank you for posting it.


Rob.

It's a neat idea that I haven't seen before -- I'm planning on giving it a try. Thanks for posting the tutorial.

Beckah
Sorry about your burn! Yikes!
When cutting the wings, make sure the glass is molten and glowing before cutting.
It takes several reheats to get each cut done. If it starts crunching, it's too cold.
For the implossions, use a larger diameter clear rod and it won't melt as easily when imploding.

I might be able to help with the implosions.
1. You already got the "use a larger diameter rod" - that would be my first suggestion too. I like to use 16mm.

2. If the 16mm rod is too thick for you to spin you can heat the end of the rod and plunge a red hot mandrel (or hollow tubing or SS chopstick) into the end then work your way up the glass rod with the flame and cut off a 2-3" hunk of glass. Now you can start to heat up a gather and create your maria to work off of.

Thanks Jami & Jodie!

I was using 14mm clear and did ok but it was taking about 45 minutes to get it imploded. It may partly be my technique... but I did keep trying to figure out how to get the flame hotter. Well hotter with the MiniCC on NG meant a bushier and bushier flame. So with this latest implosion, I had moved down to 12mm to see if it would take less time and also because I wanted something on a smaller scale.

I will try using an old mandrel -- I use old mandrels to pull twisties and like that.

Thanks again for the help.