Bead stuck on Mandrels - Help?
 

My husband tried to do his first day of soft glass. He has many different beads ( basically 1 on each mandrel) and now that they are cool enough to handle. We just tried to take the beads off the mandrel. I ended up loosing all the "mud" on the mandrel except where the actual bead is located. I try to twist the bead but the whole mandrel twist in my hands. I am at a loss of how to get the beads off. Any help will be appreciated.

Thank You in Advance,
Dawn

I am no expert by any means, but I had this same problem in my first class . . . we stuck the bead on the mandrel in the freezer for a couple of hours . . . came right off! Hold mandrel with a vise grip pliers and twist. Lana

take a pair of pliers and place it right behind the bead and then twist and pull the bead toward the open end. It should come loose - if that fails, try soaking it in water first.

Did you soak them 1st? Sounds like you tried to take them off without soaking them.

one thing about "underrunning water" is that bead release is bad for your plumbing, so don't let it go down the drain :)

So what is "Soaking"?
I only have two intro to Boro under my belt-- just started at home todayusing soft glass, no kiln means fire blanket. I did crack two pieces out of over a dozen--so I feel pretty good about that for a newbie.
I appreciate all the help LE has offered, your a great bunch.

immerse them in water and let them sit awhile.

My wife almost smacking me after I asked--
Thanks,
Kevin

I had that happen too, I actually put the pliers on the bead and pulled. DUH!! and then wondered how I could get the bead off w/o cracking it. LOL! Then it occured to me to use the pliers on the mandrel. OMG! some days....

Soak in vinegar for 12-24 hrs it eats away the release. if that doesn't work, clip the mandrel it isn't coming off. sorry (I have experience with this one!)

much luck :)

Also use a peice of small flat rubber (you get a better grip on the glass bead) and your pliers on the mandrel that will help in the stubborn ones!

If you have tried everything and they are still stuck I have one last ditch effort. It the bead breaks with this one it was never coming off anyway....

Get a block of wood and drill a mandrel sized hole through it. Drop your stuck bead into the hole so it is sitting on top of the wood with the majority of the mandrel hanging below the bottom of the wood. Rest part of the wood on a counter or table. Using a hammer gently begin to tap the top of the mandrel. Give it more force in small increments until you feel the bead move. You may have to flip it back and forth to finally get it off the mandrel if you have bent the mandrel. But it works!

If you are using Bucket of Mud
Soak in really hot water for about 15 minutes.
It shoud come off using pliers and a washcloth or rubber thing.

You don't have to clip the mandrel. If I have a bead that is permanently stuck I stick the mandrel in the kiln for a while to heat it up thoroughly and then plunge it in some ice water. Repeat if necessary. This will of course destroy the bead but the mandrel will be as good as new.
If you don't have a kiln you can always try to put the bead in a pot of boiling water water for a while and then plunge it in to an ice bath. It could work!

Nothing to do with stuck beads but Kikki, I just read your siggy quote and cracked up. Dangit!! And here I thought I got rid of all the geek in me!

If I absolutly can't get a bead off (usually the long ones) I take it outside and drag the mandrel across the concrete driveway. Do both ends several times. It 'jiggles' the bead release and sometimes helps.[-o<

OK how many of you have plant stakes in your plant pots from your first beads? Looking back at those I realize that there were times I actually broke the release and let the glass contact bare metal permanently fusing the bead to the mandrel. I kinda like taking them out once in a while to admire and see how far I have come.

Soda bottle soaker
 

I cut the top of a 2-liter bottle of soda off, fill with water and soak my mandrels in that - the sludge falls to the bottom, and I can pour off most of the clear water, without letting it go down the drain. After several firings/soakings I will eventually just swirl around the last cup or so of water and dump it in the garden -- ashes to ashes and all that.

My process:

I soak in water
I grab the mandrel with pliers, the bead with a dry cloth and twist. If that doesn't work...
I then tap the metal of the mandrel on something hard, like my hammer head, or an anvil that i have on my desk, or even just tapping against the rim of the soaking jar. the vibrations loosen the junk up that's holding th ebead on the mandrel.

I've not tried the freezer... i've heard that oil helps...

I let my bead release settle before pouring the water off, and then wipe the gunk up with paper towel and toss.

I keep a quart jar of water with a dryer sheet in it and all of my beads seem to come off just fine. I do use a pair of pliers to hold the mandrel and what used to be know as a rubber husband to grab my round beads. Any sculptural shapes twist off really easy. I am also finding that the foster fire bead release seems to come off easier than the bucket of mud and once I have used the bucket of mud up I am seriously considering switching to foster fire.

I have the coolest trick for getting permanently stuck beads off mandrels. It breaks and ruins the bead but you get your mandrel back. It works best if it's a barrel bead.
Get you glass cutters....the ones that have the two discs to cut rods of glass. Go down the bead cutting it but stopping when you hit the mandrel. Cut it all the way down bead several times about 5mm apart. Then being carefull not to cut yourself twist of each of the little pieces of bead and chuck em in the bin.
You then have your mandrel back!!! I have only tried this on 2.4mm mandrels.

When you make the next set of beads, make sure the glass is drippy, drippy when you put it on the mandrel. My guess is you were forcing the glass onto the mandrel. The glass should just drip on. Don't stick it on when the glass is not really ready to be put on the mandrel. Then the beads should come off easier next time.

And if ALL else fails and you really want to keep the bead - I say - DECORATE ! :lol:
Debbie A.

How neat it that!! I love it!!

I just use mine as pot stickers to add accent colors.... No need to waste a perfectly good mandrel or bead!