[alexm]

Congratulations, you’ve done it. I use a large coffee can to break the glass bubble off the mandrel and into shards. MAKE SURE YOU ARE WEARING SAFETY GLASSES TO BREAK THE BUBBLE TO PROTECT YOUR EYES FROM FLYING GLASS. I use another hollow mandrel to break the bubble off the mandrel. Dunk the mandrel into a glass of water to shock off any remaining glass.

NOTE: If you get a blowout near the end of the mandrel and it looks like a flap of glass blew off, it’s because you let the air bubble collapse.

Applying the Shards to Beads

I had several great photos of applying the shards to beads, but they died in the computer crash. I’ll paint a word picture instead. It’s pretty easy. I hold the shard to the bead and move both of them into the edge of the flame. The shard will start to melt and turn orange and that’s when you want to apply GENTLE pressure to stick it to the bead. Don’t stay in one place too long, just keep moving. When you are done wrapping the shard around the bead, you can go back and clean it up a little if you wish. I heat any part of the shard that stick up too much and gently mash it down with my brass shaping tool. I bathe the entire bead in the flame to make sure that it evenly warm and then pop it into the kiln.


Ok, I’m done! Go forth and make shards!