View Single Post
  #19  
Old 2012-11-05, 2:33pm
tammydownunder's Avatar
tammydownunder tammydownunder is offline
offically down under
 
Join Date: Dec 22, 2005
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 3,131
Default

I have found that it's really important to get a good base first regardless if you're making them on puffy mandrels or regular. I make two spacer beads first and get them perfectly round and puckered ends. I build up to the height that I want on either side. For me, doing straight discs and building a bridge gave me way too big of a bead. So, this works for me. I gently heat the left disc and with a very light touch, marver it towards the center and then do the same thing with the right disc. The "walls" do not touch at this point. From there, I finish off the center with a wrap or two of glass. After I've made sure that there are no holes, I apply the heat to the sides of the disc. I only put the heat on the middle/center when I've melted in the sides to avoid getting to much heat concentrated on one spot.

Whether using the puffy mandrel or regular mandrel, I will shape the bead in a graphite mold if my aim is a perfectly round bead.
__________________
Tammy

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Reply With Quote