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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips |
2014-06-23, 4:49pm
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Lifelong Student
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Hollow bead size
What is the smallest size hollow bead you can make? What technique do you use? What size glass? Pastel or transparent?
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Norma
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2014-06-23, 5:01pm
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lurking on LE since 2005
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Smallest I can make consistently is 10mm. Very thin walls. I tend to prefer transparents (Czech glass, natch...) but opaques work just as well. I make two discs on a mandrel.
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2014-06-23, 6:08pm
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Wow....that is small! Do you use stringer?
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Norma
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2014-06-24, 3:57am
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oh, no, never. always a full rod. and some rods I use are up to 10mm thick.
the 10mm beads were featured in this cover necklace: (I only made the beads, but the magazine gave me no credit-thanks!)
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2014-06-24, 7:03am
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Would you be willing to tell me how you make your hollow beads? How far apart are your disks, how high do you make them, do you use a puffy mandrel? My attempted hollow beads don't turn out hollow. There is no air bubble in the middle.
I make two very small base beads that are apart from each other, then I start adding rings to the beads to make disk beads. When they are as high as I want them I start adding rings to the inside of the disks until they meet. I add a ring around the center for good measure then melt and shape. I quickly patch any holes that I find along the way
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Norma
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2014-06-24, 7:31am
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I can get my hollow beads down to the size of peas, and I use the disc method like you do, Mina, except that I don't add the extra ring around the middle. I've found that soft glass (104 COE) is generally too soft for hollow beads at that scale--you practically have to work it over a votive candle! 90 or 96 COE is better for that work, and recycled bottle glass is ideal. Just remember to keep the bead out of the direct flame until you're ready to melt all the coils in. The only part of the work that should be fully in the flame is the rod/stringer that you're using to build the bead. Even so, keep your flame small and cool, and be very patient with it.
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2014-06-24, 9:02am
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What size mandrel do you use?
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Norma
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2014-06-24, 9:35am
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I use 5/64 mandrels (I tend to melt the 1/16 ones, and 3/32 are too big for my taste). I have no secret to making them, I don't use a puffy mandrel, just make two disks side by side and join them together. Distance apart on the mandrel determines whether it's going to be more round or donut shape, so it would depend on what you're aiming for. I used mostly double helix for those beads on the magazine, but a couple are 96 COE (veiled cane). Typically I only use 104
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2014-06-24, 3:56pm
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I wish I lived near someone that would show me. I'm very much a hands on learner and I'm not getting it. I understand what you are explaining, but they don't turn out right. Sadly my hollows have no hollow
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Norma
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2014-06-24, 4:34pm
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Uh Oh....
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Mina - your disks have to be fairly thin when you start building them, like 1/8", or else they will end up with thick walls. For me it's easier using a puffy mandrel but then they turn out bigger than 10mm and the hole size is larger too since it's difficult to use really thin tubing for a mandrel.
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Susan
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2014-06-24, 4:37pm
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In Washington state... The northwest is kinda like Mecca of the western world for glass! There probably is someone close.
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WASHERS & TOPPERS - layering components for interchangeable glass topper and to use in other jewelry/metalwork.:
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2014-07-01, 3:12pm
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Uh-oh means it's too late
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I use a puffy mandrel and right now the 3/32 is the smallest I could find. I use 104 and I like to have at least 3mm east and west of the puffy hole to get a nice bubble. After I have it puffed to the thickness I want I reheat gently and use my round graphite mold to round it out a bit. The smallest I get is about 12mm that way.
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2014-07-02, 3:55am
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something to ponder
This may or may not shed some light: sometimes what I found happening, especially with soupy, not stiff glass like Amber Rose, is that it would collapse on itself because of how I would heat it.
I found that if my hollows were consistently collapsing on themselves, that some glass like this needs to be heated only in the middle (i.e. equator) section to get it to puff into a hollow shape. Any attempt to heat the sides to get them to smooth out would cause collapse. (and I'm talking 12-15mm beads)
So, once you are sure there are no gaps, and want to heat it to a round/oblong shape, try only applying heat to the center part (again, slow rotation, one direction, not too close to the actual flame source) and see if that makes any difference.
Also, since you aren't heating the sides too much, they're less likely to lose their shape, keeping the bead from flopping around.
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2014-07-02, 6:24am
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Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try them out to see if they work for me...I'm ready for some
PPP
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Norma
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2014-07-02, 6:55am
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Norma, I'm no expert on hollows, have only made a few, but after your questions about the torch flame, I'm wondering if you could have it too hot?
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2014-07-02, 7:29am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mina
I wish I lived near someone that would show me. I'm very much a hands on learner and I'm not getting it. I understand what you are explaining, but they don't turn out right. Sadly my hollows have no hollow
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Have you watched some of the videos? I'm visual too, and the videos always help me understand the written instructions better.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...k+hollow+beads
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2014-07-02, 7:44am
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Eileen, I had that same thought. I have made a conscious effort to work with a cooler flame. Gonna try making these with a cooler flame to see if that might be my issue
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Norma
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