newbie implosion pendant question.

[effemess]

Newbie question here... and I have trolled through the archives and looked at youtube vids till Im square eyed.. but either I have read this and just forgotten (old lady brain) or I read it and didn't understand.. so here goes...

I make a maria -can do
I put dots and melt in - can do
I use the weight of my rod to gently press melted dots down - can do
I start to implode.. turning the 'cartwheel' of my dotty maria in the flame, with the non hot part of the rod pointing up not down - can do.

BUT......... how much implosion do I need to get... do I implode until all the dots have disappeared into a tiny little hole in the middle of my maria??
I keep doing this, then backing it, flame cutting the lens, rounding it out and then pressing (just discovered that I had to press last night - wondered why my pendants were teeny tiny and thick!) and end up with a very nice, very tiny implosion and a lot of glass around it... help please....

[AuntD]

Put on more dots? You can add lines and dots as you go, too. If you have a large maria, using just a few dots/lines will give you a small implosion with lots of glass.

[effemess]

So do I implode the lot until they are just a little imploded dotty bit in the centre of the hot face of the maria? ~I sound kind of dumb dont I

[earlbacher]

try a test.... see how much you can implode it... do it three times as much as you ahve been... experiment some, its where the fun is at

[AuntD]

Originally Posted by effemess

So do I implode the lot until they are just a little imploded dotty bit in the centre of the hot face of the maria? ~I sound kind of dumb dont I

Don't worry about sounding dumb... if you are, we'll just point and laugh.

But seriously, as earlbacher says, experiment. See what happens when you use lots of dots. See what happens when you press down hard. Try pressing hard and then putting on more dots (you don't have to put them all on at the same time). The joy is in experimentation and coming up with things you like that way.

[effemess]

Hey, Im used to the point and laugh bit -
I'm off to experiment now - made my quota of soft glass earring pairs for today...
How many dots can I get on a maria.. now lets see

[earlbacher]

how many dots??? do a bunch, implode a bit til they suck to the middle, and add more and start all over....

[gmkcpa]

Hope this helps. Took me about 3 years to figure this all out; its what works for me. PM me and let me know. 1) Do NOT melt the dots in. Just stick them on the maria. You want to implode the dot, not a melted mess. 2) Do NOT have the flame blasting right on the face of the maria! Flame should hit maria on edge and back of maria (I use a Carlile CC, my marbles are about 1 1/2" - 2"). Your punty will definitely start melting on you (I use 3/4" rod) - I know how to handle this. It's doable and easy to end up with a bigger marble and flower as a result of keeping the maria centered on the punty (this is critical)***PRACTICE*** 3) NEVER press. Let some of the weight of the rod flatten out the dimple. Hold hands elbows up, like a music conductor. 4) Keep doing this and looking into the maria. You WILL know when its good.

[Bunyip]

This is how I learned the implosion/compression technique: http://www.anakinsglasseye.com/tutorial-implosion2.htm

I got great results first try, but nothing can substitute for experience. One of the things I've found is that if you implode smaller with a larger lens of clear, you get a much different effect than if you work big. Working fast tends to flatten out my implosions, taking my time yields better, deeper results.

[effemess]

Thanks everyone... back to my torch to try again