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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2011-12-07, 2:04pm
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Lisi Lisi is offline
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Default serious mandrel and bead release vent

I can't hold this in anymore! I'm home alone and I'm about to lose it...over bead release and mandrels, of all things! Normally I replace one or the other so I don't come up with the following dilemma. How the heck did I let this happen again??!

The bead release - I have about two teaspoons of my beloved KRAG Mudd left and it's in a 8oz plastic jar with several wonky beads in it to help mix it. I have to be real careful not to add too much water, just a few drops at a time or it gets too thin and causes another problem (described below) that totally drives me nuts! My other bead releases on the shelf are awful and I will have carpal tunnel problems and bent mandrels if I use that crap.

The mandrels - all are pretty old and many of them are worn to a slightly thinner diameter on the ends, in the area where the glass is wrapped on. If the bead release accidently gets mixed too thin, then the beads will slide back and forth and won't come off. At two bucks or more a bead, you know I can't afford that! Because there is so little left, tilting the container on its side can result in "warped" dipping results. So I have to dip one at a time, dip it in sideways, then hold the container and mandrel upright before I pull it out. To get an even dip. A total PITA!!

If I had new mandrels, then my Dip n' Go Sludge will work okay and I can get the beads off almost as easy as the KRAG Mudd, until they get used a few more times. Then it's a wrestling match and bent mandrels. I had a rivet tool that might help in this case, but I don't have it any more.

So, since the budget is real tight it's a toss-up of what I have to buy first. The mandrels or the bead release. The bead release costs a bit and takes a while to get here, and the mandrel cutting and filing, takes ME a while....and I hate it! A lot! I'm tempted to just buy some from a vendor and eat the cost. When I make my own mandrels I won't let anyone else touch them because when I do, they always come up bent. Then I get bent! lol!!

I kept putting off buying either one because other important things kept coming up. This is a very important weekend for me because it's so close to Christmas and I have a TON of orders to make and you got it, the (getting to be impossible) task of dipping the damn mandrels is cutting it real close to my sanity!

I swear, this will be the last time this happens! I really hope I don't have to say this again.

rant over and thank you for "listening"
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  #2  
Old 2011-12-07, 2:23pm
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BrownGirl BrownGirl is offline
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I don't mean to hijack your thread but does wonky dipping hurt the beads a lot? I have no idea. Sometimes my mandrels look a little lopsided. I didn't think it made a huge difference. All I can say is UH OH! I'm an idiot.

I am sorry this is so stressful for you what a damn pain.
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  #3  
Old 2011-12-07, 3:38pm
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Lisi Lisi is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownGirl View Post
I don't mean to hijack your thread but does wonky dipping hurt the beads a lot? I have no idea. Sometimes my mandrels look a little lopsided. I didn't think it made a huge difference. All I can say is UH OH! I'm an idiot.

I am sorry this is so stressful for you what a damn pain.
Most bead releases can be mixed thin enough for a nice smooth dip. A melted milkshake consistency is good, or a "thin pancake batter" consistency. If it looks nore like yogurt, it's too thick. Dip straight down into the container, and straight back up and out, and it will be evenly coated on the mandrel. As long as it's not globby and wavy looking your footprint should go on nice and even where you lay the glass down. Since my beads are so small, it will be too easy to get them crooked if the dip was not even.

Hope this helps!
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  #4  
Old 2011-12-07, 4:30pm
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Lisi, you have a sister here! I've been trying to get a really cute frog off of an older mandrel for a week now. I KNOW it's because the bead release got too thin and I just wasn't paying attention, plus the mandrel was thinner in the area where I usually place a bead. It wouldn't have been a problem on a donut but for a longer bead-eecchh!

I think I'll have to put him in a houseplant. I've tried soaking him in clr, banging the opposite end on the counter trying to loosen the br, etc. I think he is going to the north pole next except I really don't want to break him. I'd rather he decorate a plant
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Old 2011-12-07, 4:41pm
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Lisi Lisi is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deb L View Post
Lisi, you have a sister here! I've been trying to get a really cute frog off of an older mandrel for a week now. I KNOW it's because the bead release got too thin and I just wasn't paying attention, plus the mandrel was thinner in the area where I usually place a bead. It wouldn't have been a problem on a donut but for a longer bead-eecchh!

I think I'll have to put him in a houseplant. I've tried soaking him in clr, banging the opposite end on the counter trying to loosen the br, etc. I think he is going to the north pole next except I really don't want to break him. I'd rather he decorate a plant
When beads did the slidey-slide thing and didn't want to come off the end of the mandrels, that baffled me for years! Until I finally figured out why.

Save the frog, decorate your plant.
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  #6  
Old 2011-12-07, 5:12pm
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You can cut the mandrel and sand down the end if you really want to save him.
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  #7  
Old 2011-12-07, 5:50pm
Nolly Nolly is offline
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I, too, love Kragg mud but it's a hassle remembering to call to order it and the shipping is astronomical (I think).

In it's place, I have mixed up a bunch of different things and I encourage you to try the same. I like my release heavy on the graphite side, so Sludge is a good start; if you can find some Foster Fire in your collection of releases you don't particularly like, it makes a nice addition to the Dip'N'Go Sludge.

Here's the thing ... if you're soaking the mandrels before removing the beads, try removing them dry. I know it's healthier to wet down the dust, but I think it makes removing beads more difficult. I coated the jaws of a cheap pair of pliers with hot glue ... that tool dip stuff would do the same thing ... they provide a good grip on the bead without marring it. A good pair of pliers or vice grips on the mandrel and the soft jaws on the bead usually gets the bead off. I have some plant stakes, but not too many.

Good luck!

Nolly
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  #8  
Old 2011-12-07, 5:59pm
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Lisi, I have to go to Kittrell Riffkind sometime this week. I'm completely out of white glass and I don't want to order online just for white, so I'm going to swing by and pick it up there. If you want to PP me the money for the KRAG Mudd I can ship it to you probably a lot cheaper than they can.
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  #9  
Old 2011-12-07, 6:03pm
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I've been taking mine off dry the last couple of times I made any too. I just use my nail to get the release off near the bead and to the business end of the mandrel to leave a clear path, grab the mandrel with some linesman pliers and pull the bead off using a rubber thingy I have to open jars. Much easier, and I do do it outside with the wind blowing away from me if I can.
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