I Finally got a marble mold for Christmas...

[davelovins]

...and this is my first marble I made with it. I know it's not perfect, but I like it. It's almost 2 inces in diameter. I just wanted to share.

[Imaglassgal]

Oooooh nice! Thanks for sharing!

Congrats on the new mold. Aren't tools fun?

[gmkcpa]

Nice, Dave. I assume you know that the final rounding is always done with a hole (in the marble mold) that is smaller than the marble - the rounding is done on the very rim of the mold, not in the half circle of the mold. (It took me a year to figure out what was meant by that.) VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION-what white did you use? When I use white on the outside of a marble, what with the heat I need to get the marble round, the white ALWAYS boils on me. I've used NS Star White, Borostix White and Asian White, all with the same result. It looks to me like you had NO boiling!

[dragonart glass]

Nice one Dave!!!

[davelovins]

Thanks a lot everyone.
No, Gerald, I didn't know that. I really appreciate the help though. I know I have a lot to learn, but I'm loving all of it. Ca As far as the white goes, I just tried to look back at my invoices to find out, but couldn't find it. I'm pretty sure it was NS. I got Ninja Black and the white at the same time. I'll find out and let you know. I want to be able to order more of it myself.

[gmkcpa]

Thanks, Dave. As further explanation on how to use the mold, if you try to use the inside hole of the mold for your final rounding you would have to have the exactly correct amount of glass in your marble to fit exactly into the hole-and that's darn near impossible to accomplish. So what we do is make the marble with any old amount of glass that we feel like using, and use the inside hole of the mold only for rough shaping. Then when we're ready to go for complete roundness we pick a hole that is a little smaller than the roughly rounded marble we're making and we spin the marble on the very rim of that slightly smaller hole to get it very round. After spinning and rounding the half of the marble that is away from the punty we knock off that punty, put a new punty on the opposite side of the marble, and round the other side. Sometimes we do 4-5 punty switches to get the marble round.

My marble mold has 4 holes - 1-1/4", 1-1/2", 1-3/4" and 2". I've never made a marble with a diameter greater than 1.97", so the only use I ever get out of the 2" hole is for rough shaping (which means I pretty much use the 2" hole every time I make a marble).
Most of my marbles are between 1-1/4" and 1-3/4", so I do my final rounding using the rim of the 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" holes. Hope this helps.

[davelovins]

Thanks a lot Gerald. That really helps. I think I have the same mold. It has a flat bar to mount it to the desk. It makes perfect sense because when I put it in the smaller hole, it didn't spin smoothly. Thanks for taking the time to offer your help.

[sunray]

That is what the boys here said I know they only use the edges because when someone made that cool looking marble mold with rolled edges they told me not to stock it because to get a good marble they needed the top edge of a good mold.
Trev has had that bench mold for a number of years.. Works great.
Love your marble!
Here's one he made with the Dichro on copper and used both the Dichro and copper together Just cut a little square out and this is what happened in the marble

[davelovins]

Thanks a lot Phyllis. That's a really cool marble, and I like the stand. I really appreciate you hooking me up with the dichro. Have a very Happy New Year.

[Rodger]

I like it Dave! What torch did you use to make such a big marble?

[artwhim]

Great first marble Dave!

[Dragonharper]

to expand on what Gerald said, I quite often, once I've switched punties end for end, move the punty 90 degrees instead of 180 then do a series of roundings switching punties 180 degrees then the last time I punty to the bottom of the marble, if there is one and then finish.

[davelovins]

Thanks Kathy.
Rodger, thanks. I have a Nortel Mid range Plus. It works great but it uses a lot of oxygen.
Roy, thanks for the tips. I really appreciate it. I have learned so much from folks on here.

[samandsha]

WOW...what a honker...great job! I can see the phases of the moon on the dots..kool! Samma ;-D

[J.Meader]

Im with Roy, I switch 90 degrees a couple of time, I find it helps me find the little bumps and nicks that way.

Curious Dave, I am sure I have seen pictures from you of your marbles before, how were you getting them round?

[davelovins]

Thanks a lot Samma. I see the moon now. It is big a honker.
J.Meader, yes, I have made a few before, but I just rounded them in the flame. It took a lot longer, and I'm sure they weren't completely round. I'm slowly learning and I really appreciate everyone's compliments, tips, advice and encouragement. I feel really privileged to be a part of such a great group of artist's. Happy New Years everyone.

[e. mort]

Originally Posted by J.Meader

Im with Roy, I switch 90 degrees a couple of time, I find it helps me find the little bumps and nicks that way.

Curious Dave, I am sure I have seen pictures from you of your marbles before, how were you getting them round?

This is a very good tip especially if you are using a really stiff color like turbo cobalt for your backing. Getting the line where the TC meets the clear can be challenging to get smooth, and it is very easy to boil the clear in an attempt to get the TC hot enough for a seamless join. Just make sure to plan your back design carefully so you have an area to punty up to that won't effect it adversely.

[J.Meader]

To that end, I setup a fluorescent above and to the side of my work bench. I find that the long line reflection a fluorescent bulb casts makes it easier to spot the little inconsistences on the surface.