Pulling murrini

[jhuels]

When I make murrini and I am ready to pull it, how do I do it so that the cane pulls evenly all the way out and isn't skinnier in the middle?

[Mitosis Glass]

Heat control. If you see one part getting thinner, blow on that part a few times to cool it down quickly (I learned this from Ryan Turner). Wave the whole thing through a flame a few times and add a bit more heat to the thicker part. Continue to pull carefully.

[jhuels]

Thanks, Angie!

[scoutycat]

There's a few things you can do to help - heat the ends a bit more than the middle, for starters. It's harder to control your gather with the ends heated well, so if you are making a big murrine you might want to cap the ends with clear, use stiffer punties to pull with (ie, transparents, esp cobalt, or boro) or both. Pull a little slower, too, and if you see that you're getting a lot of pull in the middle with hardly any movement on the ends it's not too late to give the ends a little extra heat.

[Mitosis Glass]

Jill, I was thinking about this as I went to bed last night (that's a glass addict for you, lol!) and I thought of a couple more things.

When I pull murrini I make sure the gather is hot all the way through, then I pull it out of the flame and wait a few seconds before I start to pull. This helps with a more even distribution of heat.

Also, while I'm pulling I'll pull slowly and I'll also keep flashing the whole thing through the flame now and again.

I remember a lot of my earlier canes were almost hair thin in spots! I did find I could use those thin little chips though, so it turned out well in the end.

Good luck! This is one of those things that is just practice, practice, practice.

[Libby L.]

In addition to all the suggestions the shape of the cane should be an elongated football shape. The larger mass is in the middle and keep the heat away from the connection points.

[Teri.p]

I usually pull vertically instead of horizontally. Since the heat travels up, whichever end happens to be larger is at the top.

[bluffroadglass]

Jill,

All of the suggestions here are great, but I would also recommend that you try out Noodlesaurus's disk punties. They've made pulling murrini so much easier for me that I won't ever make it without them now. Here's a photo from one of my new tutorials that shows the end of a pull using the Noodlesaurus punties. See how little waste there is and how much farther you can pull the cane down?



The stainless steel disk punties make it a lot easier to get as much heat as you need into the ends of your cane before you pull, which is one of the most important factors in getting an even pull. They've made a real difference in the quality of my murrini and I think everyone should have a pair. (And no, I am not on the Noodlesaurus payroll -- I just really love these punties.)

[philomena]

Me too,
since I hove a pair pulling murrinis is one of my favorit things to do at the moment.

Kathrin

[JesterGlass]

You want to have enough clear on either end so that the leftover part that stays thick on either end is made of clear, not color. I make sure I've got at least 1" of solid clear rod on either end.

[papimom]

To check the amount of heat in your gather before starting your pull, see if you can give a little accordian press in and out. If the gather doesn't move, heat has not soaked into the center completely.
Joan

[Beadanna]

Accordion press - I love it!
Great tips here.

[Kris Schaible]

Thanks Kim... I may have to put you opn payroll soon ...

I do find that is the entire gather is a orange glow to it, push and pull gently, as the entire gather moves, take out of the heat and pull slowly then as the glass gives pull a tiny bit faster and if on side get thicker keep that side up higher....

Good luck.. pulling cane and murrini is super fun...

[jhuels]

Such great info...thanks everyone. I'm off to check out Noodlesaurus!

[LemonwoodStudio]

I too recommend the Noodlesauraus punties ... a real 'must have' in a studio I think!

[BellaBean]

I also love the noodlesaurus punties!!! My pulls are almost twice as long with them. Every now and then I still get a too thin spot. I just cut it up and send it to Chrissij (teeny tiny bead woman).

[Kris Schaible]

Thanks again Ladies...
Jill your order will head out tomorrow!! Thanks for your support...

[PerfectDeb]

i find tipping the gather up or down to make the heat rise helps too - and yes, noodlesaurus punties!

[jojo101]

try heating the gather at an angle- so that it hits the ends and glances into the middle part- u can get a good heat on the ends and build up the heat on the center of the gather that way. marver between heats to allow the heat to soak into the core of the gather. continue to heat by aiming the flame at the ends into the middle. this allows u to build up more heat in the ends, and less intense heat in the center. definitely use something stiffer for the punty. when u feel the heat is just right take it outta the flame, wait a sec, and then pull. if it is fatter on one side of the pull put that on top and pull vertically so that gravity helps u pull evenly.

[jojo101]

if it is a particularly large pull, or just more comfortable to do this way, usually i only pull from one end at a time, snap it off, and repull the rest, as many times as it takes. it helps me get a much more even pull all the way through, especially when it is longer than my wingspan or close to it. i use daimond shears to break it off where it is fatter and i can continue my pull. this also allows u to deliberately create even pulls of different diameters for different applications- like some smaller to use immediately, and leaving some fatter to rebundle into a more complex murrini

[Mitosis Glass]

Originally Posted by jojo101

if it is a particularly large pull, or just more comfortable to do this way, usually i only pull from one end at a time, snap it off, and repull the rest, as many times as it takes. it helps me get a much more even pull all the way through, especially when it is longer than my wingspan or close to it. i use daimond shears to break it off where it is fatter and i can continue my pull. this also allows u to deliberately create even pulls of different diameters for different applications- like some smaller to use immediately, and leaving some fatter to rebundle into a more complex murrini

This is a great idea! Sometimes my pulls are bigger than what I can handle on my own and while I'm pulling I'm frantically thinking HOW THE HELL AM I GONNA DO THIS?? I'll have to try this tonight.

@ "wingspan"

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Can you substitute the end of a Thimble mandrel or large flat Cabachon/surface mandrel for the Noodlesauraus punties?

[jojo101]

hahaha that is when u drop it down and hold one punty with ur feet and the other as high up as u can reach
or u can nail two crooked nails to ur bench and make ur punty with a maria on the end- slap it in and walk backward. but easiest for me is do it in sections, or if u have a shopmate/friend near by they can grab and help pull.

Originally Posted by FishBulb

This is a great idea! Sometimes my pulls are bigger than what I can handle on my own and while I'm pulling I'm frantically thinking HOW THE HELL AM I GONNA DO THIS?? I'll have to try this tonight.

@ "wingspan"

[jojo101]

Originally Posted by Fine Folly Glassworks

Can you substitute the end of a Thimble mandrel or large flat Cabachon/surface mandrel for the Noodlesauraus punties?

u can use any steel as a punty, u can also just use some larger diameter mandrels and wind boro in a cone shape around the end.
i would be wary of using the thimble ones tho cus i think they are hollow and mite not like htat much heat- will prolly mess up the weld on the thimble part.
i just use boro for all my pulls. mostly it is about making a cone instead of maria (see diagram) so u can build up more heat on the ends without losing control of ur gather. also will help pull evenly instead of just the core. make punty same shape as murrini

haha rough picture with paint but hope u get the idea. bottom image is what to go for

[Frit Diva]

Originally Posted by Fine Folly Glassworks

Can you substitute the end of a Thimble mandrel or large flat Cabachon/surface mandrel for the Noodlesauraus punties?

Yes, Kristina, any really sturdy cab mandrel can be used this way. The advantage of having a large metal surface to pull from is less waste and less distortion near the end of your pull. There is a non-welded heavy duty cab mandrel you can make yourself in my Cabochon Adventure tutorial, and several people I know are using it for pulling murrini (including me!). Works exactly the same as a welded steel mandrel.


Jo

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Originally Posted by grrlartist

Yes, Kristina, any really sturdy cab mandrel can be used this way. The advantage of having a large metal surface to pull from is less waste and less distortion near the end of your pull. There is a non-welded heavy duty cab mandrel you can make yourself in my Cabochon Adventure tutorial, and several people I know are using it for pulling murrini (including me!). Works exactly the same as a welded steel mandrel.


Jo

Thank you for the non-welded info! And I also looked into the Noodlesaurus Punties but they are $55 for a set... which is to steep for me right now.

It just hit me that Devardi has the cabachon mandrels so I looked at their offerings and they have them for about $9 each in a variety of sizes, so I will get some there. Here's a link if anyone is interested:

http://www.devardiglass.com/mandrels.htm

[Kris Schaible]

Kristina... thanks for looking at the site... the $55 punties are for double ended( 2 punties 4 different sized ends) the single ended are $30 a pair...

Thanks again everyone for the kids words and support....

[fyrebeadz*]

When I make murrini (and I make a lot of it) all I use is a larger (thicker) mandrel that I have designated just for making murrini, twisties and the like. Works great! I could never live without it. And what does a mandrel cost? Peanuts...

[Fine Folly Glassworks]

Donna, you have beautiful murrini for sale! Glorious combos and colors!

[dcaaw]

thank you all for such great advice, I just bought my punties too. I hope it will enhance my murrini