One bead per mandrel? Am I a 'tard? - Page 2

Copperrein · #31 2011-01-03, 1:45pm

You people are INSANE!

I am going to have to try this more...just 'cause it looks wicked

rosemarie23 · #32 2011-01-03, 1:55pm

I used to do 6 per mandrel, keeping them all hot at once since there are multiple steps. I have backed off to 4 - it seems to be faster per bead that way.

I also do 2 of this style (like these, but bigger) of big hole beads at once.

jaci · #33 2011-01-03, 1:56pm

easier with a big bushy hot head flame

and 2 or 3 is the MAX I will do with BHB's... again, on a good day!! LOL

Kalera · #34 2011-01-03, 2:07pm

The advantage for me is that if I only do one per mandrel, I quickly run out of room in my kiln during a torch session; I use a lot of frits and silver, which can be "sticky", and I don't want them to touch.

The more elaborate the beads, the fewer I can do per mandrel; plain spacers, I can do 6, but something with a lot of dots or encased florals I don't try to do more than 2.

houptdavid · #35 2011-01-03, 2:27pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Copperrein

You people are INSANE!

Steph...you just realised this????

Copperrein · #36 2011-01-03, 5:02pm

David no...but it *is* a new year, just wanted to restate

Lisi · #37 2011-01-03, 9:15pm

You don't have to stress yourself by trying to make more than one bead on a mandrel. I never do and I never will. I did try it once or twice with spacers and I thought it was too stressful. I like to focus on one bead at a time, and no thanks to the snap crackle and pop. I work with a Bobcat which has a narrow flame and no radiant heat.

I make all of my beads the same size and within .5mm (or less!) of each other in a set. For a set of 9, I make 11 and pick two out to set aside to match up to another set later. I rarely have to go back and make more to complete a set.

I wrote a FREE tutorial in the Tutorials section on how to get your beads all the same size and shape, using ONE mandrel. I offered to do this as a video tutorial a long time ago and no one wanted to PAY for it. People had answers like, "I measure the rod with a Sharpie" or "I use a Beadroller". Okay...but what are you really learning, the hard way to do it?? I'm from the old school of lampworking and I was taught that heat, gravity and "eye level" were my friends. They still are.

So if you really wanna learn how to do the best way, the tutorial is there. If anyone cares to read it....

Mermaid Glass · #38 2011-01-03, 9:27pm

Well, I don't actually find it stressfull to make multiple beads on a mandrel. I find it both time- and cost-effective. It uses less gas, less oxy and less time to make 6-10 beads per mandrel and that's what I like most about it - the lack of waste. I don't know what "old-school" has to do with it. I've been making beads for a long time and I don't find anything hard about making multiple beads per mandrel - it just takes practice and skill. Personally, I like being efficient - working smarter, not harder.

shawnette · #39 2011-01-03, 9:32pm

The most I've ever done was 10 but 1 cracked so after that I stick with 6-8. I can do 3 pressed beads on a mandrel but I usually stick to 2. (I use a baby bottle for my release to get a deep dip.)

Mermaid Glass · #40 2011-01-03, 9:35pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by shawnette

The most I've ever done was 10 but 1 cracked so after that I stick with 6-8. I can do 3 pressed beads on a mandrel but I usually stick to 2. (I use a baby bottle for my release to get a deep dip.)

Me too. I actually use an old squeeze mustard bottle, but it's the same idea. The more, the merrier!

truegem · #41 2011-01-03, 10:27pm

I can do 4 spacers on a mandrel. Yes, the drama about that word was in the family room.

PerfectDeb · #42 2011-01-03, 11:28pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by patienthand

ugh.. didnt ya learn from the last blow up about using that word?

but the secret is.. keep everything hot all the time, so keep rehating the other beads on the mandrel all the time. I can get about 6, but know others who can get 10

i can get six up on one mandrel but i do the exact opposite - i figure they are so small they wont crack anyway, so i move on to the next one and dont go back and reheat the ones that are done, then i shove the whole lot in the kiln, never lost one yet - but i am making small spacers 6 or 7 mm

SuzyQ · #43 2011-01-04, 5:03am

Multiple pressed beads on a mandrel! That's impressive to me

I don't find it stressful to do multiples on a mandrel, I find it a challenge. When you are making hundreds of the same bead for a wholesale order sometimes a challenge keeps you plodding along.

SuzyQ · #44 2011-01-04, 5:06am

Lisi, don't you think part of why you can be so consistent has to do with the thousands of round beads you have made? I would much rather make a pair on one mandrel because I know I can get them the same size.

ellyloo · #45 2011-01-04, 8:26am

now that i can do multiple on one mandrel, it stresses me out to do ONE on one mandrel.

Arrrrgh, look at all that SPACE....

rosemarie23 · #46 2011-01-04, 8:33am

I do not find it stressful to make multiples on a mandrel - I get into a rhythm and it is very meditative. I work on a Bobcat and like the thin flame concentrating on only one bead at a time. I think if I moved to a Minor, my whole system would be messed up!

A lot of the time spent in making beads (for me, I know we're all different) is waiting and letting the bead cool and settle. I can have one bead settling while working on the next.

Diane Woodall · #47 2011-01-04, 9:01am

This is a great thread. Like anything else, making more than one bead to a mandrel just takes practice. When another bead friend asked me years ago how I made my earring beads matching in size I said, "I just make 6 of them and pick the best 2". At the time it was the sad truth.

Another bead friend asked me why I didn't just make them two to a mandrel and I laughed at such an insane suggestion....until I tried it. It's actually not that tough to do as long as you keep both beads warm. If they are encased you can get two perfectly matching beads every time by just adding a little extra clear where you need it. You can't do pressed beads this way as easily, but round ones are a snap.

Definitely the most effective way to make earrings beads. As far as spacers go....definitely three or more to a mandrel.

KJJames · #48 2011-01-04, 10:03am

Okay, I am having a little trouble wrapping (pun intended) my head around the "don't go back and warm the other beads" thing. It seems contrary to all I have read and learned.

For example, when you are working on a longer bead, you need to go back and keep the areas of that bead that are not in the flame warm. Is this because it is all one bead? Is the difference here because each of these smaller beads are individual and once they are out of the flame they should be okay till you get them in the kiln, within a reasonable amount of time?

I'm so confused.....

Kalera · #49 2011-01-04, 10:20am

If it's a single bead, the difference in temperature from one end to the other will make it crack.

It's not the getting cold that makes glass crack, it's having part of the bead (typically the core) at a different temperature than another (typically the outside). With very, very small spacer beads, they are so tiny that the core doesn't have the chance to stay much hotter when the surface cools, so you can leave them be while you make more on the mandrel. With larger beads, you must keep them warm.

I also don't find it stressful to make multiple beads on a mandrel. It's just a different working rhythm, one you get used to. I usually make four on a mandrel when I'm making 14-15mm rounds.

KJJames · #50 2011-01-04, 1:03pm

Thank you Kalera. I'm putting that together now with something I read recently in Contemporary Lampworking. I think it's starting to make sense. Okay, I'm getting it now.

Thank you

PerfectDeb · #51 2011-01-04, 1:10pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJJames

Okay, I am having a little trouble wrapping (pun intended) my head around the "don't go back and warm the other beads" thing. It seems contrary to all I have read and learned.

For example, when you are working on a longer bead, you need to go back and keep the areas of that bead that are not in the flame warm. Is this because it is all one bead? Is the difference here because each of these smaller beads are individual and once they are out of the flame they should be okay till you get them in the kiln, within a reasonable amount of time?

I'm so confused.....

havent you ever noticed that when a bead cracks its because you put it back in the flame too late and it got a little too cold? - the difference between the flame heat and the heat in the kiln is huge so even if the bead has cooled a little the difference to the kiln is not much and thats not as much of a shock

also, i regularly let really small beads cool on my work bench, especially test beads, if i decide i really want to keep them i throw them in the cold kiln before i turn it on

KJJames · #52 2011-01-04, 1:23pm

I have Deb, and I think that is why I was getting confused. However, I was thinking solely about working big. Not small. Kalera's explanation cleared it up for me. It also has me thinking I am going to start making more than one spacer per mandrel! I'm not going to get crazy or anything. 3 -4 to start, but before you know it...

PerfectDeb · #53 2011-01-04, 1:33pm

i'd never make more than one big bead per mandrel - no way - spacers only

Beadbug · #54 2011-01-05, 6:15pm

I have 50 5/32 (pandora sized) mandrels and am now up to putting up to 18 on a mandrel, this is an old photo. I might loose 1 or so out of every 50. I wear these on my bracelets all the time and have never had any crack unless they took some harsh abuse. I don't go back and reheat unless it is a striking color. With a striking color I do 4 beads then every bead I go back and reheat the 4th one back to get it to strike. Did that make any sense?

Here is how I display these at shows.

Mermaid Glass · #55 2011-01-05, 6:23pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beadbug

I have 50 5/32 (pandora sized) mandrels and am now up to putting up to 18 on a mandrel, this is an old photo. I might loose 1 or so out of every 50. I wear these on my bracelets all the time and have never had any crack unless they took some harsh abuse. I don't go back and reheat unless it is a striking color. With a striking color I do 4 beads then every bead I go back and reheat the 4th one back to get it to strike. Did that make any sense?

Here is how I display these at shows.

OK, now that's impressive!

Plus - just a heads up - I'm totally stealling your little cupcake display idea. I hate to be an idea-thief, but that's just too cute!

SuzyQ · #56 2011-01-05, 6:28pm

Oh wow Tracy. I totally bow down to your multiple beads on a bhb mandrel greatness! I do 4 spacers and keep them heated. I am going to have to try more using the never go back method.

echeveria · #57 2011-01-05, 6:29pm

O.M.G

houptdavid · #58 2011-01-05, 7:19pm

OK that IS SICK!
I made 72 once and it took me most of the afternoon 3-4 on a mandrel

SilverRiverJewelry · #59 2011-01-05, 7:58pm

Holy wow lol! I was thrilled when I made it to 4 spacers on a mandrel consistently and two if they were more than just spacers. Hmmm going to have to give the whole not reheating thing a try too I think.

zen-mom · #60 2011-01-05, 8:14pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrissij

I don't keep all the beads warm. Nope. I'm not that freakin' coordinated nor am I that focused. If you never take the bead you just made back into the flame, it won't crack. Make a bead. Travel an inch or so down the mandrel. Make a bead. Travel an inch or so down the mandrel. Make a bead. (You can put them even closer together if you aren't using striking glasses.)

Yup ^^^ This, exactly. That's I get 6-8 on a mandrel and all about the same size.