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

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  #1  
Old 2006-01-17, 10:20am
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Default Share your tips & tricks

I'm working on new pages for my student books that are handed out in my classes and want to include a tips & tricks section. Below is a start on my "list". What else as a lampworker would you have liked to have known more quickly than it took you to learn by experience or trial and error?
If I use your tip/trick, I will give you credit in the book as having submitted it. Thanks in advance everyone.
Catharine

TIPS & TRICKS

Cleaning a hollow bead, use a water-pik or the tiny jets from your vegetable sprayer at your kitchen sink.

For a bead that is being difficult to remove from the mandral, place in freezer over-night. The steel will contract with the cold and ups your chances of wiggling the bead off. If the release broke underneath and bare glass has touched the steel, the bead is stuck forever! You now own a pretty “pot sticker”, cut the mandral off at the tip and decorate your potted plants!

Build bead sets with rubinos or transparent reds towards the end of the day. Some of these glasses can turn too dark or livery if held in a kiln all day long while your torching. Large beads should be built first in the day, they have all day to absorb and soak the heat for an even temperature.

When making jewelry with bead along or thin stringing wire, stabilize the lampwork bead with larger holes, by placing 1-2mm in-expensive beads on the wire and slide lampwork bead on top over them. This stabilizies the bead so it will hang properly.

When you have bought new glass, striking the ends of striking colors before placing away in your storage racks, will let you see at a quick glance what the color will look like when cool. Some rods look very much the same in cold form, this little trick will help you keep them separated in your color bins.
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  #2  
Old 2006-01-17, 10:30am
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I use a Smircich tail stock holder, and it's available at Arrow Springs for about $7.50, I think. To me, this is one of the most important tools a lampworker can have. I use it to steady one mandrel end so I can turn and create evenly rounded beads. It really makes a difference.

This tool is so important to me that if I was teaching classes, I would make sure every student went home with one.
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  #3  
Old 2006-01-17, 7:02pm
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Thank you Lisa, I'll check that out as I've never used one. I did think of a couple more to add to the list. Hope more people will make some suggestions, I'd like a page or two for the booklet. I thought of a couple more:

For better dot placement, dot small dots on your base color with the base color glass. Once you see your placements are good, cover these dots with your "real" dot color and melt in.

Colors containing sulfur (yellow, coral, ivory, red, orange) when used with colors that contain copper (teals, greens, turquoise) will produce a dark outline where the colors meet on the bead.
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  #4  
Old 2006-01-17, 9:06pm
MaureenKennedy MaureenKennedy is offline
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Use a can of air to spray into your hollow bead to clean out release and water that spots the interior.

I never used the tailstock thing, instead I use my cheap marver with wire handle, and rest the end of the mandrel on it, taking the weight off my wrist for big beads and to help me center other beads.
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  #5  
Old 2006-01-17, 9:16pm
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When the rod gets too small to hold, just heat end and attach to another.

Easy twisties (that look complicated) - use several rods - many more clear than color - tape all together on the far end where you hold rods - carefully introduce into flame - as the bundle starts to soften begin pinching the ends together with needle nose pliers - once all rods have joined the melted tip begin pulling and twisting - I pull on the pliers while twisting the bundle

Old knives, spoons and scissors make great cheap tools

Kathy
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  #6  
Old 2006-01-17, 9:51pm
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Darn! I thought the same-color-dot "marker" was my idea! Hehe! Here's another dot tip:

To practice making dots and evenly sized beads at the same time, first make a "master" bead in a color that contrasts well with your work area. Anneal it so it won't break easily, but leave it on the mandrel. Practice making beads the size of your master, adding dots in the same color as your base if they are too small. If you heat the bead so the whole thing is molten after you melt the dots in, the circles left by the dots won't be so obvious.
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  #7  
Old 2006-01-17, 9:55pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by artwhim
When the rod gets too small to hold, just heat end and attach to another.

Easy twisties (that look complicated) - use several rods - many more clear than color - tape all together on the far end where you hold rods - carefully introduce into flame - as the bundle starts to soften begin pinching the ends together with needle nose pliers - once all rods have joined the melted tip begin pulling and twisting - I pull on the pliers while twisting the bundle

Old knives, spoons and scissors make great cheap tools

Kathy
To make my goddesses I just use a stainless steel butterknife I found for .59 at Goodwill.

Sometimes when I'm making a bead I either run out of the stringer I'm using or just decide spontaniously that I want some so I pull some off the end of the mandrel. Just heat up the end of the rod and the end of the rod, attach the blog on the rod and pull. Then burn it off.
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  #8  
Old 2006-01-17, 10:07pm
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Here's one for silver leaf that loves to suddenly fly away when you really really don't want it to....

I place my cut square/strip of leaf down on a piece of tile (you can use whatever heat safe clean work surface you may have) and I'll lay my marvering paddle down on top of it until I'm ready to use it.

Otherwise, just one breath and the stuff flutters away.
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  #9  
Old 2006-01-17, 10:50pm
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I am taking notes, thank you for all the tips! Sorry sweetie, I cant help yet, I'm a baby in lampworking. I just want to say hi!
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  #10  
Old 2006-01-18, 12:33am
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These are great so far, Maureen...I had a V-8 moment when I read about the air can! great idea my friend. Kevan, my absolute favorite, use every day bead tool is......you ready? A butter knife from a thrift store!!!(I've searched for the last year for another just like it!) lol Sheila, have to admit the placing of the dots? I can't take credit for that but I'm sharing it with my students. Lisa, yes I do the same thing too when using the leaf. Kathy, that IS a good idea you have there. Hi Edna!!! you keep on a reading, I will too and maybe we both (or all of us) might learn something we didn't know. Education comes from the most surprising places. While I'm going to gear my tips & tricks sections for my beginner class, I'll be needing some for the intermediate level too. Thanks everybody.....keep them coming
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Last edited by FiredDesires; 2006-01-18 at 12:38am.
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  #11  
Old 2006-01-18, 5:10am
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I also use canned air to clean out my bead presses... I often have just a little bead release break off, and sometimes it'll fall into the mold, so that the next time I press, ARGH... I've got release in the bead. Now, between pressings, I reach one-handed for the can of air and give it a quick blast. Bead release gone! Of course, you'll want to put your press somewhere away from frit or leaf!

Amy
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Old 2006-01-18, 5:13am
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Oh, I'll give ya one more that helps me keep my work table clean... I keep an empty two-liter soda bottle next to me... when I get down to a nub of a stringer or glass, I allow it to cool completely, and then put it into the bottle. Some of you might use every bit, but for those that decide not to, this is a great way to put it in the trash without poking anyone!!

Amy
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  #13  
Old 2006-01-18, 5:47am
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Great thread! I hope folks keep it going!

Thank you all!



Lil
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  #14  
Old 2006-01-18, 5:59am
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When I use any press, I try and only heat up the mandrel where I am going to put the glass, I don't have as much bead release breaking off in the press this way.
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  #15  
Old 2006-01-18, 6:14am
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When I have a bunch of little ends of stringer left over, I use them all together on one bead as a form of frit. I get some really wild neat looking beads!
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  #16  
Old 2006-01-18, 11:05am
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Invest in a long thin dental spatula you can use these to even up the ends of your beads makes life so much easier and BEESWAX its your best friend! use it on tools! they wont stick hardly at all. Oh and to make your own frit invest in an inexpensive coffee bean grinder that has grinder settings. Mr Coffee has one that is great.....then you can make frit as yyou please youll just need to clean it and dry it before use
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  #17  
Old 2006-01-18, 11:18am
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To make beads that will be used for earrings, wanting them to be the same size, I make both on the mandrel side by side. You can easily eyeball the size. Just make sure you share the heat so one doesn't break.

Stacia
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  #18  
Old 2006-01-18, 11:19am
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check out sgb-midatlantic.org. This website has an abundance of tips - I send all my students there to see what others have suggested.

Marjorie
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  #19  
Old 2006-01-18, 11:24am
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hmm...mmm...hmm dental spatula...mmm beeswax...
canned air...hmm unna mmm...leftover stringer....

Lil <---taking copious notes
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  #20  
Old 2006-01-18, 4:44pm
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This is a tip that I stumbled upon the other day...kinda like a duh moment. When working with raised stringer work, you always want a flat, versus balled end. If it gets too hot and balls up on you, all you have to do is introduce it to your cup/bowl of water and it will snap into a clean break. No more having to pull off the ball with the tweezers, while balancing a hot bead. That was such an ahhhhh moment.
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  #21  
Old 2006-01-18, 9:06pm
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Great tips. Keep them coming...

Christie
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  #22  
Old 2006-01-18, 9:10pm
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Excellent idea, Krissa!

Hey, the butterknife is the perfect tool. It's got a flat side if you want to flatten something, and unserrated covex sharp edge, a point at the end and a concave edge on the other side. It's lovely. Like this one




Why they need all that to cut a piece of butter with.........
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  #23  
Old 2006-01-18, 9:38pm
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I couldn't find a water pik when I went to WalMart to get one (obsolete), and had an AHA! moment when I was drifting through the baby supply section and saw the little nasal syringes for cleaning out baby noses. I got one, but later found a much softer bulb syringe (medical supply)...I use it for cleaning out hollow beads. Even the ones made on really thin mandrels come clean. I squirt water in and pump it in and out with the syringe until I finally force all the water and bead release out with a mighty squirt. It works very very well!
I anchor my silver leaf with the remnant of a hollow bead that got away from me and ended up being a big drip on my table. Sometimes I use a small piece of glass to hold it down. With gold leaf I put a piece of the pink paper over it on my work surface until I need it....and anchor that with a piece of glass rod.
I put larger glass rods on top of my kiln to warm them up until I need them. There is less risk of shocking them in the torch that way. This is good for shocky colors as well, like uranium yellow opaque.
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  #24  
Old 2006-01-18, 10:21pm
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Oh! Here's something I keep meaning to share:

Get yourself some colored permanent markers, and make white or light colored beads in the sizes and shapes you like to make. Draw patterns on the beads with the markers to try your ideas before you're sitting at the torch. It really helps with placement if you have trouble deciding where to put dots or stripes to acheive something that's in your head.
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  #25  
Old 2006-01-19, 12:02am
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Hmmm - I wish I could think of some tips for you! I have actually looked at this thread several times hoping to post something, but my mind is blank. Oh! Here are a couple...

...............

I use a toothbrush and regular soap to clean beads after they have been etched and rinsed - gets out that whitish dust that sometimes forms in the crevices.

One quick dunk in old etch solution will wash away any metallic residue that's left on turquoise or copper green beads. Same with any of the violets. If you're looking for clean color, that really helps. Dunk in old etch solution and rinse immediately.

Don't put Rubino Oro on any red or ivory color. It will create a dark brownish reaction over all of the color underneath. This isn't a cool reaction like turquoise on ivory.
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Last edited by kandice; 2006-01-19 at 12:04am.
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  #26  
Old 2006-01-19, 1:24am
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Use the pony tail cloth covered bands to band glass rods together. No nasty rotted rubber bands sticking to the rods. And no loose rods co-habitating together.
Diana
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  #27  
Old 2006-01-19, 6:48am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevan
Why they need all that to cut a piece of butter with.........
Cuz it's purdy! Now I have butter knife envy...of all things!

Lil
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  #28  
Old 2006-01-19, 7:13am
Jenn L'Rhe Jenn L'Rhe is offline
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Wow what a wonderful way to put down the quirky things that we do. Here are a couple of mine:
Use flat bottom measuring spoons for frit..put the 1/2 tsp filled inside the 1 tsp when pieces fall out they fall into the bigger spoon. And it is easy to pour back into the jar.

Put dipped mandrels into a bowl of rice...it doesn't hold moisture and cause rust like sand can.

I pour my bead release into a very small jar about 2 1/2" tall, capers maybe, just the right depth for dipping. Easy to shake up just a small amount and I sometime put 6 or so mandrels in at once, move one over slightly and pull it out then go to the next one. Seems to be a little faster. I think it lasts longer this way too.
Kay
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  #29  
Old 2006-01-19, 10:30am
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Whoohooooooooo you guys are just great!! After 8yrs of lampworking, I've now read a couple I didn't know about......I'm getting help, YOUR getting help, everybody's getting help......yeehaw
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Old 2006-01-19, 1:18pm
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Try this thread, lots of good stuff

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...ighlight=Shawn
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