Marking your rods - easy!

FosterFire · #1 2011-05-18, 2:41pm

I have recently gotten rods that look alike mixed up. I forgot about this until I stumbled across one I had done a long time ago.

You can write on your rods with sharpie! If you need to make notes you can even heat the end, squash it and then write on the "paddle". You can write on dark or black rods with silver sharpie.

FYI - the sharpie burns right off, you aren't wasting glass or fighting sticker residue.

SilverReflections · #2 2011-05-18, 2:43pm

What a good idea, I don't know why I didn't think of it - I love sharpies!

Tina

crystalflipz · #3 2011-05-18, 8:13pm

I use sharpies all the time, especially to mark different types of clear glass. Aether gets a band of black around the top, Reichenbach Crystal gets a band of silver, Moretti a band of blue. I like the silver better than the black for opaque rods because it shows up on both light and dark colors.

Rareripes · #4 2011-05-19, 1:56am

Great idea!I didn't label my glass properly when i first started buying it.didn't know nutting about Coes..just went to Ebay and glass sites and bought pretty stuff.Its been a nightmare figuring out what my early glasses are and now I band them together with those plastic tightener thingys but need to label individually...going the Sharpie Route..thanks!

Winter Fire · #5 2011-05-19, 9:58am

Wow, thanks for the timely tip. I finally got tired of guessing which rod was which and was just on my way to buy some labels. So now I'll go buy a silver Sharpie instead.

ElementalsDesign · #6 2011-05-19, 11:20am

I luvs Sharpies.. what a good idea. Never thought of that (I just LUVS Sharpies ;}.

My son (14) calls me the "Sharpie Queen"

~Rachel

sweetiedog · #7 2011-05-19, 12:47pm

I do this with all my sheet glass for fusing. Didn't think to try it with my lampworking rods too. Good idea. It also washes off easily with a quick spritz of rubbing alcohol.

Rareripes · #8 2011-05-19, 3:01pm

Hi Winter Fire..welcome to LE!

kartwheel · #9 2011-05-20, 1:23am

Thanks for the great tip, Robin. Labels are such a pita.

Love your bead release too.

sparrow · #10 2011-05-20, 1:42am

Lol, what a fab idea - there's a sharpie in my studio *scuttles off to find it!*

dpglassworks · #11 2011-05-20, 3:06am

Very smart!!!!!!!!!

beadsoncypress · #12 2011-05-20, 3:47am

thanks for the reminder!

Sadie Mae · #13 2011-05-20, 4:47pm

Wish I had done that before I combined my white and anice...................sigh
Any ideas on how to tell them apart with out paddling each one like they were naughty? (yes, my humor is quirky)

Sadie Mae · #14 2011-05-20, 4:55pm

forgot to tell ya--great idea!

FosterFire · #15 2011-05-20, 7:22pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sadie Mae

Wish I had done that before I combined my white and anice...................sigh
Any ideas on how to tell them apart with out paddling each one like they were naughty? (yes, my humor is quirky)

In general, the anise will be rough to the touch while the regular white will be smooth. If that's no help then you are stuck with heating the ends. On the plus side, they look different immediately. All my anise has been yellowish looking in the flame before it goes clear, then back to white.

Sadie Mae · #16 2011-05-20, 8:22pm

I did notice a texture difference, but then saw in other places how that's not as accurate as you would hope! I'm sure the color will reveal all....!
Thanks for answering!
Smiles, Sheri

Angie09 · #17 2011-05-21, 4:56am

Quote:

Originally Posted by FosterFire

I have recently gotten rods that look alike mixed up. I forgot about this until I stumbled across one I had done a long time ago.

You can write on your rods with sharpie! If you need to make notes you can even heat the end, squash it and then write on the "paddle". You can write on dark or black rods with silver sharpie.

FYI - the sharpie burns right off, you aren't wasting glass or fighting sticker residue.

Hi Robin,

This is a great idea .... I have all my rods labeled with white address labels so when I look at my WALL of glass, all I see is white labels. This would actually allow me to see the glass!!!

May I ask ... what all do you include in a normal "label" with a sharpie? (ie. E-261)

FosterFire · #18 2011-05-21, 12:58pm

I don't bother to label things that are obvious. For instance, all of my acid yellow is bright neon yellow with a rough texture, nothing else looks like it, so no label needed.

I have 4 different kinds of avocado. They are just numbered. I guess you could think of them as batches "avo1", "avo2" and so on. The 1st batch is oldest. There is one paddle in there to show what it looks like. All my effetre is together, so that doesn't need to be on there and there is usually one label from the supplier anyway.

Anise white just gets an A on it, I just use the simplest possible solution.

If the rods are fat enough, you can just write on the rod itself, no paddle needed. Some of my silver glass is rather skinny so I paddle a few, write on it, and then rubber band it into the bundle. It's easy to paddle as you go, too. I am not making huge paddles, just squishing the end part to be big enough to write on. For Double Helix, I put DH and then the name and if I bought 2nds I will add the number 2 behind the name.

I'm not too persnicketty about all this. If it turns into to too much trouble I won't do it, so I try to keep it simple. For example: if the color is common, like black, then it is designated as the default for no label at all. If a color comes in that looks close to enough to black to cause confusion then that's the one that gets labeled. Also, if it's a special or expensive batch like curdled ivory then it gets labeled.