dots

[kahlamodie]

I have been trying to learn dots. I have made some nice beads with nice uniform, but others are giving me problems. Some of the beads come out with these little blobs of color that don`t resemble dots at all, but more like half moon shapes, and sometimes like nothing I can describe, just a small splash of color. Am I letting the base bead get too hot before applying contrasting color? Or am I pushing the glass too hard into the base bead? Or is it something totally different? Just wondering.....

[Anne Londez]

It might be that the colors you are using react with each other, or that the base color is much softer than the dot color, which then sinks in.

[Teague]

Some pictures would help, there are a lot of possibilities.

Are you talking about raised dots or melted in dots?

My guess would be that both your base bead and your stringer may be too hot when you are applying the dot. You actually want them both to be fairly cool, and warm the stringer in the outside edge of the flame (just beyond where you can actually see flame). Quickly touch down and melt off. Apply your dot perpendicular to your mandrel, or at a 90 degree angle from the bead. Then wash you bead in the flame to make sure it adheres and the bead doesn't get to cool. Also, if you want a bunch of dots to be the same size, try applying them all, then melting them all in. Sometimes a previously melted in dot will spread out more if you are melting in neighboring dot.

Teague

[JanMD]

Originally Posted by kahlamodie

Or am I pushing the glass too hard into the base bead? Or is it something totally different? Just wondering.....

I don't push the glass into the base bead at all. I just let the dot color rod (or stringer -- easier to control!) get a semi-molten gather on it and then just touch the gather to the base bead (which is fairly cool, come to think of it). Lift it up and let the flame cut it.

I most heartily recommend finding an experienced person to watch do this. It's kind of hard to explain in words but a cinch to show someone. If you can't find anyone to show you this, then the next best thing is Brad and Deanna's book, Dots ---> http://www.artofbeadmaking.com/aob_dots.html. I am sure you can find it at any of the larger suppliers, such as Arrow Springs or Wale Apparatus. It's a great book!

Jan

[MistyCherie]

I was just about to recommend Brad and Deanna's book too. Definitely worth it!

[kahlamodie]

So far I have only melted the dots in. I have noticed that certain colors take longer to heat than others, and I haven`t used one opalino color yet that I haven`t scorched the crap out of. I will try to not dig into the bead with the rod, I think I have been doing that.

I have taken a class, but it was last August, and while she did show me how to do dots, it was awhile ago and I kinda forgot...

So the bead only has to be glowing, not extremely hot, to add dots? I do have a book, not the one recommended, it`s the one by Cindy Jenkins, so I`ll look over that section again. Thanks, everyone!

[Emily]

The bead itself only has to be warm enough not to crack. It shouldn't be glowing, because if it's glowing it's hot enough to change shape. You don't want your base bead to be too hot because you want it to be solid enough to keep its shape while you're putting the dots on. You want to be able to think about getting your dots well-positioned and the right size, and you don't want to have to worry about having your base bead droop out of shape while you're thinking about your dots. I guess "not quite glowing" or "just a little cooler than glowing" is where you want your base bead. You want to have gotten it nicely shaped, and then let it cool just a little so that it holds its shape. Keep it warm by flicking it in and out of the flame while you're picking up your rod or stringer for putting your dots on.

If you're putting on a dot that you intend to leave raised, you want to have the dot well attached, so it's a good idea to warm up the place on the base bead where you want to put the dot. Just give that spot on the base bead a quick flash in the flame before you touch your stringer or rod to the spot. Remember that when you're touching your stringer or rod to the bead, you need it to be perfectly perpendicular to the bead. Don't come in at an angle, or your dot will be a funny shape. Apply your dot with both the bead and the stringer/rod out of the flame, pull the stringer/rod away slightly, then bring that spot into the flame to cut it away from the bead. Don't pull the stringer/rod far away from the bead or you'll get a long thread of glass that might flop back onto your bead.

When you're applying your dot, just touch the hot glass to the bead. Don't squash it against the bead. If you're getting irregular dots, you may be pushing the glass against the bead. If you want larger dots, add more glass to the top of the dot before it's melted down. Make sure that the peak is standing straight up and isn't tilted over. You can use a tool to straighten dots up. You can remove glass from dots with a rod of the same color. You want the glass that you're removing to be HOT and the rod that you're using to remove it to be WARM. Don't get the rod too hot, or you'll add more glass. You can also take glass off with tweezers. You'll need to warm them a little, or the glass won't stick to them.

Remember that different colors of glass have different characteristics. Pastel (opaque) dots on transparents will spread out. Transparent dots on pastels (opaques) will sink in. The hotter you get the glass, the more pronounced this effect will be. Transparents are stiffer than pastels, and some transparents are stiffer than others. (The aquamarines are the worst, and bubble like crazy, too.) Remember that Effetre black is really just very dark transparent purple.

[FlameFilly]

There are a few videos on youtube.com on making beads if you want a quick fix (I usually do a search for lampwork on there).
Heres a link to a melted dot bead demo:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rDymND7nRtE

[cgreagor]

I know the Dots book is hard to come by now, you may have to put something in the garage sale to find it! Very popular!
www.firedancerjewelry.com

[MaryBeth]

My melted in dots became much better after I took a class with Jim Smircich.

Your bead should not be glowing when you apply the dots but it should be kept warm behind the flame.

Once you have applied your dots you are now ready to melt them in.

Touch each dot briefly with the flame until the tip glows orange then go on to the next dot and repeat. Occasionally flash your entire bead through the flame so it keeps its heat base.

Continue to heat each dot and move on to the next. This allows each dot to hold its shape as it melts into the base. You will probably have to move around the bead and heat each dot several times until they are all flat.

At this point you should have a base bead covered in beautiful round dots!

Remember to warm the entire bead to a faint glow after you are finished melting the dots in.

[Mantis]

Flamefilly, thank you for the link on melting in dots. It was very good. I am very new to beadmaking but absolutely love it. I just found out about this web site and it is so nice to have tutorials to watch and lots of other technical information at my fingertips.