Swirled beads. How they are made?

[tanarele]

I would like to know, how those beads are made. Maybe there is tutorial somewhere, or it could be described in words? My intention is to make replicas of opaque ancient roman beads, which look like this:

also i found images of swirl marble beads, which looks close to what i am looking for. I only guess, that all of them might be made using the same technique. These are German glass marble beads. Not so old as roman beads, but vintage:



Though some of them are made with clear, my main question is about making opaque swirl on opaque base. Can it be made on a mandrel? i had an idea of making marble ball, and then making a hole with diamond drill.. but i doubt they were made this way..

[fourpawsglass]

Look for the Flame Patterned Marble Tutorial by Drew Fritts on The Flow magazines website.

[Mesnik]

Or get his new ebook!

[tanarele]

Fourpawsglass, thank you, i found it, but it looks like these are not beads.

[Eileen]

You could heat the bead on one side, and gravity swirl it, then do the other side and gravity to do the other way, but I'm not sure they would be as even as you are trying to make.

[kansassky]

These may be machine-made and therefore hard to duplicate.

[Croft Eeusk]

The swirls in modern factory marble work are caused when the molten glass rolls down a metal forming tool as it cools before dropping into a container.

There are a number of posts here on LE about gravity swirl in beads - to find them use the 'Search' link at the top of the page.

If a swirl technique, it would take a lot of stringer practice first along w/good heat control. Those would take a bunch of practice controlling the heat in order to keep the lines that evenly spaced. So you'll need a lot of PPP in that as well.

Most swirl beads use frit or lines of color & the glass is simply moving w/the help of gravity as it heats.

Hayley has a tut for sale as well:

http://envisionsf.blogspot.com/2009/...-swirl_14.html


dj

[Magma]

I have a tutorial with a similar effect using dichroic in my Etsy shop



Régis

[KJohn]

Eileen hit it on the head regarding the swirls going off to one side, as opposed to the typical gravity swirl which is centered. Stripe, then melt down. Then heat one end gently. It will start to pull. Switch to the other. Keep the side you are not working on cool.

Magma's tut is on my bucket list for sure.

[Floorkasp]

The big German marble beads are something that I have researched and some of it is published in my latest book 'Beads from Germany' which can be downloaded for free on my website www.beadmuseum.com. These beads are mostly about 100 years old.

It seems that the swirly beads you made are all made somewhat differently. None appear to be machine made to me. When it comes to the German marble beads, they are made off mandrel. They are made from a cane with stripes and lines in them, a pulled cane. The glass is molten into a sphere, and twisted. So basically, how a twisted marble is made. It is then pierced with a hot tool to make it into a bead. To my surprise, the piercing does not distort the swirls. Some of the marble beads that are around are actually drilled, but not the original marble beads from Lauscha, Germany. Heather Trimlett showed me a version very similar to how the Germans probably did it, so that was my 'proof; that it could be done.

[Ancasta]

Hi there Tanarele, what is the source of your original image?

[Larysa]

I've seen a video of a very similar beads making the old primitive style. Just got on it while looking for lampworking techniques. Two men demonstrated making the beads using some kind of stove. It seems it was not in English (they looked like Greek). He just laid colorful ribbons or canes side to side in a different pattern on a black pastel beads. Looked pretty simple. In old times they could not do elaborate beads as we do now. They did not have such a precise heat control. If I come across that video again I will post it.