How do I make beads without sharp edges?

[karemjm]

Help!!! I'm using a hot head torch and have just started making beads. I took a class about 7 years ago, got interested but then life happened and I put all my stuff away. I've now in a place where I can start making beads again. It's not like riding a bike for me though, I feel like I'm starting over again. The main problem I'm having now is that every bead I make has sharp edges when it comes off the mandrel. What am I doing wrong. I'm taking my time and really watching and taking my time. Only when I let the molten glass melt back over the mandrel, can I make it correctly. Can someone give me some tips as to what to do, so I can move on. I know that it's practice, practice, practice, but do you have any tips.

Thank for your time,
Karen

[Chris Juedemann]

Layer the glass vertically, not horizontally. It should be almost a disc shape. Then slowly melt it in on itself. It will naturally round out and have nice puckered edges.

Chris

[Johan]

What he said^

[Mike_Aurelius]

You can also marver it out thinner, which pushes the glass out towards the edges.

Practice practice practice!

This is pretty common in "first beads" and as you get more experienced you will have happen less often. Use less heat so that the glass is cooler and doesn't flow quite so easily - the better the glass flows, the more likely it is to move to the center as you spin the mandrel. Also slow down your spinning. Centrifugal force plays into this along with heat. Slow down and cool down.

[richsantaclaus]

Karen, I lay down a small "foot" and make it as round as I can. Then add glass on top of that "foot" to make the bead larger - good luck!

[naughty pirate wench]

Hi Karen:

Welcome to the fabulous world of making your own beads! You've received some great suggestions so far; I'll add what little I know to that.

Sharp edges usually mean you haven't added enough glass to your bead.

Molten glass wants to shrink back on itself, so if you don't lay down enough glass on your footprint, as you heat the glass to make your bead round, the glass will move toward the center of the bead, drawing glass away from the edges and making them sharp.

When I am faced with this challenge, I usually start by laying an extra wrap of glass on the ends of the bead, not the center, then I carefully melt it in so the new glass is bonded to the original footprint. I finish my shaping of the end, then pretty much leave it alone, except for flashing it in the flame to keep it warm so it won't crack.

My best advice for newbie beadmakers? Make a bunch (and I mean A BUNCH - like a hundred or so {at least :evilLaugh}) of plain round beads. Don't fiddle with cylinders, or bicones, or whatever - just allow yourself to become familiar with handling molten glass. Once you're comfortable with making plain round beads, you can play with decorating them and move on to different shapes.

The suggestions mentioned above are an excellent way to create a round bead - first make a very narrow footprint of glass on your mandrel, then add wraps of glass on top of that footprint so you have a disk-shaped bead. Gently heat everything until the disk-shaped bead droops into a round-shaped bead. Check your ends, add additional glass if necessary, and pop that sucker in the kiln.

Do you have access to any glass books? The one I'd recommend for making beads is Corinna Tettinger's book, Passing the Flame. Check your local library to see if they have it - that way you can try before you buy. :D

Another great source of information is YouTube - a number of glass artists have very kindly posted video tutorials showing how certain techniques are done.

Keep asking questions, and be sure to post pics of your work in the Galleries section. Start a personal thread for yourself, and post pics as you develop your skills - this way, you have a visual record of the progress you've made. Too, if you've got questions about a specific technique, pictures are worth a thousand words to those trying to help you.

Best,
Chris

[Shawn T]

Karen you have gotten some excellent advice.

One thing I would like to add is to make sure when you add your "footprint" the first wrap of glass to your mandrel that you are holding your glass and mandrel at a right angle, 90 degrees. By holding your mandrel straight and adding glass centered also holding your rod straight your more likely to get a good solid footprint without sharp edges when you begin to melt your glass onto itself.

Also remember gravity can either be your friend or your worst nightmare. Be cautions of gravity and how it effects the moving glass.



Example; A ________B (mandrel)
l
l (glass rod)
l


Also remember gravity is your friend. Be cautions of gravity and how it effects the moving glass. If you have a nice end on one side and a sharp one on the other side, heat the bead and hold your mandrel down towards the end that is sharp. The glass will flow in that direction, and you can fix your sharp end.

Most of the shaping done to beads is done out of the flame.

Best of luck,
Shawn