Super secret cheap bead tool tip

[Heart-Fire]

Coming from a glassblowing background, I thought about the wood (dry and wet) we use for shaping the glass, and I wondered if the same would work for beads.

Experiment: Use a pencil to poke holes and make bubbles. After sharpening a pencil, I stuck it point down in the heated bead and it made a nice hole and didn't stick. (I'm going to experiment with keeping the tip more dull for a wider hole and more shallow bubble.) There was no "pencil lead" residue that I could see. There was a bit of a burning smell and a bit of the wood became charred. And...the other advantage is that I also had a pencil handy when I wanted to jot down notes about the bead experiments.

I may try charring some small wooden items of various shapes to develop a carbon layer on the outside and then use them to shape beads. I'll update this post as I work on my experiments

Findings so far:
Wood - doesn't stick to glass (not good for feathering)
Metal - sticks to glass when warm/hot (useful for raking/moving glass)

[Eileen]

How intriguing!

[dicrodi]

I have a charred block of wood next to my torch I use for all sorts of shaping. I have often wondered after watching glass blowers why we don't have more wooden tools that can be water soaked. Great idea , keep going.

[AmorphousDesigns]

I seem to recall the furnace people soaking the wood in water first, would that be a good idea for the pencil?

[Heart-Fire]

I have a charred block of wood next to my torch I use for all sorts of shaping. I have often wondered after watching glass blowers why we don't have more wooden tools that can be water soaked. Great idea , keep going.

Awesome, great to know someone else has tried using wood for shaping. A few days ago I used a dry board from the hotshop to mold my beads, but I haven't pulled them out of the annealer yet. I don't know how they'll come out. It seemed like they had a bit of a film on them when I rolled them on the board. I suspected the film, if any, could have been some wax on the board. (One of the pitfalls of having equipment shared among many people of varying skill and knowledge levels)

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll post more as I continue experiments. But it may be tough to tell the difference between something not working due to my beadmaking inexperience versus it being a tool problem. :oops::razz:

[flamingobeth]

Now my brain is doing flip-flops trying to think of all the ways to play with this idea. However, I'll have to carve any wood while DH is at work. If he thinks I've taken up yet another hobby I might not live very long!

[msy439]

Excellent idea,thanks for sharing!

[Dale M.]

Marble makers use "cherry" wood molds soaked in water to make marbles....

The reason a pencil works as a poker is the "lead" in pencil is actually graphite, not quite the same formulation as your marver and tools but yes "graphite"...

Dale

[Heart-Fire]

Marble makers use "cherry" wood molds soaked in water to make marbles....

The reason a pencil works as a poker is the "lead" in pencil is actually graphite, not quite the same formulation as your marver and tools but yes "graphite"...

Dale

Thanks Dale. Yeah, apparently different types of pencils have pencil "lead" with varying percentages of graphite mixed with clay and wax. I just used a standard #2 pencil which, as far as I can tell from my research is about 60% graphite.

I'll let you know if plain wood (soaked or dry) has the same effect as a pencil in my experiments. I suspect it should also work based on my glassblowing experience.

[Mr. Meker]

I've used pencils before. I have noticed that its best to burn off the wood for an inch or two so you don't get reside on your glass. They break really easy so I would always have a backup if its critical to finishing a piece.

[SGA]

I have small diameter graphite rods I've filed against 400 grit sandpaper to do the same. No wood involved.

[PerfectDeb]

I've been using a pencil to poke for ages :D

[RSimmons]

"Cherry' wood used in hot shops can be any fine grained hard wood. Maple works very well. Keeping it wet gives you a thin layer of steam between the wood and the glass when you are shaping. One reason why you don't see all that many wood tools for beading is a matter of mass. Small tools get hotter really fast and don't last as long. I've made marble molds out of maple that worked quite well, but I'm also a turner and have the tools to do it. Wooden tools can be more work to take care of as they need to be thoroughly soaked and stay wet when not in use. Another reason may be that there aren't all that many tool makers around willing to work in wood. If you've got them, though, wooden tools can be quite nice.

robert

Robert

[glassymom]

me too, I keep a pencil on my bench (when my kids aren't stealing it) and use it for poking holes, it makes much bigger bubble dots then my little brass pokers do. I wondered about other wood stuff too. Looking forward to what else you find!!
sue

[menty666]

I have small diameter graphite rods I've filed against 400 grit sandpaper to do the same. No wood involved.

Just be careful, graphite conducts heat really well :)

[SGA]

Just be careful, graphite conducts heat really well :)

That's the truth. After a few holes with one, I'll swap to the other one. :D

[preciousglass]

I used a graphite art stick to try to ream open a hollow bead. It turns out that the whole ratio of graphite to wax is important. I used a 6b (very soft) stick and the thing lit up like a candle. I guess I now know why.

[alb6094]

Hmmmm. I'm thinking I'd like to hunt down some of those old flat carpenters pencils if those are still around anywhere. Larger and easier to grasp and the lead is thicker and rectangular. You could actually shave the wood back about an inch and just have the lead exposed I think. Just a thought.

[tammydownunder]

I got graphite rods from our local supplier cut them to my desired length and then inserted them into a wooden dowel using A & B epoxy. I was able to make 4 reamers from 1 graphite rod. Total cost per reamer was about $3.00

[Eileen]

When you say "local supplier" what kind of store? Hardware? Welding? Art supply?
I'm clueless. Same with the "tungsten pick". I've asked several places, nobody knows what I'm talking about.

[menty666]

I got copper jacketed graphite rods from the welding shop. They're used as electrodes.

I had to buy a box of 50, but they weren't terribly expensive and I'll likely never have to buy them again.

[Eileen]

And you took the copper off?
Was it difficult if so?

[menty666]

Yep, just scraped a little off around the bottom and popped it into a pencil sharpener, easy :)

[AmorphousDesigns]

ooh, clever Menty!

[yellowbird]

most glass blowing tools are made from green fruit wood.
they last longer.

[jaci]

They also carry graphite cylinders at art supply stores for just a few bucks.

You can get square rods too. About 3"

[cheng076]

Tungsten picks are easily made from TIG welding electrodes. These electrodes come in various diameters and are usually 7" long. I get the 1/8" ones. There are several formulations such as 2% Thoriated but these formulations have no bearing for glass work. Get the cheapest you can find on the net. About $1.00 each in box of 10.

When you go to make a bent pick you will have to heat the area red hot where you want to bend the material. If you do not it will snap in two. Unheated tungsten is very brittle. Sharpen it first if you want to bend it.

The easiest way to sharpen the tungsten is to get a jar of the sharpening granules (I don't recall the chemical name just now) and follow the directions. The jar will cost about $5.00 and last a long long time. So for $15 to $18 you can make 10 picks; add in another $1.00 each for nice handles and you have a great tool for about $2.50 and some time. Go together with some friends.

[BellaBean]

I get woodless pencils at AC Moore and peel (or burn) the plastic off. They works great as graphite reamers and hole-pokers.

[DesertDreamer]

I use a draftsman's mechanical pencil with a 6H (very hard, high graphite) lead. The tip is metal, but I can also extend the lead far enough that the metal never contacts the glass. The lead is fairly thick so it's pretty sturdy. You can also get a pencil sharpener for colored pencils at most art supply stores that will give you a rounded point.

Another nice, cheap pokey tool is nail setters. They're used to push nails just below the surface on hardwood floors. I got a set of three at Harbor Freight for $2.99.