Loops/ Bails
How do you put a loop or bail on your pendants?
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What's "Grab and Pull"? (I use several methods, btw. Depends on the pendant and my mood.)
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It depends on the piece. If the loop is functional, or the piece is complex hollow that will crack fast, I go with a hot bit and Peters type tool. It gets a loop fast so I can get the piece into the kiln quick.
if the loop is decorative as well as functional, and a solid, then I take the time to pull glass off the piece and form a graceful loop. It is time issue for me. The longer the piece can stay out of the kiln without the risk of a crack, the longer I can work on the loop. Solids like pendants have lots of grace time. More complex solids and hollows are difficult to reheat with out the risk of cracking due to varying thickness in the piece. I don't want to spend a lot of time forming a great piece and then have it crack because I took too long messing with the loop. If it is meant to hang and the loop in not part of the design, then go fast and simple. If the loop is part of the "line" the eye will see, then make it pleasing to the eye. Like Shawnette I use several methods to make loops. No one style fits all pieces. |
Mostly I use Handy Andys, but do use different ways as well. The only one I can't stand to do is the goal posts.
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I use bail biters - they look like long nose pliers bent inwards and then a tungsten pick to open up the hole.
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bails
This is what my bails look like. I use jet black, and put a dob in two places where I want my bail to attach, one is longer than the other, then I join them and use a reamer to even them up. Also you must be sure to pull a little on each attachment to align the glass molecules and insure that is isn't just stuck on and will break off easily. If you pull on the attachments the glass becomes one piece. It takes practice, I have been doing my bails this way for years, they are very sturdy. I have tried other ways, but this way looks great, my customers prefer them, and they don't break off.
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The way I started doing them is start with a marble like gather, smash it flat and roll it up into a tube.
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It depends on what kind of mood I'm in.
Occasionally I use the bail biters to make one, but that's not really my favorite. I've done a grab and pull, but the problem with that is that you run the risk of a thin spot near the end of the taper. It can look nice though and there's a time and a place for it. Light hollow pendants, for example, lend themselves well to it. Normally I'll hotweld a thin-ish rod, burn it off 1/2" or so from the pendant, then use tweezers and a fluffy flame to heat and bend it over and tack it close to the pendant back, shape and smooth with the flame and reamer, then use a sharp flame to make sure the end of the loop is well melted into the back of the pendant, then I give it a smooth with a flat edge. Honestly, it's faster for me than the bail biters :) |
Generally I use Handy Andys, very quick and reliable. However I use other methods depending on the piece but I would say for every thousand pendants I use Handy Andys 950 times and various other methods 50 times.
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By voting Peter's Tweezers, I really mean Handy Andy's followed up with being reamed by a tungsten pick.
Mary K, I like the look of yours better than the ones I make. Think I'll try your method the next time I'm working boro. |
Anyone do Shepherd Hook bails? If so, how do you keep the pendant from rolling around with this type of bail? Do you flatten it a little?
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I rarely do a bail this way but if I do, I make it rather wide. I am not sure if it helps keep the pendant from rolling butbmine don't roll.
Otter |
If it's for solid pendants and things like that, what i've been doing lately is creating a gather where I want my loop to be, melting it in nicely to pendant. Then using my jacks i pull slightly for the seal and flatten the whole gather, reheat, and bend the top to touch the bottom. Then using jacks flare out the hole and shape the bail. Makes really nice, quality bails this way.
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On pendants---I am leaning toward goal posts that I join and work with graphite reamer into a hoop. So I make a 1/4 inch long post on the distal side of what becomes the hoop- then a 1/2 inch long post on the front side--- pull the rod to size the diameter-- then join the posts and work the reamer to shape the hoop. I have tried pre-constructing hoops--- and also just pulling bails freestyle- sometimes I get good result, but sometimes a mess. I am always trying to find ways of getting repeatable consistent results--- to have better control of my end product.
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I put a ball of color on for the loop. Heat it and pierce it with a tungsten pick. Then use a graphite reamer to shape it.
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Right on Cosmo!
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I've never been good at 'hand-made' loops - no matter how hard I try they tend to end up being misshapen or crooked.
So, seeing as I have a gazillion mandrels - of varying thicknesses - from bead making, I do the spacer bead on a mandrel method, which works well for me. I tend to make mine from scratch while I'm working, rather than make them beforehand and garage them. Spacer beads only take about a minute to make and I can go with the colors of the piece, and can decide on the size on the fly - rather than having to plan it all beforehand. |
I make my bails by putting a small gather on the top, condensing it down a tad, then flipping it over and letting gravity do the majority of the work.....then I tag the end to the backside....straighten up, and heat til it all flows.....and done.
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Thank you for posting pics.. I’m a newbie and can’t wait til I get good enough to try❤️
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Here's a video of how I do it:
https://vimeo.com/158129624 |
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