Best glass for beads
 

Hello,

What would be the best soft glass for bead making? I bought some glass but it is really hard and difficult to work with


Thanks

Most common glass for beads is probably 104 COE.

If you are using 33, that is borosilicate, and it takes a lot of heat to get it to move, but people do make beautiful beads with it.

COEs 96 and 90 are harder than 104, but nothing like 33. 96 and 90 both have beautiful colors, although there may be a little steeper learning curve from what others have said.

It's probably not the glass, we'd need to know what torch you're using.

Basic inexpensive Effetre transparents and pastels are a great start. You can buy them by the rod from Howacoglass.com

I have a Red Max Bench Burner torch. I have purchased some glass rods and they had very hard glass. I have to keep them very hot and the glass is difficult to move. I am just curious what the preferred glass Is for bead making. I know people have different preferences but is there a common ?


Thanks

You should be able to do boro (if that's what you have) on your Red Max, depending on oxy. But basically what Eileen and Kathy said. 104 coe like Effetre, CIM, Double Helix, etc. would be the most used for beads.

Sounds like you have boro.