Bullseye beads
 

I have made a lot of lampwork beads in the past using 104 COE, a minor torch and one oxycon. Since I've been fusing with bullseye glass for the past couple of years I'm considering buying some bullseye rods to make lampwork beads. Can anyone tell me what differences I might notice using this glass?

Geraldine

Geraldine, I'm not an expert in Bullseye, but from talking to those who are? It's stiffer, there are a lot more pinks and purples to choose from, and you anneal at the same temps as 104.

I think those are the key points. I believe that there are not nearly as many reactions between colors as in 104. Many years ago an instructor said that Bullseye “wants to be round” and it seemed true IMO.

I use Bullseye sometimes. As well as being a little stiffer, I think it holds heat better, so you have a bit more time to manipulate it out of the flame before it sets.
Also they do my favourite green - seaweed!

This bead is made of separate petals (clear plus different BE frits and stringer dots), kept warm then joined together on a seaweed lentil base. Sorry, it's not a great pic.

bullseye is great for sculptural work. I have been a BE user for 16 years. It has different reactions than 104, nougat does amazing things with silver. It is stiffer, but as a result doesn't "get away" from you as easily. I really enjoy it for encasing and inclusions because of it's stiffness. =)

I have a really nice stash of Bullseye and not much experience with it! I have done searches on the forum to find what others reported about the colors, especially the special production, so I know what I can expect. I see a lot of people using it for sculptural work, especially flowers, which is not really something I want to do. The translucency of most colors seems perfect for that though. Anyway, I found the old threads very helpful.

Thanks
 

Thanks everyone for the advice and sharing your experience. I was particularly interested to find you anneal it at the same temperature as 104. I'd like to try some sculptural work to enhance my fused work.
Geraldine

Many years ago my instructor told us to garage at 980F and ramp down more slowly than for 104. I am not sure that is entirely accurate though, since I have learned that 104 can be garaged much lower than the old standard of 960F. The Bullseye site has a ton of technical information, but I find very little specific to beads. They do have a lot of info regarding annealing for fusing.