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Old 2011-02-17, 10:22am
Lorraine Chandler's Avatar
Lorraine Chandler Lorraine Chandler is offline
Salt Box Beads
 
Join Date: Oct 23, 2005
Location: Heading to Paradise
Posts: 4,161
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Babbles View Post
Okay, I have to ask . . . what is "the secret"?
Sorry guys, I just now got back to this thread. I have the secret in one of my bead books. It's Beads of glass by Cindy Jenkins, the artist is Larry Scott and the instructions are on page 68.

Kevan, I hear ya, I know what you are saying when you want perfectly round. The bead will be perfectly round, no dimples at the bead holes. It looks like a marble with holes. It is not toroidal shaped at all.

It is so much easier to see the pictures of Scott making the bead. You can practice with two different colors until you get the hang of it.

I will try to explain. If you make a small thin tube 1 inch long on your mandrel you would then wind transparent glass on the left side as if you were going to make a hollow. Then wind some opaque glass on the other side same way as if you are going to make a hollow. Make these winds thin, straight and pretty tall.

The secret is to make the winds in from the egdes. You do not want to wind right at the very edges of your base bead, leave a little poking out on each end, maybe 1/32 of an inch or so.

Then you add heat ( gently) directly between the wheels, slowly rotating, flashing the whole bead every so often to keep it warm, and as you concentrate the heat between the wheels it will "of course " flow together and when you are done it will be perfectly round. I KID YOU NOT! If I can do it anyone can do it.

The bead length is determined by the base bead length and the size is determined by how much you wind on at each end.

Using the two colors at first really lets you see how the bead shapes itself and you will be a pro at it in no time. It is very easy peasy.

Thank-you Larry, and if it is okay with Kevan? I would like to hear back how this works for you and anyone else and pictures too...maybe?

Last edited by Lorraine Chandler; 2013-08-25 at 11:37am.
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