Quote:
Originally Posted by Vicki B.
So this week I've been working on trying to line beads with copper tubing with only moderate success. I've learned every flaw of the shape of every bead I've tried to core with some chipping because they were not even and with the coring copper splitting because I cut the cores too long. I'm working on a new batch of hopefully smaller beads (the first batch were gigantic compared to the others I see on here - I keep adding on glass trying to even the beads up).
Here are a couple questions for those of you with the beautiful linings
1. Is it better to have nice indented holes on the beads as usual or more flat ends?
2. Do you use a chasing hammer to achieve nicely domed metal on the last step? I am getting flat looking ends with the Jim Moore plastic final press.
3. Is there some secret to getting the glass on the 1/4 inch mandrels more evenly to start off with? These larger mandrels seem to resist evening up.
4. I am getting a big burr on the underside of the tubing cut with the Harbor Freight cut-off saw. It's hard to remove. Is there any way to prevent this, and how should I clean up the metal ends of the copper before I start to work with it. They seem pretty rough.
Thanks for any help you can point me to. I've searched on this forum and came up with a couple threads that had a lot of info, but maybe some others have tips too.....
|
1. With an Impress, a pucker is fine. You do need somewhere for the silver to go.
2. The domed shape is easily made by the Impress.
3. If you are using solid mandrels, that's probably your problem. They soak up a lot of heat and cool your bead from the inside, so it can't flow properly and evenly. The simple fix for tat is to preheat the crap out your mandrel all over the whole area you've dipped before you apply any glass, and then keep it happy. (ie hot)
4. If you use a good quality mini tubing cutter you will probably have no burr on the outside at all. You can clean up the inside very easily with my debur tool or some other type. A round file will work but it is more work and can't produce the same even finished edge as a debur tool made for this exact job. You can try it for 30 days. If you aren't totally happy with it I'll refund your full purchase price.
Your splitting may be due to hard copper. A lot of that rigid copper tubing is very hard. I had to anneal it or it split every time. It's easy to do. Check my FAQ page for how to do it, and a lot of other stuff.
http://host.pappapak17.com/~artinthe/faqs.htm
Regards,
Dave