[FourTailsLampwork]

Fantastic thread!

My local Ace Hardware still has an old-fashioned shop, and the guys there will cut 1/4" steel rods into lengths and then fine-thread one end for me -- instant knob and fan pull mandrels. They also have stainless tubing, and all I have to do is to drill through one side near the end for a puffy mandrel.

Dental tools are *great!*

An old hanger and a flexible tool extender lets me hang my rotary tool from a hook--instant Flex Shaft.

For 3/32" mandrels, a rod saw blade snapped in half is THE best bead hole cleaner I know. $3--$4 lets you clean for over a year or more.

Ask at air conditioning repair companies for equipment they have pulled out of AC units people are replacing. When I was looking for a squirrel cage blower for ventilation, my local place wanted to know how many I wanted .... for free...and did I know anyone else who wanted any? (Cool Masters Air Conditioning in Tucker, GA, by the way.) Saved them landfill and disposal fees. YMMV on that one, as I live in a hot humid area where people use AC for at least half the year. The Ace Hardware guys helped me build a vent system. (BTW, find an Ace where the men are a tad old-fashioned about craftspersonship; they will treat you fairly and right. At my Ace, I was told I needed to have my vent fabricated -- which I really did. However, the fabricators tried to get more money off the deal, and the Ace salesman got steaming angry because That Was Not The Right Thing To Do--They Quoted A Price And Then Went Back On It--and he helped me rig a safe, appropriate, working system that would pass the Mike or Robert test.)

***SHAMELESS PLUG, WITH DISCLAIMER!****Buy frit from That Frit Girl (yes, she is my sister, we are related, I am not impartial, but I think most would agree that she makes FINE frit blends!). She works in a hospital and has bags of haemostats, and she gives away free tools with purchases.