Any tips for skull press?

[redlegwife1996]

My sister just bought me a Bavarian Beads skull press (the 3D small). I've never used any kind of press before.

Are there any tips, tricks, advice? Is it hard to figure out how much glass needs to be on the mandrel? Can you press more than once? How would I do some kind of sugar skull details while keeping the face from melting off?

Anything else you can offer up in advice or instruction I would be forever grateful. I'm still a noob in pretty much every sense at bead making! LOL

[myrdlebp]

I would have sworn to gawd that DeAnne, theglasszone , had a tut for that but I can't find it.

Maybe pm her or someone with better search skills will chime in?

Sorry that I am of no help to you!

[purpledragonfly]

I have one. I just played around until I figured out how much glass. yes you can press more than once if you are very careful. You just have to be careful not to break your bead release. I did some sugar skulls with mine as well, just turn down your heat, but remember to keep your bead warm while adding the details.

[Kitty]

Hey....I use presses a lot and there is definitely a learning curve for each one. The best advice i can give is make sure that your base bead is as wide as the skull from one side of the mandrel to the other. It is better to have to add glass on the top and bottom little by little than to have to add glass to the mandrel.


I use the sludge bead release because I am extremely abusive to my glass.

Also if you get the right amount of glass but the details arent sharp enough...flame polish and press again and then heat gently and pop into kiln. I hope you will post some examples...

[Flamin' Francesca]

Another little trick that I find helps is to mark the mandrel with the length of the press so that you get the correct footprint. I use a Sharpie and make a mark on the bead release where the top and bottom of the footprint should be. The mark will burn off but it usually lasts long enough to help with the size of the footprint.

[redlegwife1996]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to have to try to mark the mandrel for the footprint.
This was the fourth one I made. The first one was a bit a full and ended up with elephant ears LOL and the next two weren't full enough. This one was pretty close to being good I think.

[mcorey01]

Just thought I would pop in and add this:
You can use clay to fill the press to determine the amount you will need on the mandrel. Just place clay on the mandrel and press. You may have to add more until you have a good impression. I use a dusting of corn starch on the press to make sure the clay releases from the press easily. After you have determined the amount you need, roll the clay in a ball and use it as a way to compare the amount of glass you need on the mandrel before pressing.

[caliente]

Looks great, Christina! I have the flatter one that doesn't have the protruding back of the skull. Love it. Just wanted to say that if you end up with elephant ears, all is not lost. You can just heat them up, pluck off some glass with tweezers and re-press until you get the shape. Also, adding glass only on the top and bottom and not on the sides (where the press comes together) can help reduce that.

[redlegwife1996]

Great tips! Thanks so much you guys!