I suck making beads

[donnam]

I keep avoiding learning how to make beads because my beads suck. I mean really suck. I haven't turned on my torch for almost a year. I either need to figure this out or sell all of the glass I have started stockpiling over the past few years. Seriously.

So here come the stupid questions....

So, I wonder, how do know if my flame is hot enough or that I have enough oxy to melt boro? I can get the rod to melt, but when I go to wrap it around the mandrel I cannot get it to evenly apply around the mandrel even though it started out a glowing orange color. Once I get the glass on the mandrel I cannot get it to melt or change shape no matter how much I heat it up. I do okay if it is soft glass (ok for a newbie that is...).

I have a cricket and one functioning oxygen concentrator. I have 2 set up, but there is something wrong with the second one as it keeps flipping the fuse on the machine within a few seconds after turning it on. Shouldn't this set up be enough to melt boro? Should I replace my second concentrator so I get more oxy/heat?

I also think I have too much of a ventilation system as my flame is moving a bit when my ventilation is on. I bought a 1000 cfu fan off ebay years ago and that is what my hubby set up for me. My mouth gets dry sometimes after using the torch and I don't know if that is normal or if it is from too much ventilation sucking the air out of the room.

I really don't want to give up, but I don't know what else to do. I also feel bad because my hubby has spent a lot of time setting this area up for me and I don't use it!! Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Kalera]

Originally Posted by donnam

I keep avoiding learning how to make beads because my beads suck. I mean really suck. I haven't turned on my torch for almost a year. I either need to figure this out or sell all of the glass I have started stockpiling over the past few years. Seriously.

I hate to tell you this, but your whole problem is right there.

The ONLY way to learn to make nice beads is by making a whole lot of beads. There is no "figuring it out" other than by actually melting glass. I made ugly beads for years, and the only way I got better was by making more beads. Most people go through a LOT of glass before you end up with something saleable, or even pretty. Getting the footprint right, finding your "sweet spot" in the flame, heat control... all of these things can only be learned through practice.

For boro beads, you may simply need to work closer to the torchface. The second oxycon will certainly help, but what you have should be enough for beads.

[donnam]

I understand the PPP principle, I don't expect my beads to be works of art overnight lol. I will be happy if I can make a simple boro frit bead that is somewhat round!

How close to the face of the torch should I work when I use boro? Here are two of the beads that I attempted to make this morning.

[Lorraine Chandler]

Most first beads are wonky. There is a saying that after you have made 1000 spacer beads you will know how to make a bead. The 3 P's are Practice Practice and Practice. Buy 3 pounds of cheap glass and use it all up making beads, just spacers if that's all you can do.

There are some really nice lampworkers in Maine. There are classes to be had in Maine. There are videos to watch on You tube for FREE. Read everything on ventilation in the studio thread and read the safety threads. There is a lot info here but a lot of it won't make sense until you attend a beginner class or an introduction class.

I guess what I am saying is some of what I have learned has been self taught but I would say 75% has been from books, Videos, tutorials, classes and Lampworking forums.

Please invest in a class or two and try to get with local lampworkers. If you have to drive 3 hours to get to a meeting and stay in a hotel it is well worth it. MAine Area Lampworkers is one:


http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...ighlight=Maine



Some lampworkers have at least two torches set up and love playdays. You would be surprised what you will learn from just a meeting of lampworkers or with a playday.

This way your DH won't lose that investment and you won't feel badly. You will have lots of aha so that's how you do it moments in a class. They are worth the effort to get to one and the costs involved.

Hang in there and push through. You will be amazed at how much easier it all becomes after taking a class or two.

PS you sound like the type of person that cleans the house before the housekeeper gets there...LOL I can relate to that!!! You want to be able to make a decent bead BEFORE you go to a class. I can completely understand that.

I got what you were saying, but really the teachers don't care what your level is in a beginners class because some students have not even torched before, and the other students are concentrating on making beads and usually not paying attention to anyone else except the teacher. Teachers are used to students dropping big globs of glass onto the work surface. I still do that! Please know that everything you are thinking or feeling lots of us have been there and some are right there with you right now. You are not alone.

Lorraine

[donnam]

...and I can't imagine you ever making an ugly bead Kalera! Your beads are so pretty!

[BellaBean]

You should see my first beads! Yuck!!!!! Not even pretty enough for the fishtank!

I learned to torch boro first in a flamework sculpture class. Then I went home, got a hothead and started trying to make soft glass beads. What a fiasco! I got the glass so soupy that it dripped off the mandrel onto my lap! Now that I've been mostly working soft glass, I noticed that I get frustrated with boro. I can make a halfway decent soft glass bead in under five minutes! Boro, on the otherhand sometimes takes 1/2 hour + just for a simple round bead. The glass just doesn't flow as quick. You've got to melt, melt some more, melt even more, and by then the glass is just starting to move. I'm not that patient. If I use boro for beads, it is itty bitty beads. The 2 inch boro marble I made for the marble exchange took about 45 minutes of straight heat until it finally rounded out. Too much time for me! I'll stick to nice soft glass beads and leave the boro for my sculptural stuff thank you!

Good luck! Just keep on melting, be patient, and practice a bunch!

[Kalera]

Donna, I work boro only 1-2" from the torch face, depending on what I'm doing. WAY closer than soft glass! It's a hard adjustment to make.

Thanks for your compliment on my beads! I did not start off a "natural", though, let me tell you! I would estimate that it took me 40 hours of torch time to even get puckers down. I have some fuglies floating around here you wouldn't believe!

When I really improved was when I started tracking how much time I spent on each technique I was trying to learn. I assigned myself 40 hours of practice, a full work week (doesn't matter how you split it up as long as it's consistent... it could be eight hours a day for a week, or eight hours a week for five weeks) for each skill I wanted to learn, starting with making a basic even spacer, then a frit spacer, then dots, stringer, encasing, florals, etc. I would start off being terrible at it, but by the time I reached the end of my 40 hours for each skill I had work I was proud to show, and to sell.

Some beginners only need 20 hours of practice to master a skill. Some (very lucky few!) need only 10. The more hours and the more skills you have mastered, the faster you will learn new skills.

I definitely second the advice of seeing if you can meet up with other beadmakers in your area, or take a class. Watching videos can be incredibly useful, because actually seeing how someone's doing something is usually far more informative than reading about it.

[Bunyip]

X2 to what Kalera said.

Specifically, you should try working your glass no further than 1" away from the candles of the flame. Turn up the flame as high as your oxy will let you and still stay neutral(ish). You have to be more aggressive with the boro! See if the boro melts then - just be careful to heat the glass and not the mandrel If not, you need more oxy. Get that second concentrator looked at. I had no problem making a 1.5" implosion pendant on a cricket using tanked - it was on the slow side, but it worked, so the torch isn't the problem. I started working boro with one 5 LPM oxycon + a minor burner, once again, it was slow, but it worked fine. I even melted boro on one of the japanese style torches. I couldn't make a gather or a bead, but I WAS able to bend 3mm rod no problem.

One suggestion: Use clear. It is a tad less stiff than the colored boro (the direct opposite of soft glass) and should be easier to work with. Additionally, don't be scared to work in the flame, you're probably not going to get it so hot you lose control, as can happen with soft glass.

One final note: If it turns out boro isn't working for you, don't give up on glass!

[Imaglassgal]

Your cricket should be just fine. My guess is you were trying to work out in the soft glass zone rather than close in to the torch. Try again.

[Alaska]

A Cricket and one concentrator is enough to make boro beads. Used that setup for some time and then added a second concentrator which makes the Cricket work very well.

Limit your bead size. Beads in the 22 mm diameter range take a much longer time to melt in. Give 15 to 18 mm on a 1/8 mandrel a try. The reason for the 1/8 is that one is less likely to burn through the rod. Using 3/16 or 1/4 will take a lot more heat.

See if winding a bead is within your style. It does make for nice deep puckers if you like donut style beads.

And as previously mentioned, use clear in place of colored. Have found that clear is about one tenth the cost of color. ($50 to $60 per lb vs $5 to $6). To stay consistent with some colored rod sizes get some 5 mm clear for practice. Or even 7 mm if you want to practice making stringers. Simax is one brand of clear to consider with other choices available.

[effemess]

Being a newbie I totally agree with the clear...BUT... get yourself a bit of boro frit... then you can get colour into your beads without spending the earth... Im mean.. exactly how many clear beads can a person make without going Zzzzzzzzzzzz

[gmkcpa]

Ventilation is more than sucking the air out of the room you are in. All that air that the fan removes has to be replaced-just as fast as it's going out of the room, it has to be sucked into the room (otherwise you'll be living in a vacuum!). If there is no intake-just an outflow... I don't see how that could be good for the flame.

[AuntD]

FYI, if you get really bored with clear beads, there is some decent inexpensive Asian clear glass in limited colors -- amber, lilac, green, red, blue, and black, if I remember correctly. Reds can be tough, at least for me (I can liver any red, anywhere, any time, even Elvis. Everyone needs a talent, and that's mine) but the others are pretty good and easy to use.

[khammil]

My biggest challenge with making boro beads is remembering to give it enough heat to get it liquid enough so that gravity can take over. In addition to working close to the candles, turn your bead sloowwwwly (but steadily), that lets the heat sink in more.

[patezd]

I agree with all the "close up" folks. I work my boro stuff pretty close to the torch head. I have a Cricket and tanked oxy and get alot more heat than with my minor and tanked oxy. I do make some boro rounds but generally use it for sculptural and off mandrel work. I can justify the extra time it takes to melt boro when I'm working on a more complex piece that takes more time anyway. I find that I prefer to use 104 silver glass most for round or other mandrel wound beads. Same general cost as boro but I can work it faster and I get some amazing results.......probably better than I would with boro because of the whole "time" issue waiting for the boro to melt enough to move adequately around the mandrel. The soft glass is also cheaper on my oxy bill as it works faster, less heat and less oxy than boro. That's my two cents worth.

P.S. my first bead looked like a booger. No, really, it was booger green and booger shaped! But I became obsessed with making perfect round beads and burned through bottle after bottle of MAPP gas with my little hot head until I could get it right. I think all those little yellow bottles of used up MAPP on my front porch might have scared off some solicitors..........crazy redneck bead lady lives here!

[infinitecharms]

I was playing with boro today and I have the same problems you have and I have a phantom. The problem is when I put it really close to the torch the stupid bead release flakes off even with super blue sludge bead release. I decided to try my beadroller and it really helped to get the bead round. I suggest getting a beadroller, they work with boro. You just have to make sure to put the bead in the beadroller when it is flaming hot.

[AuntD]

Remember that the flame closer to the head of the torch is more reducing than the flame out at the end (same flame). That could have an effect on the colors you get.

[Nitadee]

I have a minor and one oxy con. I can do small boro sculptures, but I understand the problem making beads. My bead release doesn't like being the "hot" it needs to be for boro glass. So I started making larger gathers before getting it onto the mandrel.
Patience is also a virtue remember Boro beads take longer than soft glass beads. Keep the mandrel under the flame and ALL the heat focused on the glass. It WILL go round, it just takes longer is all.
And 10x what everyone else has said.
Failing that, you can always send the glass to me !!!
Keep trying ok?
Hugs
Nita

[donnam]

Thank you all for your input. I have been sick since I posted this so I haven't tried any of your hints yet, but I will as soon as I am feeling better. Thank you for the advice!

[murf]

donnam , I think i need to ask if your having fun at the torch. I ask because at any level of work it best be fun or the results will show. I know there is a frustration level with glass but there is in bowling too. I bring up bowling because come on it seems just so simple . Send a ball down the alley and pins all fall down, its as easy as that. Big not, and no I dont bowl. the more you just relax and have fun the sooner things will fall in to place. make more time to play at the torch, more time to have fun. that is my advice