Pressed Beads 101

Shawn T · #1 2010-10-10, 2:05pm

Pressed Lentils and SSL 101

This has come from me helping some of our new members in another thread.
I didn't want to hijack that thread, as one of our new members had given such a wonderful new tip in thread.
I have started a new thread to try and help two new member with problems they are having with two of their presses, a lentil press and a SSL press. Since both of these presses are so much alike these pic and written direction will hopefully get them started in the right direction

1. Start off making a nice footprint in the shape of a barrel. Make sure the ends are nice and even. Roll out your barrel on your marver straightening out the ends as you need to. It is very important to make sure you do not end up with sharp or uneven ends. If you do add a tiny wrap of glass just to the ends and roll out the barrel again.

2. To see if you have enough glass and how long your barrel should be measure it against your press. ***Hint*** If you have a press that has different sizes, start off with the smallest size, that way if you end up adding too much glass, you can always go up a size***

3. You have correct length and need to add more glass, add the glass only to the center of the barrel. It is ok if you don't get it directly in the center, but try your best to wrap the glass directly onto itself. Think of it as if you are making a disk bead in the center of the barrel you now have. Remember to flash the whole bead and especially the ends of the barrel in the flame so it doesn't crack.

Look mine is off center, I didn't do it on purpose but I make mistakes also and I am not afraid to show anyone that I do make them. It isn't hard to make a pressed bead if you don't get it perfect when adding your glass like this.

4. Heat the center and you will end up with a football shape, try not to heat the ends as that will cause the the glass to pull too far away from the ends of the mandrel. They will pull some.
When you have a football, let it cool slightly, some people even count a few seconds, 3-5, you want the bead to form a skin, yes, soon you will be able to see the glass form the skin, and then press. If you don't wait till the bead forms a skin it will be too droopy and you will end up with a mess with the glass squishing and squeezing out of the presses in places you don't want glass to be.

5. Continue to heat and press as many times as you need to until you get the correct shape. Sometimes you will need to heat the entire mass back to a original shape. Sometimes you will realize you didn't have enough glass to fill the cavity of the press and need to add more, sometimes you will have to pull a tiny bit away. Sometimes you will just wan to heat top and try and get the glass to move to one side.
Try working with one press and one color until you have mastered it, soon it will become second nature.

I said this is a different thread but it deserves repeating. For anyone new to presses: If you think those of us who make pressed beads just press 1-2 times To that I say " Bawhahahahahahahaha" The real answer is try at least 5-7 times.

5. Next make sure you flash the bead in the top of the flame, or under the flame and get rid of those chill marks. This is huge, buyers look for chill marks on pressed beads, as this is the finishing touch. Put it in the kiln and of course clean them when they are done.

Things that can go wrong:
You Pressed uneven: Yup, we all do it, one side has too much glass, one side doesn't have enough, heat it back up to the football shape and press again.
If it is just slightly uneven many times you can adjust it buy using your flame and gravity.
Lentil butts and smiley faces, those are the little things that look like this )-------( on your beads, and easy fix for those is a tiny little dot of the base color really close to the mandrel. Make sure you use a small flat tool to push the dot flat exactly were you want it before you try and melt it in.

If anyone else has anything they can add, please do so. Many of you know it has been a couple of years since I have used presses so I am a bit rusty, and might have forgetting a few tips and tricks.

ChaseDesigns · #2 2010-10-10, 2:36pm

Looks good to me Shawn. I just want to add, that when you have butts on your pressed beads and you aren't able to add more glass due to a design, you can super heat those ends (just the ends) and repress.

And as Shawn says, reheat and press as many times as it takes.

**also if you have problems with pressing and getting it center, a neat trick to try: When you are ready to press and it has a "skin", place bead in press cavity and using just the pressure of your hand on the mandrel hold it down for a count of two or three in the bottom of the cavity. Then after the bead has spread out just a little use the top of the press to press down.

The more evenly centered your bead is, the easier it is to get a nice even press, but if it is off just a little the above trick should help.

rrunner · #3 2010-10-10, 2:42pm

Hi Shawn,

Thank you, thank you for this tutorial.

I really appreciate the time you took to create this for Jeannie and me and everyone else who are press challenged. You have great pictures and with very clear explanations. I can't wait to give this a try (I'm hoping it will be tomorrow)! I'm very confident that I will be making pressed beads in no time!!

Cheryl

rrunner · #4 2010-10-10, 2:45pm

Deanna - thank you for those tips as well. I need all the help I can get!!!

Cheryl

Nimbus · #5 2010-10-10, 3:27pm

Hi Shawn,

Thank you for making this tutorial for us!! It is really nice of you to take the time to help other people who are struggling with an issue. The pictures are great! I do think that my problem is that I am letting too much glass pull away from the bead holes. You just gotta have some glass on both ends when you press, at least on my large+ slim straight sided lentil press.(wow, that is a mouth full!) I still have some questions that I hope you can answer for me.
1. When you let your glass settle in the bottom of the press, is it settled so far down in that the mandrel is resting in the grooves, or is the mandrel hovering over the grooves that it will fall into? Or am I just over thinking this?
2. Now this question probably sounds really silly to people who know what they are doing....is the press supposed to completely close down and hit the other side?

Wow, I just completely exposed all of my ignorance! If they had a naked smilie I would post that!

Oh, and I wanted to thank Deanna for her tips to. All the help we can get is terrific.

Thank you everybody,
Jeannie

PittsGlass · #6 2010-10-10, 3:38pm

No wonder I never got the gist of presses. I thought it was a one shot deal. Very informative!

Shawn T · #7 2010-10-10, 4:46pm

You are both welcome it was my pleasure, I hope it helps.

Jeannie, the only silly question is the one not asked.
The mandrel should rest in the mandrel grooves. As far is if the glass should hit the bottom of the cavity or not will depend of each individual press.
The press will close and fit correctly together if you have not overfilled the press. Some people like the chunky look of overfilling their presses, but it will make it difficult to get a whole set of exactly the same size beads.

Thank you Deanna, as you really are the Press Bead Queen.

Shrimp · #8 2010-10-10, 5:00pm

It never hurts to get a refresher on this subject. Thanks Shawn.

Carols Glass · #9 2010-10-10, 5:57pm

Great instructions, thank you

.

jknappcampbell · #10 2010-10-10, 6:57pm

loves me my Shawn!

glasshobbit · #11 2010-10-11, 10:42am

Great help. My biggest problem is the bead release cracking when I push the press down

Nimbus · #12 2010-10-11, 12:04pm

Hi Shawn,

Well, I tried it again today. Your instructions on how to build the shape up worked great! I was able to keep my ends. What is happening now is that I heat my bead, wait till I see the skin, put it in the press and aaacckkk! It don't wanna play nice and press all the way out. In fact it only wants to press about halfway. Okay, I'm going to persist with this little bugger. I heat it up again, hot, stick it in there, now when I pull it out it has fishy lips on one side. Did the glass shoot out the mandrel hole? I don't really know how to describe what it looks like. But when it comes out of the kiln maybe I can figure out how to post a pic to show you. Also, yes there is more, I start with a nice balanced bead, I am trying to heat it hotter this time (okay stay calm, stay calm) but by the time I get it in the press and press it, it comes out lopsided (thicker on one side). I made a jug of lopsided stew that would feed everyone here for a week! At this point, I don't know if it is just a matter of "seeing" when the bead is ready to press that is my problem. Thanks for listening to my troubles

and if anyone has any good suggestions, I am all ears.

Thank you,
Jeannie

Nimbus · #13 2010-10-11, 2:00pm

Hi Glasshobbit,

Gosh I hate to answer pressing questions, when from my posts you can see I'm pressing impaired, but I guess that is not gonna stop me. What press are you using that the bead release is cracking? I found out that the Zoozi press's are made to take a 1/16th mandrel(unless you ask them to adjust it to fit a 3/32) So if you are pressing with a 3/32 mandrel into a 1/16th slot...yep, bead release cracking and dust. Also when I don't line my mandrel up well enough with the slot, Crack! Oh yeah, I know just about every way there is to screw up a pressing. But I guess we should really wait to see what the experts have to say. Sorry Shawn if I shouldn't be jumping in here. Just let me know if I am saying too much.

Jeannie

Care13 · #14 2010-10-11, 2:23pm

Thank you so much for this info! I have been trying to press for a few weeks and can't seem to get anything other than lopsided ovals. I will try your technique and hope for the best! Definately practice, practice, practice for this press stuff! LOL!

Starrr · #15 2010-10-11, 4:12pm

Great instructions Shawn!

I think the most important thing is to realize that you CAN press more than once. Many of us started out with the lentil press first because it was the first press available so there wasn't a choice in shape. With all the presses available I wouldn't recommend starting with a lentil as your first press, they are challenging to say the least. A Button press, like Cattwalks graduated button is much more forgiving and will give you good results quicker than a lentil and four cavities to work with.

I use the bottom of my presses to even out my barrel before pressing. After my barrel is made I roll the warm beads in the lower cavity to get as close to a perfect barrel as I can. Roll, pick up and look at it with a light behind you while you roll the bead with the mandrel pointing towards the ceiling. You will easily be able to see if the beads is off center. If it is, continue to roll, check it, and roll again if necessary. Eventually you will be able to just "feel" the roll and know the bead is centered. After you have gotten the shape down the "feel" will become automatic with time and all of your barrels will be the same size and shape giving you as perfect of a shape as you can get, but don't expect there to be no off center pressed beads because it will happen. Once you master the before press barrel shape on the button, you can use these "perfect" barrels and press them in your crunch or squeeze press to give you beads of the same size in that press also.

peaceofglass · #16 2010-10-11, 4:26pm

Thank you so much for this...your pictures and intructions were wonderful...On this Canadian Thanksgiving day I am thankful for the time you took to help

Peace

goddessbec · #17 2010-10-11, 6:03pm

thank you, thanks you, i was looking at buying a press but had no idea what to do with it, at least now i have some idea

just gotta see if i have the skills to match hehe

Carolyn M · #18 2010-10-11, 8:54pm

I have used presses for 7 years and only need 1-2 presses now, but it takes a huge amount of practice to get it right. The amount of glass is important, too little and you will never get your shape and too much and it will squeeze out . Actually the too much is pretty easy to deal with, just heat the edges where you have a lip, and they will melt in.

Art of Hand · #19 2010-10-12, 1:12am

I think I am ready to try my lentil press again! thanks for thie info everyone!

bead-meltdown · #20 2010-10-12, 4:35am

thanks so much for help.

nickandryan · #21 2010-10-12, 7:44am

What a great tutorial- I also thought it was a one-time deal. I'm going to try these the next time I make beads

Thanks for taking the time to write up such an informative tut! Laura

Pia Kaven · #22 2010-10-12, 10:53am

Jeannie, what I think you might be experiencing with the bit of glass shooting out of the mandrel hole, I think your glass might still be little too hot, and if you dont hold the mandrel exactly horizontal, it will move to one side little, and there is more chances for it to bulge out of the sides, or from the mandrel holes. Also make sure when you put the mandrel on press, that the glass is in the middle of it, and dont let your mandrel move when you press. Sometimes if we pull or push little and the glass is still hot, it will slide to the mandrel holes, that might also cause for the press not to close properly.
As said, you dont have to press it all at once. Just lay your bead down on the press, and let the glass settle to the bottom slightly, and you can do the same to the other side of the bead, and now you have almost a lentil without even pressing. Then pressing after that should be easier.
But Im am not an expert by any means with presses, but maybe something here would help someone.
Pia

Nimbus · #23 2010-10-12, 12:10pm

Hey, I finally figured out what My problem was! I'll post it here in case maybe someone else is doing the same thing wrong. I would heat up my bead to get ready to press it, thinking that the glass was hot enough(looked hot and orange to me). Let the skin form and try to press. Never worked. What I tried today was to heat the bead up, let it cool till dark red glow, back in flame to heat up, let it cool back to a little bit hotter glow this time(dull orange), back in flame and heat up, let skin form and press. Glass spread great in the press. So for me anyway, for things to work, I had to get a deep heating into the glass.

Pia-
Thank you so much for your help. You were right about the glass being heated so hot that it went out the mandrel holes. That would happen after my initial press would fail, then I would heat the ends up really hot to fix things, and that's when the going out the mandrel hole thing happened. You also have good advice about keeping your mandrel horizontal. I always have to watch myself. When I bring the mandrel over to the press, sometimes I am concentrating so hard on keeping the bead balanced, that I might kind of tip one way or the other.

Also,
Thank you to everyone else who has been jumping in with info. It has all been wonderful advice and gives us troubled pressers different ideas as to what we could be doing wrong.

Thanks,
Jeannie

Pia Kaven · #24 2010-10-12, 12:29pm

Im glad it is working better now! Yay!

ChaseDesigns · #25 2010-10-12, 4:31pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by glasshobbit

Great help. My biggest problem is the bead release cracking when I push the press down

This could be a few things. If the bead release is cracking under the glass then you are pressing too hard. Get the bead a little hotter and press a little gentler.

If it is the bead release on the sides of the bead, it could be your brand of bead release. I have a terrible time with foster fire doing this with presses. Instead I use sludge plus. It's pretty sturdy.

Or as some one else already mentioned, you could be using a mandrel that is too big for the press.

ChaseDesigns · #26 2010-10-12, 4:36pm

Jeannie, glad you got it figured out. It certainly does take a bit of practice to understand the heat control thing and to know what is hot enough and what is too hot.

Your glass should start to gently spread when you place it in the bottom of your press cavity. If it doesn't, it is too cool. If it's flowing all over the place and soupy, it's too hot.

jconsidine11 · #27 2012-07-22, 6:33am

wow!
So glad I found this thread.
Thank you Shawn, Deanna, Jeannie and everyone else for this info.

Back to the garage to try again.
Joan

essiemessy · #28 2012-07-22, 3:49pm

This thread started just when I lit my torch for the first time. I've been pretty much learning on my own from that, and it's been hit and miss to say the least!
I learned another trick recently on a playday, which was to let the mandrel go once you've lined it up properly and are ready to start pressing . Minimises bead release breakage, so that the mandrel will settle with the glass - a kind of self-centre-ing. I'm still working on that - I'm still not sure where my hands should be half the time

Molly Bird · #29 2012-07-22, 5:19pm

I got frustrated with my bead press & quit using it. Thank you so much for this tutorial. It makes all the sense in the world...and so simple!

jconsidine11 · #30 2012-07-22, 7:23pm

went out to the garage and had so much fun...thanks to this really helpful and generous tutorial......
thanks again!
Joan