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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2011-03-12, 5:11pm
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2tumblingdragonz 2tumblingdragonz is offline
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Default Wonky Help

Suggestions PLEASE> I am having serious hissy fits here. I finally am able to get a smooth hole, even a dimple on both sides sometimes, but now I seem to have gotten all wonky.

I blamed the height of the hothead...I'm short. I am working above comfort zone/level/heighth with herniated disk and stenosis challenges. And that's ok, until I put the permanent workspace in I am making due with what I have because I have to melt glass, it is keeping me sane right now amidst a whirlwind of...let's just say a whirlwind.

I went back to the books back to youtube. I am melting my first wrap(melting it to soup that is). I try lower under the flame, on the other side? higher in the flame. it's hard with the hothead for me to figure out. If I angle the torch lower towards the table I can't reach the flame my arms are too short. I have comprimised on a semi comfortable height aka as low as I can secure to table at a slight incline. If I want to sit. I need a booster seat.

If I want to stand I can get a little better positioning but I don't want to stand all day.

So, obviously I am heating the glass way too much, it goes on the mandrel thick at the beginning and gets thiner as I wind and then it squashes the first glass and hello wonky. I try gravity, I try rolling, I tried dragging the glass around. It just always goes back to the original pull, or so it seems.

Help, please someone....why is this happening? and why if I make a leeetle tiny bead is that perfect?and why is this a new issue?

A breakthru is coming, I can feel it, probably after a breakdown at this point, I am so frustrated, I'm trying to do beads for boc and they're just wonky.

I appreciate that you took the time to read this and if you can nudge me towards a good wrap I'd be ecstatic. really
Namaste
Rowyn
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  #2  
Old 2011-03-12, 5:37pm
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Hi Namaste,

There are more experienced lampworkers on this forum than me, but maybe I can help until one of them shows up.

I am assuming that you are trying to make a round bead?

There are lots of different ways to get the glass on the mandrel. Corina Tettinger has a great book called "Passing the Flame". Or Jim Smircich has a website that used to give detailed instructions on how he does it.

But I am going to start with how I round it up after the glass is on the mandrel, even if it is on there a little wonky. Heat your bead up in the center of the flame until it glows to a nice orange. I wait until I can "feel the glass relax". By that I mean it looses the tension in the glass shape and you will be able to round it up. When the glass gets to this (I'm going to say softness or Maybe viscosity is a better word?) take the mandrel OUT of the flame. Continue to rotate your mandrel in a nice smooth rotation. Watch the glass at eye level so you can try and get a balanced shape.

You also can try doing a search on this forum on "shaping round bead".

Trust me, you are going to have to make hundreds of beads before this idea will click in your head. Also eventually you get a feel for the glass and what you need to do to balance it out. Everyone who makes glass beads has to go through this. Don't be too hard on yourself. Sometimes I think it is only because we are stubborn and refuse to quit that people learn how to make glass beads.

Hope this helps a little until the cavalry arrives,
Jeannie
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Last edited by Nimbus; 2011-03-12 at 9:05pm.
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  #3  
Old 2011-03-12, 5:46pm
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Hi, thanks Jeannie, it will go round but be short along the edges near the mandrel on part or way taller? on one part than the other. I've tried gravity to let it fall down, while spinning and I always seem to not have enough glass in the same spot. If I add glass it seems to go where the already is glass.

If I press it or roll it it still is lopsided.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong 'cause other times I can fix it. I am so frustrated...I keep hearing that song So ya had a bad day in my head, arghhhh

Peace, yes peace...I am peace filled, I am peace filled, I am peace full.....
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  #4  
Old 2011-03-12, 5:48pm
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Hi again Namaste,

I usually always have to post a second time after the first because I think of something else to say.

After you have heated the glass, taken it OUT of the flame, and are rotating the bead...make sure you keep the mandrel perfectly horizontal. If you have your mandrel tilted either up or down, your shape will be wonky also.

Jeannie
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  #5  
Old 2011-03-12, 5:53pm
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Hi Namaste,

You posted while I posted, so I didn't see your last response.

It sounds like you are talking about what I just posted. If the mandrel is not held perfectly horizontal, you will get one side with a pointy (undimpled) end. Is that what you are getting?

You are making me laugh about the song in your head! I use to have to do the "Be Calm" mantra in my head while I was learning to shape a round bead also.

Jeannie
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  #6  
Old 2011-03-12, 5:56pm
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Jeannie responded with the solution I was going to offer. Take your mandrel out of the flame while the glass is soupy. If it's very soupy you'll need to rotate the bead out of the flame. Once it hardens up a little bit you'll be better able to control the glass out of the flame.

I'm not sure if I was very clear but I hope it helps a bit.
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  #7  
Old 2011-03-12, 5:56pm
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Also, Maybe you don't have enough glass on your mandrel. Than when you do add it, that is when it needs to be held horizontal.

Actually, what would really help is if you posted a picture of your beads. If I see them I can tell if you have enough glass to make the shape you want, if you are holding the mandrel crooked etc...

Jeannie
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  #8  
Old 2011-03-12, 6:55pm
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Thanks, if someone gets home and can help me take pics i will, otherwise I will tomorrow.

It's not so much that my mandrel isn't level (I don't think) then I am wrapping the glass unevenly. So the bead is lopsided. One side has more glass and the footprint is shorter on one side than the other. Like I start my wrap and it's nice and by the time I get around back to that side I smash that glass down and it all piles on one side of the 'bead'.
The holes are nice, just not centred. As I work the glass I can get it to somewhat disperse better but one side is always shorter than the other.
Pictures will help.
Thanks, again.
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Old 2011-03-12, 7:49pm
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I was going to refer you to Jim Smircich website because he has a great technique to build up your glass, but it looks like it is under construction. In a nutshell....You make a tiny bead on your mandrel with one wrap of glass. Stop and heat that glass and make it round. Now you are going to build up wraps of glass on that tiny bead. Heat the end of the rod and push down on your tiny bead and smoosh on the rounds of glass. Make sure your tiny bead is cooled and set so you have something to push against. Now you should have a wheel of glass that you have built up.

Now you have some glass on your mandrel that you need to round up. If right now you are just trying to learn to balance a bead, it doesn't matter if the glass is not evenly distributed. If you were doing an encased floral, that you would not be able to heat up as hot, then you have to be more careful about your glass distribution. But right now, just do the best you can do.

So your build up is probably a little wonky, but that is ok. The heat is going to distribute the glass where it needs to be. Smircich says to put the bead under the flame, letting just the outer edge of the bead hit the flame. Rotate your bead and let the glass start to heat up. As the glass heats it will start to soften and slump out. The tall, donought shape that you started with should be spreading and becoming rounder. As the glass melts your footprint will become wider. You may have to turn your mandrel a little faster to keep the glass on it. So as you see, at this point it doesn't matter where the glass was when you started with your wonky build up, now it is all melting into a ball of glass on your mandrel. Don't let the glass get too hot so that you are out of control and it wants to drip off the mandrel. That is too hot.

This is when you take the bead out of the flame and shape it as I described above.

Hope that helps,
Jeannie
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Old 2011-03-12, 8:30pm
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Great advice and I'll just add to try and not get too frustrated when you're first learning. It really just takes time on the torch. The longer you've been torching the more the way the glass reacts to the flame and to gravity and surface tension become so much clearer. Try to enjoy the learning process and not put too much pressure on yourself to get it all at once. It really does take time.
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Old 2011-03-12, 9:12pm
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One thing that I learned along with the other suggestions is turn the mandrel slowly - it you spin too fast the glass gets wonky. I does take a lot of practice.
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Old 2011-03-12, 9:27pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creativeintfab View Post
One thing that I learned along with the other suggestions is turn the mandrel slowly - it you spin too fast the glass gets wonky. I does take a lot of practice.
This is one of the most important things I learned. When you turn slowly, you are "deep heating" the bead, and you can work on the shape of the bead. Turning quickly is good for when you have a good base bead and want to do surface decoration without distorting your base.
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Old 2011-03-12, 10:47pm
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Stand up to make beads or get a stool to prop your self up. It is difficult to do ANYTHING when you are not comfortable in your surroundings. This is even more true trying to achieve a decent shape, or doing any detail wok in glass!!!!

secondly, how big are your beads? I found on a HH (my opinion only) that I never really had enough heat to really get a round the size I wanted it. They would be round if I made them the size of a pea! if it got much larger and it was just a bit wonky! I did do a lot of donuts. I used my mini mashers to help re-distribute the glass, and re-heat, but it is just not the same as trying to tell you how to do it from a minor, or cricket. That has more heat period. It effects how you make your beads. It can be done on a HH. Anything basically can be done... I was on a HH for 10 years, and was constantly battling the "you can 't do that on a HH" tutorials and such... BS! You just have to figure out how!!! Its like tweeking recipes for high altitude! LOL Just make a few small changes and adapt it to you! I ended up making donut beads pretty proficiently, but they take time. I got to the point where I could make 7 on a mandrel on my HH (the bushy flame is great for keeping all those other ones warm while you work!) Donut shapes, not rounds. I never really got rounds til recently... I never felt that the HH allowed the glass to hold the heat like a minor (or other) does. I compare it (especially with larger beads) as the HH is always trying to keep up with the melt when you heat the bead, and the minor is ahead of the game, this lets the bead hold more heat than needed. Its odd, but if you make a bigger size bead on a HH and then a minor you will understand what I am trying to say. The HH is like an old 4 cylender car on cruise control on a hill. it is really putting the effort in trying to heat the bead to a point, where as the minor is that V6 corvette that just passed you and the engine did not even flinch! This really helped me to realize why my actions worked when I was on a HH (10 years later when I first used a minor) Dont get me wrong I loved My HH, you just have to know how it works, get to know your flame composition, find your sweet spot, and your colors. On a HH you will notice the stiffer glass's more (and other things). DO NOT BE AFRAID TO MOVE THE GLASS TO WHERE YOU WANT IT. really. just put it in its place!

What also really helped me, and still does, is knowing that glass always wants to pull to the center. Whatever is the center it will go there. If you cut a disc of hot glass it will seem to contract to petals. It is because it had a center that it was pulling to, and now it has a new center that it is pulling to. This is SUPER helpful in rounding beads, and keeping good ends (they do not have to be dimpled, just not sharp). If you are working to a round shape, get a barrel, put rings on the end, and heat them in. You will notice that the glass you applied does not spread outward to elongate the bead, it travels and spreads inward to find center. Try thinking about the ends, and making your base longer. Also marver as needed. I think a spoon is a GREAT tool. When I was on a HH I made A LOT of pressed beads. I could get an aprox shape, and press (or marver) to shape., add a bit more glass as needed and re-press. I loved this! The glass nice and stiff, and great to add lots of stringer and detail without having it all melt into oblivion lol.

Also try sculpting as an alternative to gravity heat shaping. Grab a paring knife and go for it! Check out the goddess threads for insight!

OH and you can add glass to counteract the wonky side sometimes as well.

Ok I have rambled too much already!! I hope it helps.
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Last edited by jaci; 2011-03-12 at 10:52pm.
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  #14  
Old 2011-03-13, 12:25pm
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Ya know, I am blown away when people take time to answer questions here. It moved me from the first day I found the forum thru a google search and read. Then JameyLynn from Howaco suggested I read and search the forum. I've spent days, the greater part of many days, just reading. From the most intricate details to the most repetitive issues, there are lwe members who take the time to work with each other.
Thank you for that. Not just for answering my questions but for all the questions answered in all the threads that we all read and benefit from.
Now to keep on point here: I have been told someone will help me take pictures later...when I took my beads from yesterday out of the kiln this am they don't actually look that bad. key word 'that'.
I do have some really wonky ones to take pics of.
Jaci what you said about the heat of the HH makes total sense to me and I love the car analogy.
I've tried getting the spot where there is more glass heated up keeping just that part in the flame while rotating hoping that the glass will redistribute and it doesn't perhaps because the heat distribution isn't making the conditions right? It's almost like while I am adding glass where it is needed, the other side with too much glass stretches out, although that doesn't make any sense to me, maybe the glass keeps sliding there?
Yes, when I add rings of glass to the ends I do get a better shape and yes donuts are so much easier for me on the HH.
I have definatley found that I need to work slow, I think I went too slow for a while and that had issues, too. I also will go back to that very first initial footprint, making it smaller, letting it harden, etc. I find stiffer glass easier to control, the softer glass is where I really get an uneven blob.
I'm coming up on 75 hours of torch time, I figure from empty cannisters and class time.
I just discovered urban bead in Brooklyn. I'm gonna apply for the fall. I wonder if voc rehab would send me there?
I had hoped to be able to go to the conference at Salem Community College but it's just too expensive(too soon). Beadfest PA is coming in August and if I can get to the Gathering it would be a dream come true. All the west coast stuff looks amazing, I am so hungry to learn. Also there is another place not too far, less than 2 hours that gives classes in PA.

All the free tuts, and some I have purchased are just so good.
I'm rambling, I'm just so grateful and moved by the cooperation of the glass community to keep GOOD information and safety alive. I remember in a class 4 years ago being told this is a small, tightly knit community. Thank you for welcoming me and continuing to help me follow my passion for this exciting artform/addiction. It took me that 4 years to light my torch at home but once I did I have been in LOVELOVELOVE~
Namaste
Rowyn
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Old 2011-03-13, 12:42pm
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If you mean wonky as in the holes aren't even - to get a really good and even footprint, you must very lightly touch the end of the molten rod to the mandrel (it must be heated well) and rotate away from you just as you barely touch. This will give you a small footprint, but that light touch helps you get the even amount of glass to take hold around the mandrel. Then after you lay more wraps of the glass around that, all you will need then is to watch the flow of the molten bead and rotate back and forth it either direction until it evens up.

I will have to tell you, getting even shapes of round beads relies on the good footprint to start, but then more practice is needed to rotate and eye the flow of the glass as you round that shape out. PPP! You will get it so what you need right now more than anything is a little more patience and trust in yourself. We have all been there.

I used the HH torch for 18 months before I got the Bobcat and generator, and I still think the HH is the perfect torch to learn on. I use it for many of my beads because the Bobcat is too hot and it messes up the design. In fact, I can make very large round beads (20-28mm) on the HH and I cannot do this with the Bobcat. I always screw up the holes and one is more dimpled than the other with large beads. With the HH, these huge beads and their holes were perfect. The slower heat in many cases is better, IMHO.
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Old 2011-03-13, 1:55pm
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I would add something that I think everyone but me thought was self-evident when starting but this was a huge improvement for me when I finally learned the right way.

Rotate the rod that you are using to apply the glass to the bead as you apply the glass. Don't always keep the rod facing the bead in the same place on the rod - you should be slowly rotating the rod (like you spin your mandrel but slowly) with your fingers as you apply the glass, does that make sense (I have trouble explaining this stuff sometimes)? Glass that's away from the heat on the rod will get cold, harder to move, and when you are trying to apply the side closest to the bead the cold glass on top of the rod slows you down and then you push and then your wraps are uneven and your beads get wonky.

Just thought I'd add that as it made a big difference for me early on. I also got the smirchich tail stock holder, it's like $8 at Arrow Springs, to help me keep my mandrel level. I still use it off and on, I love that tool.
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Old 2011-03-13, 2:14pm
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Rowyn what Lisi said, touch the rod to the mandrel and pull it away as you turn the mandrel, you will get it and it is a DUH moment when you do! Same as you can work glass out of the flame.
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Old 2011-03-13, 2:51pm
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I've been on a hothead for over 5 years now and can do almost everything I want (short of changing to an oxygen rich atmosphere or spot heating little areas) on the torch.

Anyway, the first thing that occurred to me when you were describing how the ergonomics of torching were problematic for you is; are you somehow supporting your arms to steady your work and control the leveling of your mandrel?

I took a two day class when I was learning and it was in a less than wonderful space. We could either sit or stand, but there was no arm rest. Since I've done all other sorts of art and crafts, I knew this was close to impossible for me and that I had to fix some sort of arrangement to "lean" my arms on.

At that time different solutions were becoming available, but most of them were not suited to the hothead because of the way the torch points in an upward direction. My husband and I rigged up a series of plumbing pipes anchored to my table that I can rest my lower arms on. I even know one woman who told me she created elbow rests using toliet PAPER (not what I would advise) rolls wrapped in foil. I remember Corina talking about problems she was having from the way she angled her arms which were supported on the table by resting at the elbow.

All this is by way of saying that I don't think you can have much control unless you figure out a way to rest your arms so that your hands are in the position to maneuver in the flame by moving your fingers and wrists. I think most systems are wooden or leather bean bag type rests, but, for the hothead, you probably have to have them higher.

It's also important that you can sit comfortably in what chair you have. I inherited an old Office Max one from DH that adjusts in height. The newer one he got is not so great, but this old one gives me no problems and has wheels to move around to put stuff in the kiln.

Once you are in a comfortable position, it's all about PPP. One of the other difficult things the first few years - and even now- is scale. By that I mean the proper amount of glass to achieve a certain shape or effect. It's deceiving when you look at photos because they are so magnified, and also, to me, hot glass looks plumper. The best way to see what the glass does is to start with several rounds in a narrow shape and melt the glass to a wider, more nearly round shape. If the footprint isn't too long, and you are holding your mandrel level, you ought to be able to have the glass seek a shape that is even and has nice dimpled holes. One other thing that might help is to be sure that you are rotating your mandrel in both directions - a few turns away from you, a few turns back towards yourself.

Don't get discouraged, I don't know of anything else I've ever done that has such a nice straight ascent "curve of learning" as this craft does - relative to time put in. And I'm writing this after a total waste of a session yesterday where the things I was attemping just didn't work out. Good luck with it!

Edit: Google armrests lampworking and you might get some ideas like http://studiomarcy.blogspot.com/2008...rests-for.html
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Old 2011-03-13, 3:10pm
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HH for 6 years here, they're awesome. I have some tutorials on my site - mainly written, not pictures - that may help.

Most of this has already been said, but make sure the mandrel was heated evenly, a thin line of glass to start as it will grow, and don't fight the glass - have patience. Don't turn the torch up too high, if the glass is getting away from you turn it down (if possible... newer models are less adjustable.)
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  #20  
Old 2011-03-14, 6:01pm
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Thanks, really, to all of you who are helping.

Let me put this another way, if you are looking down at the donut, the hole is not centred.
I am pulling the glass away when I wrap, that's when the glass gets thinner, not as wide so where my initial touch to the mandrel was has a thicker footpring than when I come back around. No matter how long I turn the initial footprint does not make a completely centred hole in the donut.
Pictures aren't coming out really well, I'm gonna try something else so I can show you what I mean but the misshapen donut is a better description.
No, I don't have arm rests. For me to be that close I would be sitting on the gas cannister. I'm wondering if the creation station would work, that looks like the rests are out from the table where my elbows are. I looked at that tool from arrow springs, it looks like something I will try, but it's my initial wrap. If I try to add glass...it's just not working. I am so frustrated.
Actually the beads I thought were horrendous really weren't all bad considering my skill level, but it's a technique I want to get right.
Also, when I'm taking the beads off the mandrel, the area around where the bead release was is uneven, cracked like. Not always, but why is this?
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  #21  
Old 2011-03-14, 6:47pm
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Oops!! I have been calling you Namaste. It looks like your name is Rowyn. Does Namaste mean something I am just ignorant about? Sorry.

I think I really need pictures to know exactly what you are talking about with the cracks where the bead release was.

Have you tried just putting a build up of glass on your mandrel and just playing with it to see the different levels of heat in glass and what it looks like? (red, orange, white) Don't worry about getting a round shape, just experiment to see how hot something needs to be to make it start moving and rounding up. Make sure you have a fire proof surface beneath your torch! Just in case you discover what happens when glass is white hot.

Jeannie
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  #22  
Old 2011-03-14, 7:22pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irjc View Post
Thanks, really, to all of you who are helping.

Let me put this another way, if you are looking down at the donut, the hole is not centred.
I am pulling the glass away when I wrap, that's when the glass gets thinner, not as wide so where my initial touch to the mandrel was has a thicker footpring than when I come back around. No matter how long I turn the initial footprint does not make a completely centred hole in the donut.
Pictures aren't coming out really well, I'm gonna try something else so I can show you what I mean but the misshapen donut is a better description.
No, I don't have arm rests. For me to be that close I would be sitting on the gas cannister. I'm wondering if the creation station would work, that looks like the rests are out from the table where my elbows are. I looked at that tool from arrow springs, it looks like something I will try, but it's my initial wrap. If I try to add glass...it's just not working. I am so frustrated.
Actually the beads I thought were horrendous really weren't all bad considering my skill level, but it's a technique I want to get right.
Also, when I'm taking the beads off the mandrel, the area around where the bead release was is uneven, cracked like. Not always, but why is this?Angel Blessings
Rowyn

Maybe, and I'm not sure, but maybe you are overheating your mandrel during the beading process. When you are making your bead look at your mandrel. If the bead release to either side of the bead is glowing while you're making your bead try bringing your bead either above or below your flame and *just heat the bead*, not the mandrel. Think of your bead as a doughnut and your flame as glaze. You want the glaze on the edge of the doughnut, not all over the stick the doughnut is hanging from.

I don't know if that's what's cracking your release but I do remember that was another problem I had for awhile.
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  #23  
Old 2011-03-14, 7:33pm
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For some reason all my attempts to upload are failing. Tomorrow I will go back to my old computer....it's the same mem card so I dunno, but I'm tired, going to bed, I did get a little better at less wonky by using gravity, heat and slowing down higher in the flame and letting the bead set up. I'm still wrapping all weird, though. Argghhhhh.

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  #24  
Old 2011-03-14, 7:55pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irjc View Post
I've tried getting the spot where there is more glass heated up keeping just that part in the flame while rotating hoping that the glass will redistribute and it doesn't perhaps because the heat distribution isn't making the conditions right?
Rowyn,

You have a lot of advice here and I apologize in advance that I didn't read through all of them. Just want to reply to this comment you made. In order for the glass to move, you need to heat the glass you want to move AND where you want it to move to. That's why just getting the spot where there is more glass heated up didn't work for you.

Getting a good footprint to start does make round up a donut-shape bead easier but you can round up a wonky wound bead. One of the beads I teach in my classes starts as a big wonky glob and the students learn to use gravity to round it up and then droop the glass down the mandrel (both side of the glob) and end up with a perfectly shaped tapered bicone.

In order to do that, make gravity your friend. I was on a HH when I first started and was already making large beads that were well shaped. You don't necessarily need to take the bead out of the flame to round up on a HH. But if you do, make sure you put it back to reheat often. When are are rounding up the glass, keep your mandrel level and watch the top edge of the bead against a background. Keep turning your mandrel and slow down just a wee bit when the top edge "bounces" up denoting that there is more glass above the mandrel. The slowing down will let gravity move the glass down towards where there is less glass. Keep turning the mandrel until the glass doesn't move anymore then reheat the bead again and repeat if needed.

Last note - you may work slower in order to achieve this but there is a finite amount of time before the hot glass moves towards the center making the ends pointy. Thus making smaller spacer type beads require working fairly fast. Once the glass moves towards the middle and you lose the puckered ends, you either have to abort or must add glass on both ends.

I ran a Perfect Bead Exchange that contains a lot of good information on shaping beads if you are interested:

http://lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85756
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  #25  
Old 2011-03-14, 8:52pm
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Often, the students I've had that have trouble with wonkiness are not heating up enough glass. You don't need to start with a huge gather, but you need to have heat at more than just the very tip of your gather too. Another thing that I've found helpful is to start your bead from behind the gather rather than dropping a ball of glass on the mandrel. If this was your rod and gather-
||
||
touch here>(_)
not here

People seem to want to slam down a whole gather on one spot, then wonder why they can't get the blob to go around (which it won't because you're into the cold part of the rod). Touching your mandrel to the back of the gather and then wrapping doesn't allow this to happen.

*grr - spacing doesn't want to work for above diagram, pretend the ||s are directly above the (_) *sigh*
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  #26  
Old 2011-03-14, 10:06pm
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I'm on a Hot Head too! Although I know there are integral limitations (especially in messing with fine point flames and flame chemistry) I like to believe I can do almost ANYTHING on my trusty little torch!

Now here are some photos to help you understand how the wind should go on, and these may help. After you've given these a look, I'm giving you an amazing tip below! I have tried to read (and interpret) all the posts here; I don't think this particular tip has been given yet, but I can tell you that I just recently discovered it as a "fix" for evening up "flat spots" on round beads, and it works amazingly! OK...here's the pictures first:

Start by getting the mandrel nice and glowing; hold your rod as shown, heat a small gather and while slowly turning the mandrel, lay down a small disc:




Heat while slowly and evenly turning:


With practice, your "footprint" will look like this:


OK...now if you've not wound the glass on super evenly, and end up with a flat spot (or even two flat spots, prolly opposite one another - oy!), try this:

1. Spot heat your "flat spot" only (not the whole bead) and give it a nice glow.

2. Remove the bead from the direct flame, keeping the glowing flat spot aiming downward, toward your work bench. Using the rod that is the same color as your base color (which has probably been sitting on the rod rack for at least a moment and is now firmed up), gently just barely touch the flat spot with the tip of the cooled rod, directly in it's center, and pull it away (downward) quickly. Note that you are not trying to add glass by doing this...

3. In essence, you've now "shifted" the base bead and pulled the two adjacent areas that had a little more glass toward one another pulling them together and toward the flat spot.

4. If you have a similar flat spot on another location on the base bead (these seem to often occur for me opposite one another) then repeat the procedure of spot heating, touching with the cooled rod and quickly pulling away on that flat spot as well.

5. Return the entire bead to the flame. With a slow, consistent turning in one direction only (toward you or away from you...doesn't matter) and with the mandrel held as horizontally level as possible, you should now see your bead begin to evenly round up nicely!

Give it a try! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results!

Hope this helps!

De
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Last edited by theglasszone; 2011-03-14 at 10:10pm.
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  #27  
Old 2011-03-15, 9:43pm
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De, your post and pictures make me miss my HH! I see the blue pointy flame and remember back how great that torch really was. HH torches are not that "slow" like many want to think they are, unless you're making big honkin' beads.

I really loved the control I had on making bigger beads. Took a little longer, but the shapes were perfect and I could get the holes evenly dimpled the same on both sides.
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  #28  
Old 2011-03-16, 3:15am
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it sounds a lot like you are running our of hot glass as you are adding, so the glass is not added evenly. I touch my rod to the mandrel and pull slightly and then slowly turn the mandrel away from me to wind on the glass. I keep the mandrel just under the flame or barely kissing the underside of the flame. The glass rod I slowly turn back and forth as I am adding glass, this allows the entire rod to be heated and more glass to be able to trail off the rod. If you are only heating one side of the rod, then it takes time for the heat to melt the backside of the rod.One of the biggest beginner mistakes is to turn the mandrel too fast. Turning it faster will not make it get hot faster. This can and will throw off a beads centering and roundness. working too hot can also cause issues. Dont be in a hurry to get your shape, do it by degrees.

if I am out of round I let the pregnant belly part of the bead rest a moment at the top as I rotate the bead. this gives it a little extra time to flow down. So I pause a moment each time the belly comes to the top. You want the glass to be slightly flowing but not soupy. You may need to repeat the cycle of heat, remove from flame, and turning the mandrel and letting the belly pause at the top sevral times to get the round shape.

good luck and welcome to the addiction, you will find lots of evil glass enablers here

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  #29  
Old 2011-03-16, 7:30am
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If your bead release is cracking you are probably pulling too hard on the bead while adding not quite hot enough glass.
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  #30  
Old 2011-03-22, 7:16pm
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One other suggestion would be to practice on a different type of glass. Some (like CIM) is a little "firmer" than others and is a little easier to get better shapes with. . . I have just started using a couple of the silvered glasses and having a bit of trouble with wonkiness. When I went back to make some spacers with CIM glass, the shapes were much better. OR it could just be me!
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