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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips |
2015-06-29, 1:46am
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 11, 2009
Location: Massachusetts...I95 south...before Rhode Island
Posts: 2,006
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Stuck beads
Hello everyone. Yesterday afternoon I made about twelve beads and five of those stuck to the mandrels as I was trying to remove them.
I use Sludge Plus (the gray stuff) and haven't had this problem before. The Sludge Plus has also been my go to release for the past five plus years. I'm wondering if it's because the release is too old (3 yrs) or too watered down?
Thanks
Duane
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2015-06-29, 5:11am
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Another band aid pleeeze
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Join Date: Apr 28, 2012
Posts: 145
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Interestingly, I have been having the same problem, but with Fusion release. I've been writing it off to the high humidity here in the mid-Atlantic states. Could that be what's going on for you as well?
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2015-06-29, 6:20am
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 11, 2009
Location: Massachusetts...I95 south...before Rhode Island
Posts: 2,006
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possibly...but it hasn't been that warm the last few days (Massachusetts). It's been rainy but not too warm. My mandrels are kind of old too but they're all straight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnArtistontheInside
Interestingly, I have been having the same problem, but with Fusion release. I've been writing it off to the high humidity here in the mid-Atlantic states. Could that be what's going on for you as well?
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2015-06-29, 7:07am
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Phill
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Join Date: Mar 21, 2009
Location: Winnebago, MN
Posts: 2,489
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Too watered down would wind up as too thin on the mandrel.
There is the old "dip it fast for a thicker coating and dip it slow for a thinner coating" theory that is supposed to work as long as the release is has some substance to it.
Shaking bead release regularly is important because the various components can settle out over time ( make sure the cap is tight).
Sometimes the release can crack and some glass can get attached to the metal and in most cases there is nothing you could have done to prevent it.
The trick is finding a way to get the bead off the mandrel.
A pop rivet tool can grasp the mandrel and push against the bead enough at the right place to get it to come off if it is going to come off.
However it can also cause the bead to shatter so you may want to wrap it in a towel to contain the explosion and take small "bites" to just put enough pressure to move the bead a smidgeon at a time.
Half a millimeter at a time versus an eighth of an inch at a time.
Good luck. I have quite a few "plant stakes" with pretty glass beads on them in my flower pots.
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2015-06-29, 8:00am
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Lampworkaholic!
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Join Date: Apr 22, 2008
Location: Cornelius, NC - because weather
Posts: 5,158
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Unless the glass has come in contact with the mandrel itself, there is always a way to remove a stuck bead. Try soaking it in water softener/fabric softener liquid.
Rinse, hold the mandrel in a vise grip near the bead, grasp the damp bead tightly with a paper towel, and rock the mandrel using small deliberate motions.
It's humid as all get here in coastal Texas. I often add water (filtered, not tap) to my bead release. Shake shake shake, shake your booty.
I use Fusion. Never breaks, no stuck beads.
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2015-06-29, 11:27pm
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Naysayer
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Join Date: Sep 22, 2009
Posts: 1,203
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If your mandrels are old they could be the reason, I always used 3/32 which are hard to bend, all of a sudden almost all were stuck. I got new mandrels and all was well.
Figure too, if you're using old mandrels, over time the mandrels get 'thinner' in the spot you make your beads.
You can also try tossing them into the freezer, metal shrinks when cold, it sometimes helps.
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2015-06-30, 4:50am
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Another band aid pleeeze
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Join Date: Apr 28, 2012
Posts: 145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ravenesque
If your mandrels are old they could be the reason, I always used 3/32 which are hard to bend, all of a sudden almost all were stuck. I got new mandrels and all was well.
Figure too, if you're using old mandrels, over time the mandrels get 'thinner' in the spot you make your beads.
You can also try tossing them into the freezer, metal shrinks when cold, it sometimes helps.
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I think this is what's happening in my case. Once soaked and worked at for awhile the beads will spin freely on the mandrel, and may move up and down a couple of milimeters, but can't be worked off of the end. Its as though the mandrel ends had become fatter, but your explanation of thinning of the mandrel makes more sense. Will start making beads at the opposite end of the mandrel(s) and see if that helps.
Thanks!
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2015-06-30, 5:19am
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Glass-aholic
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Join Date: Mar 21, 2007
Location: CT, tolland CT
Posts: 4,332
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I have this issue with sludge too a lot. I've noticed it more recently. It really likes to be thin coated, which is great and not so great because there is no wiggle room when it comes to removing them. I've also noticed that they like to be moved up and down more than around the mandrel. I have been making sludge with 1/2 something else for years. I like it a little thicker consistency but then I knock off the extra so it's thin, but not as thin. Roughin up Mandrels works better too. But the key for me has been to simply soak in warm water with a drop of soap and grip with a paper town and giggle for what seems like forever. I've even taken to putting the end in a bead press hole and tapping a bit on each side to loosen it up a bit. Good luck. I love sludge but I hear ya!ive been using fusion because the batch of sludge I just got has the holding power of a kraken! makes my hands sore!!
To avoid sore hands and to speed up the process a little you can put the vice grips on 1/2 -1" to the bead and hold the bead and swing giggle a bit. The vice grips act as a weight, give it some water periodically or another short soak and try again. Just be careful not to go too fast or you could bend the mandrel. I thing shorter smaller giggles work best.
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2015-07-09, 11:48pm
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Dancing Moon Shadows
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Join Date: Apr 02, 2009
Location: Lincoln, CA
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If you use the rivet setter, using a little 'o' ring helps prevent breakage. I sneak a few from my husband's tool box now and then.
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2015-07-10, 9:26am
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Junior Member
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Join Date: Jul 10, 2015
Posts: 3
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If you have extra thin release, let it sit out uncovered to thicken up, or double dip your mandrels to make the coating a bit thicker.
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2016-12-13, 2:47pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 22, 2006
Posts: 1,198
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ravenesque
If your mandrels are old they could be the reason, I always used 3/32 which are hard to bend, all of a sudden almost all were stuck. I got new mandrels and all was well.
Figure too, if you're using old mandrels, over time the mandrels get 'thinner' in the spot you make your beads.
You can also try tossing them into the freezer, metal shrinks when cold, it sometimes helps.
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The freezer worked on my long tube beads, I was getting worried. But I do think I'm due for new ones which will help too!!
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Becky
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2016-12-26, 9:36am
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SCIENCE Teacher!
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Join Date: Jul 19, 2005
Location: Wylie, TX
Posts: 2,140
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Cheap white vinegar will dissolve bead release. It's not good for mandrels over time, which is why I don't recommend it unless a bead is stuck. Try soaking overnight.
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2016-12-26, 10:37am
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Aug 31, 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by asimeral
If you use the rivet setter, using a little 'o' ring helps prevent breakage. I sneak a few from my husband's tool box now and then.
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That's a good idea. I use little squares I cut out of a washcloth.
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Kathy
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2016-12-28, 11:27am
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lissette
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Join Date: Oct 08, 2009
Location: i come from the nederlands
Posts: 31
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If my beads are stuck on my mandrel i put them in a glass off coca cola THE last wouldn't go off , after a week i tried again They came smoothly off My
mandrell
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2016-12-28, 2:19pm
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