Well I've been experimenting with slumping some beads to make cabs for my silver rings, using tabular and lentil beads which just won't break in half on the right axis to make cabs
My first attempt was a disaster...
Fail!
I had ugly bead release residue but the main problem was the bead holes gravitate upwards and made scars.
I couldn't find any info on how to do it better, then I had a middle of the night idea which has worked for me.
I don't know if anyone else has done this before but thought I would share it here (more details in my blog link for those interested) - I filled the bead holes with stringer to keep the beads from collapsing when they melt, sounds simple but I was excited to figure it out for myself lol.
Success!