Neew a little help with presses

playswithfire104 · #1 2007-02-25, 9:16am

I won a press in the press game. So I'm trying to use it as much as I can in the 30 days that I have it.

One thing that I find is every so often the glass will ooze into the part of the press carved out for the mandrel and I get a little sharp point around the bead hole. Any advice on how to avoid this? If it happens on the first press and I need to add glass it is OK cause I can just move the bead up futher in the press and add glass to the pointy end. But I can't do that if I don't need any more glass and I'm stuck with a pointy bead hole and nobody wants that. So what do you all do? If I get a pointy end am I just screwed or is there something I can do about it?

I did try grinding the end with my dremel (under water) and then I have to etch the bead because the grinding leaves a mark. Any other ideas?

lldesigns · #2 2007-02-25, 9:33am

I have that problem if I press too hard. I've found I get a better result with "Softer" pressing. I also use the "Slumping" technique that involves no pressing at all. Get your gather fairly hot and place it in half of the press and let it slump into the press. Do the same with the other side. Of course I'm no expert on presses so hopefully someone will jump in with more suggestions.

beadsoncypress · #3 2007-02-25, 9:36am

Basically you are either using too much glass or are not centering before you press. When I do that I use a diamond reamer to clean and remove the sharp points. The cone seems to work best then I change to the ball style.
I don't know if that is the right thing to do, but it works for me!

JavaGirlBT · #4 2007-02-25, 9:50am

This also happens if you are pressing when the glass is too hot. Press a little cooler and you might find this helps.

artwhim · #5 2007-02-25, 9:45pm

Preventing it from happening is the best, but yes, you can rescue the bead.

This will only work right after you press the bead and before you heat it again. The little lip should not have been hot enough to attach to the mandrel when it oozed out. If you heat the lip directly it will attach to the mandrel, so you have to be careful to heat the end of the bead NEAR the lip but not on it. As the lip softens from the radient heat, use the flat side of a razor tool to push the lip back up to the body of the bead. If you immediately repress once the lip is part of the base bead, the lip will come right back. Instead, you need to do some general overall heating and work to shift the glass. When you press again, do a soft practice press to see if the lip is going to come back. If it is, heat and shift some more, if not, go ahead a finish the bead.

This is actually an easy fix once you get the hang of it.

playswithfire104 · #6 2007-02-25, 10:06pm

Thanks Kathy I'll try that tomorrow!