Bead on key

[cakey]

How do you hold on to the key when you put it into the flame to make the bead on it?
The house I grew up in had a skeleton key to open the front door. I still have one. I thought it would make a nice memory for my parents to do something like that to it.

[artiegirl]

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=129157

hope this helps

[AmorphousDesigns]

If the shaft of the key is hollow (all the small ones I've used were like that) then you can goop it up good with bead release and let a mandrel dry in there. Try to prop it up so it dries straight in alignment with the key.

If the shaft is solid, the best thing is the key holder by Jelveh. If this is a one time thing, maybe you could try to run some heavy wire thru the top loop part of the key and twist it to make a handle. Good luck, I hope I makes a lovely memory.

[Anne Ricketts]

I love Jelveh's Key Mandrel! You can use it to hold other things also!

[mnoelker]

You can also just heat the end of the key to a glow and punty a glass rod to it. That's what I do with mine.

[Lizzydee]

I just wire mine on a mandrel (when I buy welding rods there is a flattened section on the end) so instead of cutting it off, I kept it and then lay the head of the key on it and wire. works great. I dont do many keys but if I did I would certainly buy Jevlahs!

[theglassattic]

I bought a pair of super huge (aprox 13 inches) locking forceps from Harbor Freight for very cheap. Sorry I don't remember the price, but I am cheap, so they must have been under 10-12 bucks. They really work great for the keys, as well as many other things. I keep them right next to my kiln. They were a little awkward to twirl at first, but you get used to it. My hubby originally welded super large alligator clips to the ends of Pandora mandrels for me to use with the keys, and they worked awesome, until the heat of the torch ruined the springs in them. When I use the forceps, I always unlock and drop the key into the kiln, I don't put the forceps in, I don't know how well they'd take that. They also work nicely to hold super shorts to pull a stringer from. (told ya I was cheap, lol)

[giapet]

I've never made a key yet but did make a cool holder that would work great. It's just a stainless hollow (cheap) chopstick with an alligator clip shoved on the end. The fit is tight enough that it is not going to come apart.

You could also squish the end of the alligator closed a little before sliding it over the chopstick for a tighter fit. The clip holds short rods firmly and would also hold the top of a key nicely. And the handle is about the size of a glass rod or larger mandrel, easy to use.