How to Make Glass Beads

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Marilyn Baldwin
6 years ago
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1 How to Make Glass Beads Practice 1. Coat several mandrels (metal rods for building beads) with bead release (a fireproof material for coating a mandrel) by dipping it into the jar. Let it dry. 2. Choose a clear glass rod and prepare your frit (small chunks of glass). 3. Put on safety glasses. 4. Light your MAPP gas tank by pressing the red button and locking it on with the silver button. 5. Heat the coated mandrel in the flame. Start far away and constantly turn the mandrel while slowly moving closer to center of the flame. The bead release is ready when it glows orange. 6. Slowly heat the clear glass rod in the flame while constantly rotating the heated mandrel. Start very far away and constantly turn the glass rod while slowly moving closer to the center of the flame. When the glass glows orange and forms a blob, it is ready. It should be the consistency of honey. 7. Touch the tip of the blob to the coated part of the mandrel through the flame. 8. Rotate the mandrel to wind the melting glass onto the mandrel. 9. Pull the glass rod away when the wound glass is big enough, separating the new bead from the melting glass rod. 10. Rotate the new bead in the hot part of the flame until any irregularities even out. 11. Roll the new bead in the frit (small chunks of glass) and return mandrel to flame. 12. Repeat the process of adding clear glass and frit until bead is desired shape. 13. Cool the bead by continuously rotating the bead while slowly moving away from the flame. 14. Let the bead continue to cool in a fiber blanket. 15. Allow the bead to cool to the touch (approximately 3 hours). 16. Grasp the mandrel with pliers and the bead with your fingers, and twist and pull the bead from the mandrel. 17. Rinse bead to clean. Tips & Warnings Sand or file off any sharp edges around the hole of your bead. Heating or cooling the glass rod too quickly will cause popping, sending hot glass pieces flying. Always wear safety glasses and shoes in your work area. Putting your bead into the fiber blanket or vermiculite when too hot will leave marks on the bead. Do not attempt to reheat a cooled bead. Internal stresses may cause it to shatter. Using a torch will create a lot of heat and carbon monoxide. Make sure to turn on exhaust fan to ventilate your work area. Always keep your heatproof work surface clear of all flammable material. Molten glass exceeds 1,000 degrees F and can cause severe burns on contact. Even glass or glass rods that don't look hot can still be hundreds of degrees. Always remember which end of your glass rod is hot. (See previous statement) Tie back any long hair and avoid wearing loose-fitting long sleeves.

Now that you ve made your practice beads, decide what project you want to make.

beads. To make the beads, follow the directions from the previous page, but you can use multiple colors of glass rods and/or frit.

are located, etc): If you want to make GLASS BEADS ON WIRE SUN CATCHER you will make 5-10 beads.

2 Now that you ve made your practice beads, decide what project you want to make. You can make one of the three choices below: GLASS BEADS ON HEMP JEWELRY GLASS BEADS ON WIRE SUN CATCHER GLASS ICICLES If you want to make GLASS BEADS ON HEMP JEWELRY you will make 5-10 beads. To make the beads, follow the directions from the previous page, but you can use multiple colors of glass rods and/or frit. Colors of beads (can vary): Color of hemp (can vary): Style of jewelry (necklace, bracelet, anklet, etc): Briefly describe style of jewelry (what type(s), how many beads, where beads are located, etc): If you want to make GLASS BEADS ON WIRE SUN CATCHER you will make 5-10 beads. To make the beads, follow the directions from the previous page, but use multiple colors of glass rods and/or frit. Colors of beads (can vary): Color of wire (can vary): Briefly describe style of sun catcher (include a picture): If you want to make GLASS ICICLES you will have to make 1-3. To make the icicles, follow the directions on the next page. Colors of icicle(s): Briefly describe style of glass icicle(s) (include a picture):

3 How to Make Glass Icicles 1. Choose a clear glass rod and one or more colored glass rods. 2. Put on safety glasses. 3. Light your MAPP gas tank by pressing the red button and locking it on with the silver button. 4. Heat the glass rods in the flame. Start very far away and constantly turn the glass while slowly moving closer to the center of the flame. Only warm them, DO NOT let them glow orange. 5. Hold the tip of the colored glass in the flame so that it melts just enough for the glass to flow. 6. Starting 3 away from the end, touch the tip of the colored glass to the clear glass and apply a colored stripe all the way to the end of the clear glass. Colored glass should be a 90 angle to clear glass. 7. Heat clear glass (starting at tip and working the way back) to fuse colored glass. (Keep colored glass warm next to flame while fusing). 8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 with same color glass creating spaced stripes around clear glass. 9. Choose a second (and third) color and fill in clear spaces by repeating steps 6 and 7 until all the clear glass is covered by the colored glass. 10. Attach a second clear glass rod to the end of your striped rod. Center it and fuse it well, continuing to rotate both glass rods as you work. 11. Begin heating the striped rod at the end where the color starts. When the glass softens enough to begin moving, start rotating your dominant hand slightly faster than your nondominant hand, causing the glass to twist. (You are now balancing the molten glass between two solid rods) 12. Slowly move down the striped rod and continue to rotate and twist as you create a continuous spiral of color down the rod. Don t twist too quickly or tightly! As you do this, begin to pull slightly with your dominant hand to stretch and thin the glass as you twist it. 13. Continue this process until you ve moved down the rod, twisting & thinning as you go. Make sure not to get too thin, as you will need to hold onto this side while creating the loop at the other end. 14. Heat the rod at the top end of the stripes and use the clear glass that you are removing to create a loop. 15. Rotate the rod in the flame, heating it about ¼ from the base of the stripes. 16. When glass is pliable, begin to pull gently. At the same time, continue to heat the rod just ahead of where the glass is moving as you pull until you ve pulled a tapered length of glass (a tail) that is about one inch long. 17. Remove the rod by cutting the glass in the flame. 18. Begin to heat the tail from the end toward the striped glass (do not rotate), allowing the glass to fall and curl downward. When the tail has curved about halfway back toward the stripes, take the tweezers in your dominant hand, grab the end of the tail, and bend it around until it s touching the rod. 19. Allow the loop to cool slightly by moving the flame along the rod away from the loop. When loop has cooled slightly, hold it with the reamer and remove glass rod from opposite end by slicing the glass with the flame. Heat tip to dull any too sharp points! 20. Cool the icicle by slowly moving it out of the flame and into the fiber blanket.

5 GLASS BEAD CRITIQUE 1. Which bead/set of beads stand out to you the most from far away? 2. What about them grab your attention? 3. After looking at the beads up close, do the same beads stand out to you, or different ones? Why? 4. In your opinion, what makes the artist successful in this project (colors, textures, time, etc)?

R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R. Easy Enamel Beads. by Pam East

R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R projectlibrary Easy Enamel Beads by Pam East It doesn t take much more than some copper tubing, enamel powders, and a simple torch to make your own glass beads