Making Lampwork Beads
The torch that I used back then was a Minor Bench Burner by Nortel. It combines oxygen and propane at the surface of the nozzle.
I start with stainless steel mandrels, usually 1/8th inch in diameter. They have to be dipped in a bead release material, which prevents the glass from sticking to the metal rod. I use "Blue Sludge" brand bead release from Frantz. It is a little harder to get the bead off than using a release material that contains graphite, but it rarely fails.
The glass I use is a soft glass commonly known as Effetre, formerly Moretti. It comes from Italy, via Frantz Art Glass, and is available in in an incredible choice of colors.
I am going to make a fish bead. I start by wrapping the molten glass around the mandrel until there is enough glass to make up the body of the fish.
The glass is heated until it becomes smooth and oval shaped. I then add decoration to the fish body, to add visual interest. I have wrapped a 1 mm diameter black rod(called a stringer) around the bead.
I smash the bead flat. Here I have heated the black stringer and I use a sharp point to rake the stringer towards the back of the fish. This makes a scale-like pattern.
I have wrapped a red stringer of glass around the left side of the bead, which forms the fish's lips. Here I am adding a slight smile by raking the lips back and up.
I add a white dot of glass to each side of the bead, and flatten them. A small dot of black is added which is the pupil of the eye.
I put a dot of clear over the eye. This add a magnifying glass effect over the pupil and makes the fish bug-eyed.
I then add fins to the top and bottom of the fish.
The fins are pulled back, animating the fish.
I add a tail fin to each side of the fish. It starts as a fat dot. I squeeze it flat and bend it toward the rear. It is then just a round piece of glass. To get it to look like a fin, I heat the glass up and touch it at the NE side with a cold rod. Here I have done that and pulled the fin into and animated shape. When I break the cold rod loosen the bead is done.
