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Making a round basic bead
Start by heating up a glass rod very slowly. Dance the tip of the rod in and out of the upper part of the flame. Once you see the tip of the glass rod glowing orange, you can leave the glass in the flame longer and longer. You should see the tip of the rod start to gather a small ball of glass. Holding the rod horizontally and leaving the tip in the flame, work with gravity to form a gather ( or ball ) of glass a bit larger than the size of bead you want to make.
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Holding the mandrel in the upper part of the flame with your other hand, press the front end of the glass ball onto your mandrel. At the same time turn your mandrel away from your body, to wrap the hot glass all the way around. Roll the mandrel until you've wound off as much glass as you have available on the end of your rod.
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Keep the bead in the flame and allow it to start to smooth out and form into a round bead. If your glass gets too hot that it starts to sag, take the bead out of the flame and allow it to cool while turning your mandrel. Remember to always roll your mandrel the entire time you are working on your bead and always keep it warm. Once you are happy with the shape of your bead, take it out of the flame.
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Stringers are the basis for most of the decorations for your beads. They become the artists paint brush if you will. This step is normally done before you make your bead. Heat the end of a glass rod as if you were going to make a bead. Grab the tip of the gather with a long tweezers or pliers.
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Let the orange glow fade slightly and pull vertically, very slowly. Watch the thickness of the glass as you pull it. The thickness of a pencil lead is ideal.
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First, make curly vines on the background, then melt in. Next, take a stringer and make a tight coil to make a rose bud.
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Now you can put your leaves on. Rotate bead in the flame to melt in slightly. This fuses the glass together to make it one piece.
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Finished! It now goes into a computer controlled kiln and it is cooled over 8 to 12 hours. This makes the glass tougher and takes out the stresses made while heating and cooling the glass in the flame.
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