A
little bit about Lampwork beads, and how they're made.....
What
is a lampwork bead, and how is it made in a nutshell
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Lampwork beads are handcrafted beads made
using thin glass rods. These are heated by the craftsman
over a torch, and the melted glass is then wrapped around
a thin metal rod called a mandrel, which is coated with
a substance called bead release. This is basically a mud
slurry formulated from earth and chemicals to prevent
the hot glass from permanately sticking to the metal mandrel.
Whatever size your mandrel is will be what the ultimate
size hole your bead will have. Back to the melted glass
rod, the craftsman carefully applies more glass by twisting
the mandrel and wrapping hot semi-liquid glass around
and around, until the amount of glass is on that he/she
wants for the bead. Then, the glass is melted over the
very hot torch flame until it is molten, and the bead
shape sets in. The mandrel must be kept spinning at all
times in an even rythm, or the bead will be lopsided from
the glass oozing toward the stopped side! Once the bead
form is made, the craftsman then applies decorations i
the form of more glass, silver, frits, or other goodies
that will safely work with the glass, and these are carefully
heated and applied to make the decorations. Once the bead
is completed, the craftsman puts the bead aside to cool
very slowly in a kiln. The kiln is a very hot oven especially
designed to withstand extremely hot temperatures. It takes
several hours for the beads to slowly cool, and once they
are, they get removed from their mandrls, cleaned, and
are now reaady to be made into jewelry!
I will add a more detailed section as time permits with
pictures of all this, but you can also see the process
firsthand in video form at my Movie
Vault.
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A little history about lampwork
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Lampwork and fusing work can both be dangerous if not properly
undertaken, and you should take care to inform yourself of all safety issues/precautions/and
risks associated with these endeavors.
All instructions on this page are copyrighted by DesertBug
Designs/T. Ryan and have all rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
in any form without express written permission of DesertBug Designs/T. Ryan.
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