Check Out The New Art Of Lamp Work Glass Beads

Glass beads are very graceful and balletic. It finds its application in jewellery making. They play a significant role in Lampwork where glass beads are the primary ingredients. In lamp work diachronic glass beads are mainly used. The wound glass beading technique is customarily called lampworking. It involves huge number of labor participation. In the ancient times, the core of a decorated bead was produced from molten glass at furnace temperatures.

Later with an oil lamp or spirit lamp the beads were re-heated to define the cores. In the modern times, glass beads for lamp work are made by using a gas torch to heat a rod of glass and spinning the resulting thread around a metal rod covered in bead release. The colors are later added on the surface to create intricate patterns. Here, the bead makers use single or dual fuel torches. These torches are a special type named flameworking torch the specialty being that here oxygen and fuel is mixed after it comes out of the torch, resulting in a quieter tool and less dirty flame.

Creating Basic Lamp work using Glass Bead

 

1.  First a mandrel is prepared.it is done by dipping it into the bead release at a length of 6cm. then it is left to dry. The approximate size of the mandrel may be 2.4mm. 
2.  Then a glass rod is taken which is gently warmed at the tip of the surfecae. This is done by gradual heating of the rod into the flame. The rod is evenly rotated so that the heat distribution is even and uniform.  Once done, the glass bead is ready for use.
3.   Now the prepared mandrel is heated to an orange flame. It is to be strictly remembered that if the heating of the mandrel is not proper, the glass may not stick to the mandrel.
4.  The molten glass rod tip is wrapped with the glass beads just like winding of a thread onto a spool. The mandrel is now left for cooling.
5.  As the glow of the mandrel gets dimmer, the heating is re-introduced for beading purpose. To make the bead larger, it is returned into the flame and heating is again done.
6.  To remove the glass bead out of the mandrel just lower the mandrel towards the worktop remembering to keep the mandrel horizontal.. When the bead has cooled slightly and lost its glow, it is cooled into chosen cooling medium.
7. When the bead is cold remove it from the mandrel, clean out the bead release, wash it, dry it. The bead formed in this lamp work is unique of its own kind.