| How Lampwork Beads Are Made |
The information below was gleaned from various websites about the process of lampworking. It illustrates how time consuming and talented an artist needs to be in order to produce a quality product.
In order to make a lampwork bead, the artist heats a long, thin glass rod in the flame of a propane torch. These are available in a wide range of transparent and opaque (non-transparent) colors. Some artists like to melt various glasses together to achieve new colors that cannot be purchased. Once the glass melts to a thick syrupy consistency, it is wound onto a clay dipped mandrel (a thin steel rod). The base shape of the bead is formed here, usually round. Free form shapes are created by hand mashing and pulling the molten glass with an array of tools made of graphite, brass, and stainless steel. And "pressed" beads are made when melted glass is pressed into a form (usually brass) creating consistent shapes of tabs, lentils, pillows, squares, etc.
After the base bead is wound onto the mandel, it is slowly and continually "rolled" back and forth in the flame until it has that perfect round shape. Too much heat here can cause the bead to lose its shape and the hot glass can drip right off the mandrel onto the work work table. Too much heat will cause the bead to crack off the mandrel.
Some surface decoration is formed usually before the bead is made. Alot of experimenting goes into the process. The artist needs to know what colors can be combined to create the effect needed. Long thin strand of glass called stringer are used to melt dots onto the bead. Precious metals such as silver and gold can be fumed onto the bead. By adjusting the flame, the artist can create interesting patterns using foils and frit.
A base bead can also be rolled in vaying colors of enamels (powdered glass) and frit (small piece of colored glass). All of these processes add interesting color, but are dangerous to work with. Adequate ventilation is required and masks must be worn to keep from inhaling dust and fumes.
The final and very important step is annealing. The bead, once completed in the flame, goes directly into a glass kiln to be annealed. Annealing is a slow cool down of the bead. It takes around 8 to 10 hours to cool a bead down to a handling temperature in a digitally controlled kiln. The removes the internal stresses from the glass bead which cause it to crack. It is this process that ensures strength and durability to last a lifetime. Once cooled, the bead is extracted from the mandrel, the bead hole is diamond tip drilled to remove the clay release and it is now ready to be used for jewery making.
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