Question on lampwork beads

Smaller holes are nice because if you use thicker wire (ie. softflex), you don't need to stuff the holes with seed beads to take up the extra space.

Also. Smaller beads. Less stuffing.

Tina

LOL Cheryl, and here I am picking up more and more 1/8" mandrels (or bigger) for stringing on leather/hemp and hair. Damn skinny mandrels bend (or burn off...boro) too easily for me. I know, I'm a brute. LOL

KarenK

I don't like the 1/16 mandrels either for the bending and burning reason myself. I find that I'm progressively getting larger and larger mandrels because of the size of my work.

Check your local electrical (not electronics!) supply store for something called "spaghetti". That's just what it looks like, thin flexible plastic tubing. Comes in lots of ID/OD variations, several of which are excellent for stabilizing large-holed beads on stringing wire, and cuts easily with wire cutters to any length required.

Celine

. Damn skinny mandrels bend (or burn off...boro) too easily for me. I know, I'm a brute. LOL

KarenK>

Yeah - now I remember why I didn't use them..... LOL They are ok for smller beads - but not big things or boro....

Cheryl last semester of lawschool! yipee! DRAGON BEADS Flameworked beads and glass

As with all plastic, the question comes up..... How is it for durability? for 10 or 20 years?

Tina

I prefer smaller beads (half inch or so) and bright, clear moretti colors and did I mention clear? Usually.

Seems to me it would make sense to use the thicker mandrels for the high temp boro and for bigger beads, and the skinnier ones for clear and small beads. And please everyone.

Tina

I actually would prefer the holes to be bigger. If the holes are too large for what I'm doing I can plug it. Can't do anything with holes that are too small except move on to a different project.

It's intended for use in the construction industry. They don't tend to go for short-term obsolescence in that field.

Celine

Thanks.

Tina

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 17:36:07 -0500, Lee S. Billings wrote (in message ):

Especially in plumbing waste pipes. Take my word for it -- you don't want to have to replace those things very often.

Kathy N-V

Most of the lampwork beads that I've used are off of the larger mandrels. I've found that stringing size 11 seed beads, either clear or the core color, and then sliding the focal over them works great! The focal sits more evenly centered, and it has far less wiggle room, plus it allows me to put smaller beads up against the focal if I so desire. I like the larger hole, because it allows me to do some interesting stacking if I am doing a perpendicular pendant.

There. my 2 cents for the night.

:)

Well, this isn't plumbing, it's electrical, but I think the same dynamic applies.

Celine