I got the gems in bloom tutorial which suggests middle dipping mandrels and it makes sense as can get at both sides equally. Ordered some 12" mandrels from Tuffers and they should arrive tomorrow but...I have a bead cube and hadnt though of this till this evening, half way dipped mandrels mean the bead will either be just inside the door or in danger of being crushed and also chilled every time I open the door etc.
I tried the 'no burn fingers' holder but a 1.6mm mandrel rattles around in it. I thought about a pin vice but its a bit of a faff so does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get at both sides but using normal end dipped mandrels?
UPDATE
Well, I have a solution!
It didnt matter what way I tried I cant get a bead thats been made in the middle of a long mandrel to actually go inside the beadcube as the bead is around the same place as the door. I tried batch annealing just to see if being sble to get at both sides would make a real difference and ooh yes it does. This required an invention as follows -
Use an aligator / crocodile clip, the sort we all tried to use for stainess steel earposts but they were too wobbly. Dip a mandrel as normal but in a deeper pot of bead release and wipe about an inch off (wasteful but so much easier). Get a knitting needle (not plastic) to fit the end of the crocodile clip and clamp the crocodile clip onto the cleaned off end of the mandrel, the mandrel will go under the knitting needle and keep it all steady. Now you can work like its middle dipped, have something handy like pliers to release the croc clip and stick the bead into the kiln. See - even a beadcube can do a version of middle dip! Will post piccy if my description doesnt do it
Hx
I have a couple of tuts from people who use middle dipped mandrels but I can't get my head around how to get the bead release on! I know that one of them explains how to do it but it occurred to me also that it would make the garaging difficult. I'm thinking that it is something that I might maybe try when I don't have much else to make so that I can spread them around in the kiln but I'm lucky enough to have a maxine so I've got the space. Wouldn't have fitted more that half a dozen the my SC2.
Let us know how you get on ;)
Carrie x
Two thoughts - could you cut down some of your 1.6 mandrels so that they fit in better? and what about some steel grid so that you can put the mandrels in at a steeper angle? There's picture on the site somewhere...
Here we are - you could make an L shaped one to put at the back of the kiln
http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=859.0
Marg - you have a good point about the metal mesh - I have that in my new kiln and it makes an enormous difference to how many mandrels you can fit.
Carrie :)
You also need to be careful when swapping hands how hot one end might be ...
With regards to dipping mandrels in the middle, I do this and I just tip some bead release in one of those mince pie (or similar) cases and then roll my mandrels in that. It's perhaps a little messy as you need to tip the rest back in the big pot again, but I am used to it! As for the kiln, I usually batch anneal, so not a problem, but you can get a few mandrels in an SC2, though the beads are situated fairly near to the door, but it is possible. :). For me, it works and is helpful to be able to switch sides, but it would be more of a problem for annealing as you go, especially if you make quite a few beads.
Thanks for all the tips! My 12" mandrels have arrived but think I will have to batch anneal as the beadcube is just too small to take more than 4 or 5 side on. If it makes my beads amazingly better (who am I kiddin!) I might have to get a bigger kiln!
Off to search for a mince pie case!
I know some people are not keen on batch annealing, but I don't have too many problems (I use vermiculite). I have lost the odd bead, but I do sometimes make vessels and I batch anneal those too ok :)
Need to find a long dish! my vermiculite is in a big casserole dish but its not deep enough for the long mandrels, will have a go at the weekend (when the guests go!)
I've got a big stock pot and even then there's not that much vermiculite over the top of them, but it works ok. Another option may be a spaghetti jar/pot?
Just had another thought :). If you are not making that many beads in one go, you could cut the top of a 2 litre pop bottle then dry and fill that? You may need to find something to secure it upright, but should work?
Sand in the bottom of the pop bottle? Just a thought...
Also remember reading about dipping mandrels in the middle by filling a bead scoop with bead release. It's a long thin curved seed bead scoop that usually comes in plier sets in a zipped pouch......very difficult to describe!!
Corinne
Not sure what one of those bead scoops are, Corinne, but the mince pie dishes are reasonably wide, so you get a good 'footprint' of bead release on your mandrel if you want to make a bigger bead. Other suggestions are long thin containers for the bead release and then dip as normal and either waste quite a bit of bead release for half the length of the mandrel or else wipe the excess off with your fingers, but that is more messy than my mince pie foil dish - and I get to eat the mince pie first ;) ;D I also re-use these until they start splitting, so they last quite a while :)
Quote from: Enchanted Cobwebs on January 07, 2013, 04:26:23 PM
but think I will have to batch anneal as the beadcube is just too small to take more than 4 or 5 side on.
Once a bead has been in the cube for ten minutes or so, you can stack it on top of another bead. Keep the stack to whatever side of the cube you prefer so that one side is kept clear for the next bead going in. Move the new bead over to the stack after a time to make way for the next garaged bead. Simples.
updated with solution on first post
Sounds like a job for the grippies that Alan Joyce sells
Amazon sell the Scoop Eez bead scoops, I use them for all sorts www.amazon.co.uk/Scoop-Eez-Long-Tube-Delicas/dp/B0049IT9SI/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1366623577&sr=8-8&keywords=bead+scoop