Stringers... ? NEED HELP PLEASE ;D

[Vicki.White]

So I can pull stringers, no problem now... but oh my god i cannot use them to save my life... please please I need some tips!!!!!!!!!

xxxxx

[Veebee]

I'm with you sister! They melt soooo fast.....I have to try and hold them higher in the flame, then I manage to use them maybe twice before I'm nearly sticking my fingers in the flame 
And then it turns out to be a big blobby mess and I probably would of had more control with the original rod. Eeek! someone must have some hints?

[Lush!]

Keep the stringer at the edge of flame, just melt the end very carefully, so you've got a "hot dot" on the end. 

Keep the bead at the back of the flame, just warm. 

Take the stringer the to the bead and apply the "hot dot", then DIP the bead and the stringer together into the flame at the same time as gently removing the stringer from the bead so that the flame cuts the join. 

Turn the bead away from you so that the dot you just applied is up and away from the heat while you do another one.

HTH 

[squirsygirl]

Start with stiffer colours - white is really hard to get right ( it just runs away) I like effetre dark trans purple, or vetro black.

Where you cant see the flame anymore, I imagine just a whoosh of very hot air, and try to keep the stringer in the hot air.  And don't press too hard.  Flame cut.  And practice.

Kirsty

[Redhotsal]

Work with the bead at the very top of the flame. Some people find it helps to turn the flame down. At the top of the flame - where there doesn't seem to be a visible flame you will find a position there where, if you poke a stringer in you can get the stringer to just about glow. This is called the "sweet spot" and this is where you will want to always have your stringer.

SO - you need to bring your bead to this position - just behind the stringer and then you can start to decorate with the stringer - but always push it down on to the bead - don't "drape" it on there. If you are in the right part of the flame you'll feel the stringer "yield" and bend but it won't glow and ball up.  The secret then is to move the bead under the stringer so that the stringer is always in the same place. - Bit like moving your paper but keeping the pen in the same place.  

The reason for doing this is that your stringer will always get the same amount of heat - whereas if you move your stringer around it will be in and out of the flame and then will be harder to control. Don't forget you will have to "feed" more stringer down - it's easy to start bringing the bead out of the right position as you run out of stringer but you ideally want to keep everything in the same place. It sometimes helps to imagine the stringer as the thread that runs through the needle of a sewing machine.

Don't forget that the bead has to be "sticky" hot or the stringer won't stick and always push the stringer on because any bits which aren't firmly attached will just "ball up" the next time you apply heat to them.

Hope this helps  

[beadammed]

That is really helpful advice Sally.  I've been asked to do a bead with a name on it so I'll give it a go with this technique.  Thanks for sharing.
Geraldine

[Vicki.White]

Fantastic guys... I actually woke up on friday morning (after spending most of thursday trying to practice and work out how to use stringers) and sat down at the torch and found that I could just do it (I was amazed!!!!!)... was a bit of a strange one really... but what you have all written has really helped too cuz it gives me an insight to how its supposed to be done... and now I can try to perfect this technique!!!

Sal... I'm sending my beads your way tomorrow... there is quite a lot hehe!!! hope they get to you in one piece!!!!

xxx