round beads?

[Jay9]

Sorry if this sounds like a daft question but I'd like to have a go at making some round beads rather than doughnut shaped ones.  What is the best/easiest/most efficent way to do this?

e.g. can it be done by hand only, do I need a particular press or can I use one of the marble shapers to 'round' it off?

All help gratefully received!

[Vicki.White]

It's not a stupid question at all... I made my first proper round bead only a couple of weeks ago!!!
What I have found works for me is to make a barel shaped with a marveler  then do what you would to make a doughnut in the middle of the barrel. then instead of letting it just melt in I used the marveler to make the doughnut shaped bit spread out a bit more... then melt in. I hope that not confusing... but that is what I have found works for me... hope it helps 

Vicki x

[Zia]

Hi Jay

When I first started in April, making a decent round bead was almost impossible for me....

So I bought a graphite marver to help me.....but that didnt help much either as I had to have the exact amount of glass for it to work, an impossibility too for me at the beginning....

With lots of practise and a slight change of angle when holding the mandral....I have managed to produce round beads....although I do prefer not so round beads...
You really need to make sure your hand is holding the mandral straight....or else the glass "flows" along the mandral ..making sharper ends....

a little help from a newbie ....mabe it helps you too....

xxx

[Funky Cow]

It's a case of getting your footprint on the mandrel just right, and then adding just the amount of glass for the bead to form a round and give nice puckered ends.
It's another case of practice, practice, practice 

My friend and teacher Ray Skene gave me a great tip - he said, when you've finished making what you want to make, spend some time just pushing the limits: heat, roll, stretch and most importantly watch the effect the heating and relative cooling has on the glass.

He is very wise, as I have found that any time I've spent learning how glass behaves when I'm not preoccupied with actually making something has been time well spent 

[amareargentum]

As a newbie I have struggled with this too. I saw some advice about using a brass doming block to help shape the bead and have found it a great help. Once you have built the barrel and added the extra glass just heat it in and then gently roll the bead in the right size dent in the doming block. If you are not sure what a doming block looks like this link is to one

http://www.tickintimeworldofwatchtools.co.uk/solid-brass-doming-block-35mm-588-p.asp

Hope this helps

Amanda