How lampwork beads are made

A lampwork bead is formed by melting glass rods in a propane and oxygen flame and winding the molten glass (akin to runny honey!) around thin steel rods called mandrels.  Before starting, the mandrels are dipped in ‘Bead Release’ to provide a coating that will later allow the bead to be removed easily from the rod.

  

The mandrel is rotated slowly in and out of the flame until the molten bead is a uniform shape. The base bead can be shaped using an array of tools and decorated using stringers (thin glass rods), silver/gold leaf, frits (small pieces of crushed glass) and more.   Here is where imagination is the only limit.

The decoration ‘stringers’ are made by heating a rod until a blob of molten glass forms which is then ‘pulled’.  This stretches the molten glass  into a thin cane.  More intricate canes can be achieved by melting together several colours of glass before pulling and, if desired, twisting at the same time.

When the bead is complete it is taken from the flame and placed into the kiln to anneal.  This allows the glass to reduce its temperature gradually.  Without annealing  the slightest knock could break the glass.  The kiln, running on a 20 amp supply, is programmed to reduce temperature gradually at a predetermined rate.  (It is best not to look at the electric meter at this stage, especially here in Alderney where we pay about 25p per unit!!)

Then you wait . . . .  several hours!

When the beads (on the mandrels) come out of the kiln at room temperature they are placed in water to remove the bead release and the bead is pulled off the mandrel.  The ‘bead release’ inside the hole of the bead is then cleaned away using a thin abrasive tool.

Finally, the finished bead!