How Glass Beads Are Formed

Have you ever wondered how glass beads and bead bracelets are crafted? The modern style of making glass beads is known as flameworking. This practice has been used since the 14th century, but the original techniques used oil-based lamps. The new flameworking methods use flame from gas burners, which is the only main difference. Instead of using oils, the new burners use gases such as propane or butane which is mixed with oxygen in the air.

The tools used in flameworking beads are: a gas torch, marvers, molds, a mandrel and tungsten picks. Most of the tools used are made of graphite due to its capacity to absorb heat. The molds can be made up of graphite, wood, or brass. A marver is considered to be a flat surface used to roll or press the heated glass for shaping. The tungsten picks are used to shape the glass also. The mandrel is usually a steel welding wire that the glass is wound upon to make the beads.

The first step in creating glass beads is to select the form of glass you wish to use. Many kinds of glass can be used in flameworking. The three main kinds of glass used in flameworking are: Soda lime, Lead, and Borosilicate. Several of the styles of glass come in rod form so that it is easier to use for the bead maker. Although the glass comes in rod form, it can be cut into strips from sheets of glass or glass bottles.

Once the glass is selected, the next step is to prepare the mandrel. To prepare the mandrel the flameworker would dip the steel wire into a clay-based solution and leave to dry. Once the mandrel has dried, the worker would then position the mandrel and glass rod in the flame from the torch. When the glass reached the correct temperature, the worker will begin spinning the mandrel and winding the glass around the mandrel to for the beads. The flameworker will repeatedly do this until the desired colors and size of the beads are met.

Shaping the beads can be accomplished by utilizing graphite paddles, tungsten picks, tweezers, and mashers. These tools help apply lines, dots, and cuts in the glass beads. After all decorations are finalized, the beads must be heated to a temperature of 940-1050 degrees Fahrenheit. After the beads have been heated to the proper temperature they must be left to slowly cool. Once the beads have cooled off, they may be further decorated by sandblasting or polishing. If no further work needs to be done then you can start adding your final beads to pieces of jewelry to make bead bracelets or bead necklaces.

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