I'm trying to pull a stringer but I want it to be flat rather than round?!?!
any ideas as to the way to do this?
Squish a lollipop, make it nice and flat and straight sided. If the stringer is 104COE glass, I used to use a stick of boro because it was stiffer - bend the end of the boro to 90 degrees and attach to one side of the lollipop, then heat and pull and you should get a ribbon. Might be a better ribbon if you use straight pulls on both ends, but the idea is to attach a line that pulls rather than a point, if you see what I mean.
I'm sure there's a tutorial somewhere that explains it better :D
Thanks hun.
I was trying something like that... using the length of the pliers to pull rather then the point but it still went mastly round.
Will have to give the boro idea a go!!
http://www.glassgirl.com/rainbowdemo.htm (http://www.glassgirl.com/rainbowdemo.htm)
I think the key is making sure both pulling ends cover the width of the ribbon - if you try to pull from just the centre, you end up round. Also make sure the lollipop is squared off and nice and wide.
You can pull ribbon from a mandrel too, just make sure the whole width of the mandrel end is secured to the mandrel - so if you use a different colour at the edges, tuck it inwards to touch the mandrel.
WOW I had no idea this could be done,. ;D ;D
This is an interesting tut, I didn't think of making a 'lollipop' first, I always use the colour in the middle of the rainbow that I'm making, say green, and stripe on the adjacent colours in turn, so they end up side by side, in a sort of square lollipop shape. Then I stripe some glass across the top, and attach a punty in the middle, and finally heat the green rod and bend it one way and then the other to pick up all the colours. Then I heat it, but not too strongly, take it high in the flame and pull slowly whilst heating just behind the pulled ribbon. I found a piccy of my first one, it's very wobbly! ;D
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2388779833_81f11d1ce8_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53211004@N00/2388779833/)
They have got straighter and flatter since but not as even as the one in that tut. I presume the trans colours are to stop the colours spreading when you apply the ribbon to a bead. I do it with opaques and make use of the fact the colours spread. But I'm going to have a go at this tut, I do like the effect!
What a great tutorial. Think Imight wait til I'm a little braver til I give it a go though