Hi, have been looking and cant see an answer, I have just done some headpins with a bead on the end and was wondering if I need to kiln anneal it the same as plain beads?
Also what do you do with all the bits of glass that are too small to use with the torch?
Yes, you should anneal them on the same schedule as you would normally use.
Shorts can be heated up and plunged into water to make frit, or some people fuse them together to make pendants. You can also hold them with a rod holder and pull stringers.
Quote from: Shirley on December 16, 2013, 02:27:49 PM
Shorts can be heated up and plunged into water to make frit, or some people fuse them together to make pendants. You can also hold them with a rod holder and pull stringers.
Or join them onto a new full rod of the same glass.
Nick
Or weigh them, when you get 2 the same weight same colour use for stud earrings. 0.7 grams produces lovely weight studs!
live is too short to worry about shorts I dump mine in a glass and then bin once a month
I'm with Tish there, if it's that small it goes in a jar and in the bin when it's full.
I normally join mine on to the end of the next rod of the same colour.
Wow thankyou everyone, very helpful, I don't have many rods yet, cant wait to save up to get some more so will try using them as would rather not waste if I can help it. Haven't tried making pendents yet, just beginning with beads although i love some of the sculptures and glass animals, but don't think i would be able to make them!
Quote from: Jane C ♫ on December 16, 2013, 05:48:03 PM
I normally join mine on to the end of the next rod of the same colour.
If you don't have a rod of the same colour, you can alway join the short onto any available rod. When you get down to half a centimetre from the join, just cut off the last bit of odd colour to avoid contaminating the other fuller rod.
I normally aim to use up the ends of my rods when they're too short to hold by sticking them onto a slightly molten part of the bead, then hold the end with tweezers or pliers and slowly heat it until it melts into the bead. The end sometimes spits if you heat it too fast, so be careful!
Not sure I've explained that well, hope it makes sense!
Babyshoes - I do that sometimes too!
I also do that with the little chips which sometimes come off when you heat a rod too fast - I line them up on the marver and use them for random decoration!
I've always lived by the old adage "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves", http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/look+after+the+pennies+and+the+pounds+will+look+after+themselves.html
Quote from: Pat from Canvey on December 17, 2013, 07:18:51 AM
I've always lived by the old adage "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves", http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/look+after+the+pennies+and+the+pounds+will+look+after+themselves.html
Me too, been times in my life when money was very very short. Its taught me not to be wasteful even for small things. If I dont need what I have saved its often benefited someone else. I even ponder over what to do with my hand pulled stringer shorts though do admit I would put them in the 'dump' jam jar if I couldn't immediately see a use!
I remelt my stringers back on the rod, it's twistie shorts I have trouble with.
Quote from: ARBeads on December 17, 2013, 09:30:51 AM
I remelt my stringers back on the rod, it's twistie shorts I have trouble with.
Thats a good idea, will be doing that with my single colour ones!
I use as many of the twistie / flower cane ends as possible in backgrounds but they are not always easy to use up. It goes against the grain but I do (sometimes) throw them away though only when the full jam jar of them gets too full...
Odd bits of stringer make great organic beads - on a plain base bead add some silver leaf, then squiggle and dot on some random colours/ toning colours, melt in and voila. :)
You can snip twisties to make murrine.....
Funnily enough I had a play yesterday by gathering up all the bits of stringer, melting them haphazardly on a white rod and pulling the resulting mass into a twistie. I was pleasantly surprised by the result and was able to use said twistie on another bead. Have a play and see what you get.