Ring top peeps - anyone else having problems getting them off 2mm mandrels?

[Kalorlo]

I have 7 toppers stuck on mandrels! These are ones where I've used 2mm mandrels, dipped in bead release and then put the nut on top and left to air dry. They'd been in the sun today before I tried to take them off the first time, so I thought maybe it was just metal expansion making it so difficult, but after being in the freezer for a while, they're still stuck. The glass isn't melted onto the mandrel - I can still see bead release inside the nut, they're just not budging.

Now I have grooves scratched in the mandrels where I was hanging on with pliers, and blisters on my fingers from trying to twist the toppers 

I have one threaded mandrel - that one came off fine, but has cracked on top, so I think I trapped an air bubble or just let it get too cold. Only the first one I made on a normal mandrel came off, and it has a tiny underside crack next to the nut. (They all went straight in the kiln). It also has the least glass near the bottom of the nut, so I'm wondering if I let it go too far down with the other ones 

Bah, a couple of them I really liked, too!

[sparrow]

Hi Heather,

oh no!! I've not heard of problems like yours.........daft question, when you say 'least glass near the bottom of the nut', you don't mean actually on the bottom of the nut, do you? Because there should be no glass there at all - the sides should be covered completely, the bottom not at all...

The only other thing I can think of is that you're getting it too hot, maybe? If you really give it some wellie, I suppose it's possible to pretty much 'fire weld' the nut to the mandrel, because some bead release will always be disturbed by putting the nut on.....I'll have another think today, too 

[Kalorlo]

Ta Sabine - that's the problem with at least a couple of them. The others, dunno, but I'm definitely doing something wrong! 

I'll have another more careful go this week.

[MadelineBunyan]

oh dear!

perhaps when you burnt out the plastic insert thingy, the bead release flaked away and that is where it is stuck? onto the tip of the mandrel?

you could burn some out, and then dip them in bead release and see if that helps.

or dip them, burn them out, let them cool, then dab an extra bit of bead release there and then let it dry again. seems a bit of a faff though, although probably less of a painful one than blisters.

[jammie]

I had managed to weld a couple of tops to the mandrels and couldn't get them off no way no how, it was the screw top ones though not plain ones. I had been screwing the nut on too tight, dipping and using the mandrel before it dried and I think the glass had  gone a bit under the mandrel nut. Since I sorted all these things I have been fine.
Sounds like the problem was with the non threaded so maybe try with threaded. So sorry they cracked as well though, dont know why that would be. 

[Kalorlo]

I'm pretty sure the top cracks were because of an air bubble, and the bottom ones were probably from letting the bottom get too cold. (On the later ones I made sure to reheat the bottoms before they went in the kiln, but that might have contributed to the welding problem!)

Ah well, I'm wearing the one that came off the threaded mandrel anyway, despite the crack 

[MadelineBunyan]

I have two I made yesterday that are refusing to come off.
they were implosions so did get pretty flippin hot! will let you know if anything works for them..they are soaking sulking in the water jug atm!

all the others I made yesterday which were normal levels of hot have come off.

[MadelineBunyan]

one of them (the nicest one ) has now come off, I used a vice instead of pliers.

[Margram]

Have you tried Julie (Lush's) WD 40 trick?

[Kalorlo]

I have attacked them with a hammer! 4 are intact with slightly chipped bottoms, 3 are broken off, and I've retrieved 1 nut. 2 of the nuts are still on mandrels.

2 of the broken ones I liked, but I can make them again. (They were both thinner, so not surprising they broke).

[Shirl]

I did notice that if I burnt off the blue bit it bubbled up and pushed the bead release from the end, therefore making it possible for the glass to weld to the tip of the mandrel.

Now I hold the nut in tweezers and burn off the plastic, let it cool, then use as normal, checking to make sure there is bead release on the very tip.

[MangoBeads]

Have you tried Julie (Lush's) WD 40 trick?

worked for me yesterday