Getting beads off mandrels

[SilverGems89]

so now i've made a number of beads i thought it was time to get some of them off the mandrels, errrrm yeah it seemed like a good idea, but i'll be damned if i can actually get any of them off 
Any tips?

[Lush!]

Hold just behind the bead with a pair of pliers, and twist the bead, maybe wrap a damp cloth around it.

If it won't come off, try soaking for a while, if it still won't budge you could pop it in the freezer for an hour or two, the mandrel may contract in the cold.

[MangoBeads]

What she says !

[SilverGems89]

Thanks Julie, have soaked them and found out some mole grips and have now got a few of them off but good lord its hard! had a few crack too 

[princess pink]

try soaking in coke or cillit bang xx

[Amber]

Or spray with WD40! 

[Helen G]

I clamp them in a bench vice and twist and pull the bead off.

[SilverGems89]

I only have a few stubborn ones left on but i gave myself such a huge blister doing it yesterday i havent attempted anything with the ones left 

[Dragonfire Glass]

Another trick is to hold the bead wearing a rubber glove. Extra friction 

[Ness]

Change hands and your grip every so often... if that fails abandon them and try again later - they'll come off in the end! 

Or better still, get someone else to try - save your hands for making beads!

[Betty the Chook]

I tend to double dip my mandrels. Dip and allow to dry a bit and then redip. You end up with wider holes but the beads do come off a bit easier and you don't mangle as many mandrels. The freezer tip is a good one - havn't tried that ...... yet.

[Diane]

Just been speaking to a beading friend re this topic and she uses a piece of that rubber shelf lining stuff - also used for draining boards -  to hold onto the beads while she removes them from the mandrel - says it gives a much better grip. ( I think I've seen the same stuff on a roll in Poundland).
I normally use a bench vice or molegrips to grab the mandrel but for the bead end this sounds like a good idea.

[SilverGems89]

Thanks for all the tips, now i need to make some more beads to try them all out 

[BeadyBugs]

I've found these to be the best things ever for getting stubborn beads off mandrels with very little force required, they are fab and will do up to about a 2.5mm mandrel!  (Other sellers are available btw    )



You put the stubborn little blighter in as shown in the piccy and squeeze the handles veeeery gently to start with, the gun grips the mandrel, and pushes the bead off.  You should technically put a rubber washer in between the bead and gun to protect it, but I haven't got any at the mo.  A slight word of warning, if the bead is well and truly welded to the metal of the mandrel or the mandrel is bent it can still crack it, so wear safely glasses or wrap a towel around it as you do it, but if it's just a particularly bad case of non-releasing bead release, these can save the day when all else has failed.

Hope that helps.  

HP x

[Pat from Canvey]

I've found this rivet gun on their site. It's page 57 of their downloadable catalogue and is described as a four head rivet gun with 75 rivets, stock no. 44409 for anyone interested.