Short, fat triangles - I want them to be long and skinny...

[isc]

Hi everyone,
Hmm, I spent yesterday working through some of the dot section of passing the flame. There's a bead that is called a triangle bead and I can't get mine to look like they should. My triangles are short and fat and don't go as far as the other side of the bead like the book. I'm going to try and post a picture.....


Triangle beads by ISCJewellery, on Flickr


Hopefully that will work. Forgive the bad photography. I know I need to cover the white dots more. I tried more white and less white I'm still not sure. Any suggestions as to where I'm going wrong would be very welcome

[isc]

Not so successful with the photo... I'm off to search on 'how to post pictures'

[helbels]

I think you just need to heat them more, and perhaps put the dots a bit closer together as you space them around the bead.  Don't stop heating too early - they will keep spreading more and more and more.  If you dont put the dots close enough together, there's too much room for them to spread without being squished into triangles by the other dots, if you see what I mean?

[isc]

Ah thanks, that does make sense - I was trying it the other way round thinking the point needed more space to move across the bead into. I'll give it another go and keep heating it too.

[Dragonfire Glass]

make more of a disc bead to start with.
as it fattens out the triangles will get longer

[Tracy]

I wait till they look like yours then disc encase on top and that pulls them over to the opposite end of the beads iyswim?

[isc]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'll give them a go, hopefully this week and let you know I get on

[beadysam]

I've been trying to find the original of this tutorial but no luck, so I hope this will do - you may have to register...
http://forum.aussiebeadmakers.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=669

[paintboxcrafts]

Do you need more dots on each side, say 6 instead of 4 or 5?
Then there will be less room for them and they will become squashed into triangles.

[Margram]

Interesting video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tTEwa45xYk

[isc]

They're both great tutorials, thanks for posting them. It didn't even occur to me to look on you tube. I'm going to have to sort out my encasing I think before I properly master the trianlges.

[Redhotsal]

You won't get the triangles pointy unless you start off with a skinny bead - like a disc shape. When the disc starts to condense down into a rounder shape it will pull the dots across the bead (from one hole to the other hole direction) so that they elongate and become triangular. It won't happen if your bead is already round as there will be no "stretching" of the glass.
You can make them more triangular by encasing around the centre and allowing the clear to condense out to the edges.