Stringers !!!

[fionaess]

I have tried three methods for making these damn things... melt a rod in the middle, melt a rod at the end and use pliers, melt a rod and attach to a mandrel.....I have read endless tutorials on line, watched youtube videos, read my Cindy Jenkins book again and again and still I can't even make 6 inches of stringer which isnt totally uneven...I just can't do it.  Now, is it me, it is the method or does it take years to  make 6" of stringer which is remotely even in size.
Any help most gratefully received... I will try any method, including standing on one leg singing if necessary.

Fiona

[flowerjasper]

 
glad its not just me!
sis , i know is silverd ivory stringer, tips how to make this and others would be gratefully recieved
x

[Juniper]

I had completely different cind of problem with sringers at the beginning. Mine were even, but evenly as thick as a fishing line (never noodle sized). Realised that I need to waite a moment, to let the glass cool down a bit before pulling.

Pull in even speed, but pull a little faster (and harder) when the glass cools down. Oh, and naturally PPP. 

[Billie]

I also hold the rod pointing downwards as I pull the stringer rather than pulling horizontally.  If you find the end is thicker where you are griping it with tweezers (or pulling to ends of the rod away from the middle) give the thicker end a twist toward the end of your pull you thin it.

[Lush!]

I'm no expert (although my SIS ain't too shabby now  ) but add it to the list of things for us to do together Fiona, and get that date sorted! 

I'm sure theres a tut for SIS around somewhere, I'll go see ............

[Lush!]

This is a good one ... http://www.cauldroncreations.com/sistutorial.html

[turnedlight]

Mine are a bit lumpy, but not too bad.. I heat a blob, take it out of the flame and grab a bit of the end with my tweezers, put back in flame but very high, so the bottom of blob slightly glows.
Then pull - it feels like a rubber band, if it gives no resistance then it'll be too thin. Keep the blob glowing, you have to move it forward and if the resistance gets less, move blob forward.
The glass is being pulled from the underside, so if necessary, you may have to twist it around to get even heat. When doing twisties, however, it seems much more possible to just heat the whole thing and pull and twist out of the flame.. I'm not that experienced, but I find this works for me.

[Redhotsal]

What exactly is the problem - are they too thin/too thick/lumpy?

[fionaess]

Hi Sal
Very lumpy and very short - thick and then very thin and then thick again and I can pull for about 6" max .  I will post a pic so you can see what I mean.

[fionaess]

Yuk !

[Shirley]

I don't keep my melted glass anywhere near the flame when I'm ready to pull. I heat the glass - more for a thicker stringer, grab it with pliers, wait a couple of seconds and pull, adjusting the speed of pull to suit the thickness I'm looking for. You do have to keep the tension otherwise they go bendy and/or lumpy.

Like most of this lark it's practice, but it's well worth it as you get a really good feel for how the glass is going to behave.

[Shirley]

Oh, forgot to say, I never use a piece of stringer that is longer than about 6 inches anyway. When I pull them longer I break them into smaller pieces, so you might not need to pull them really long, especially the thicker ones.

[Lush!]

I do it Shirley's way too.  In one of the books, I think it may be Cindy Jenkins, it says to keep the end of the rod in the flame but that just doesn't work for me.  Sally showed me how to do it out of the flame and I think its very much down to timing. If the gather is too hot and soft or you pull too fast you end up with a skinny stringer.

Take your time and pull slow and long  

[*rowanberry*]

I could never pull stringers the Cindy jenkins method of keeping it in the flame! I always pull stringer out of the flame.

A tip for getting even ones is always keep the thicker side up higher, use gravity to make it even...
ie:
If you stringer is pulling thicker on the right side, keep your right hand higher than the left when pulling.
If your stringer if pulling thicker on the left side, keep your left hand higher than the righ when pulling.
If you are pulling your stringer evenly make sure you keep both hands at the same level...

If that makes sense!

[Redhotsal]

Ooo bleurgh!

Looks like you're trying to pull the stringer in the flame. This is virtually impossible to do and get a nice even stringer.

Heat up a gather on the end of your rod about the size of a marrowfat pea (8-10mm). Hold the rod so your hot end is pointing slightly up in the flame and keep it turning or your gather will fall off. Get it nice and hot and then pull it out of the flame.

If you are right handed hold the rod in your left hand and take hold of some needle nose pliers or some tweezers with your right hand.

Look at the gather (still keep the rod pointing sligtly upwards) Wait until the heat glow starts to disappear - usually after about three-six seconds.

Now hold the rod horizontally and nip a tiny piece of the gather with your pliers. Pull to the right and keep the rod tensioned. Don't let it get floppy. Don't grab too much glass when you do this or your stringer will be too ribbon-shapped and you'll waste much of your gather. Hold the pliers horizontally too and pull straight out from the gather (to the right). Increase the speed of the pull as you feel the gather stiffening up.

If you're making a white stringer - I usually find that I wait until the white turns white (i.e. not transparent) before I pull.

But above all - DOn'T pull your stringer in the flame.

Should work.......it's quite easy - you'll wonder why you struggled with it once you get the hang of it!