Makin

	Making a Lampwork Bead

Makin' Beads

The process of Lampwork. (Janette's version)

Lampwork (also known as flamework) is the process of creating glass beads.

The process originated in Syria in about 1300BC. Ancient beads are still being uncovered today.
Your glass beads may last lifetimes.

A single bead may take only minutes or more than an hour to complete for a complicated,
detailed bead.

Creating complex cane from a mix of several colours and murrine (pictures in glass) can take hours.

It sounds a lot of hard work, but I am one of thousands of obsessed bead makers who love to work with glass. It’s a “labour of love”.

Glass rods cut to 30cm lengths.
There are many glass manufacturers who produce a variety of colours and glass types.
Lampwork glass is produced in such countries as Italy (Effetre, Vetrofond), New Zealand (Gaffer), US (Bullseye) and other countries.

This is my work area.

I like everything at my fingertips.
There are, also, health and safety issues to consider when working with flames and gas. You have to have excellent ventilation. I use a 650 cfm woodworking dust extractor that is ducted outside and work with the workshop roller door open.

Glass comes in the form of rods, sheets or chunks and is melted over a very hot flame. Narrow strings are pulled from the molten rods to use for decoration.
I use oxygen, supplied by an oxygen concentrator, and propane mix.
The glass is wound around a stainless steel mandrel coated with bead separator. The bead separator enables the glass to be removed easily from the mandrel once the bead is cooled.

Glass is slowly added to the mandrel, forming a desired shape and decorated with patterns and shapes using skills built up through practise and persistence.
Lampworkers also use protective coloured eyewear to prevent injury from shattering glass and to reduce eye damage from soda flash.

I then place the bead in a computer-controlled kiln that enables the beads to anneal. This process of heating over time and slowly cooling toughens the beads and helps prevent cracking of the beads. Beads not annealed are not as strong and may break or crack more easily.

I clean each bead thoroughly with an electric tool with a diamond drill bit to remove all traces of the bead separator.
Some of the beads become loose sets and others I use to create finished pieces of jewellery.

Tools
Today we use many tools to create a variety of bead designs.
These are some of my favourites.
My all-time favourite is the graphite tool on the far right, the Osibin Cone Shaper.
The kitchen bread and butter knife is another favourite.

Glass Presses

These are some of the presses that I use to create different bead shapes.
These tools are not essential, but enable you to create unusual bead shapes. They are made from brass and wood.

Glass Bead Enhancement
Different techniques create the different bead styles.
Some of these techniques involve raking, poking, twisting, 'drawing' on with thin rods of glass called stringer, rolling in crushed glass called 'frit' the glass while molten and adding varying amounts of different coloured glasses.

This box contains mica powders, crushed glass (frit), millefiori, cubic zirconia, murrine (a letter “J” made into glass) and short lengths of copper tubing.

More frit – powders, shards and chunks.

A Great Hobby!!
I would encourage anyone to take up Lampwork.

The initial set up equipment and costs are quite reasonable. A propane-only torch and a propane bottle from your backyard barbeque, a tin of vermiculite, glass rods, mandrels, bead release and enthusiasm are all that is needed to start Lampwork.

You can become a glass loony too!

Janette

I hope that you enjoyed this little 'walk through' the process of Lampwork.

Keep smilin'

Janette Nethercott

For more information contact Janette Nethercott by email janette@flaminbeads.com or go to the page.