First the very end of a rod of glass is warmed in the tip of the flame on the torch. As the rod gets warmer it is moved towards a hotter part of the flame and a small ball of molton glass is formed on the end of the rod. A steel rod called a mandrel, which has been covered in a substance to make removal of the finished bead possible, is introduced to the flame while keeping the glass molton. The end of the molton glass touches the mandrel and the mandrel is then turned allowing the glass to surround it. Special spectacles have to be worn to enable you to see what you are doing and to protect the eyes from the flare of the molton glass.

Above: Introducing the molton glass to the mandrel and beginning to turn to form a bead.

Above: Rotating the bead to even out the glass.

Once the desired amount of glass has been added to the mandrel it is slowly turned in the flame. Glass naturally flows to the middle and gravity helps the bead to become nice and round and centred on the mandrel. When happy with the shape the bead is then placed into the kiln. You can see my old kiln with the bead door slightly ajar in the background of the above photo. I now have bigger kiln which is bright pink! The kiln anneals the bead by first "soaking" it at a fixed temperature and then cooling it very slowly. This makes it stronger and so reduces the possibility of it breaking in everyday use.

After a set annealing program the beads are left in the kiln until compleatly cold and then removed from the mandrels and cleaned.

Et Voila! Beautiful little glass gems!