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One of the first things you're going to need when you go to actually start making a bead
is a mandrel. A mandrel is basically a stainless steel welding rod that is covered in what's
called bead release. Bead release is a clay mixture that keeps that glass bead from adhering
to the mandrel. Now whatever size mandrel you use is the size hole that you're going
to have in the bead, so this mandrel would make about a 1/4 of an inch hole in the center
of your bead. Where as this one is, I want to say 3/64, so as you're going through your
mandrels and deciding what kind of beads you want to design, you want to think of the interior
diameter of that bead and use the size mandrel accordingly. The next thing I want to talk
about is graphite; graphite is a bead maker's best friend. Graphite is what you will use
to do a lot of your shaping; on top of my torch is a graphite marver, which I can roll
a warm bead on in order to make some shapes, make tube shapes. Also graphite shapers come
in different shapes and forms, this one you can use to make rounded forms and more oval
forms. Kind of like this one here, as the bead is warm you would work it very slowly
in the grooves and the graphite keeps the glass from sticking. Still pushes it enough
to get a shape so you'd bring it in to the flame and heat it roll it very slowly to get
your final shape.