I did promise a while back to give a bit more information so you can understand my messages about lampworking a bit more.

So I thought I start with the mandrels. Mandrels are stainless-steel rods which are dipped in a bead-release or seperator (a mixture of alumina and high-fire clay). This coating is used to make sure the bead can be removed after it is cools.

They come in different sizes and even variations and you can't do without them because it holds the molten glass that's used to form the bead. This is what forms the beadhole so the thicker the mandrel used to make the bead, the bigger the actual hole in the bead will be.

I don't have a big variation yet most of them are 2mm-3mm-5mm and 6 mm plain mandrels. I do have one ringmandrel (the very large one in the middle) wich as the name already implies can be used to make a ring. I also have two hollows which can be used to actually blow glass, for instance to make slightly bigger vessels than the ones I make now or to make your own glass-shards which can be used to decorate your beads.

So that's the first entry explaining lampworking... more will follow soon.