Getting Started at Beadmaking

[BeadsOfRaine]

[/color] I would appreciate ANY info regarding getting started at beadmaking. Costs? Tools? There are no classes offered around where I live. Is it possible to learn from books and if so, which books are those?

Thank you for any help possible.

Tarlee TarleeRain@aol.com

[Emily]

It's possible to teach yourself. The first books I would recommend are Cindy Jenkins' "Making Glass Beads" and Jim Kervin's "More Than You Wanted to Know About Glass Beadmaking." Jim's book is much more comprehensive than Cindy's, but Cindy's is a little more user-friendly, particularly for a total beginner. I'd recommend getting them both, if possible. You might (or might not) find Cindy's book at a regular bookstore, but you'll have to get Jim's from one of the glass suppliers -- Frantz, Arrow Springs, Wale Apparatus. Go to the main ISGB page (http://www.isgb.org) and click on "Links," then "Suppliers and Vendors."

I can also recommend a video -- Kate Fowle Meleney's "Lampworked Beadmaking -- an Introduction."

Don't overlook this forum as a source of information! There's a huge amount of information here from some very knowledgeable people. Pretty much any question you can think of has been answered. Use the "search" button to find past messages from the last year or so (since the forum switched to the new format) and "archive" to get messages earlier than that.

On the "costs and tools" question, it is possible to get started with glass beadmaking for not too much money. However -- to put the bad news up front -- glass beads have to be kiln annealed or they're liable to crack unexpectedly, even months after they're made. So if you decide you're serious about beadmaking, and/or want to sell your beads, you'll need to buy a kiln unless you can find someone who will anneal your beads for you. You don't have to make that decision right away, though. You can start relatively inexpensively and find out whether you get addicted or not.

Many people start with a Hot Head or a Quiet Torch/Fireworks torch, which are torches that run on one pound cylinders of propane or MAPP gas (MAPP is a brazing fuel that burns hotter than propane). Those torches run about $35. (The fuel cylinders can get expensive, though, so many people switch to a bulk tank of fuel, which works out to be cheaper.) You also need protective glasses, both to protect your eyes from flying bits of glass and to filter out the sodium flare that happens when the glass hits the flame. Although looking at the sodium flare won't directly harm your eyes, it will prevent you from being able to see what you're doing. Glasses (didymium or AUR-92) start at around $30 to $40. You don't need much in the way of tools, and things you already have -- like tweezers, needlenose pliers, even butter knives -- can be used to work glass. Most of the suppliers offer beginner kits. You don't have to buy a kit, but if you take a look at them, you'll get an idea of what you might need or like to have.

[Dale_M]

Emily pretty well explained it. The two books she mentioned comes to about $75. The James Kervin book is a "must have" technical reference as far as I am concerned! If you are serious, consider getting a beginners kit. For about $125 the kit contains torch, safety glasses, marvers and other tools and a selection of glass. You can piece together the needed items separately if you want. You will find variations in different kits supplied by different folks.

Annealing is a important step in creating beads that are safe and will last a long time. You can make many beads before you need to get kiln, but it is unwise to sell them or give them away because of the possibly of them failing at some point.

The simplest kilns usually start around $350 and go up from there. So, get a kit, try your hand at it, if you like it and feel you want to stay with it put some change away each week towards a kiln.

Beadmaking has a lot of things offer. Entertainment, design challenges, frustration and the satisfaction of a bead well made. Just don't plan on getting rich on the beads you make. Its a tough market out there and planning on making a living on bead making may find you very poor indeed.

Dale

[dlbk]

I started making beads on my own about a year ago, so yes! it is possible! I had signed up for a class that I found by searching for local lampworking places on the net, and then found another place where I could rent bench time when it was unexpectedly canceled. I bought Cindy Jenkins' book "Making Glass Beads" and read it cover to cover, bought some supplies and took off. I have Jim Kervin's book also, which is good, but I wish I'd had Corina Tettinger's "Passing The Flame" which has great step by step pictures of the beadmaking process so you can see how different designs are created. I found it helpful to take a couple classes where I could use various torches and talk with other established beadmakers to see what they would recommend. Different combinations of torches and fuel systems work in tandem, depending on what sort of work you do and what your preferences are. Of course, asking questions on the forum and checking the archives are an invaluable source of info. www.wetcanvas.com is also a great site. Be prepared for the possibility to to become very addicted!

Deb

[Linda408]

I have had to learn by books and I feel that Cindy Jenkins and Corina's book made it possible. I found Cindy's book at the library, but I had to buy Corina's which I couldn't get along without. Wonderful information and pictures. I still use a HH which I really enjoy but I use a barbecue tank with Mapp gas. I have also used Propane which I got along with just fine and the colors were clear and clean but not quite as hot as Mapp so either is ok. Good luck!
Linda

[BeadsOfRaine]

Thank you ALL for your responses and again(many thanks) to the ones who emailed me with INFO. I'm quite serious about bead making and realize that it's going to take some time to get started which will give me ample time to do a lot of research!
I have no intentions on trying to market any beads that I may make in the future at least not the beads alone. I make jewelry and would enjoy the creations/designs to be completely "mine". with the exception of all of the "findings"

Thank you all for your patience and enthusiasm! It's VERY encouraging!!

Tarlee

[Emily]

Even if you're selling the beads as part of finished jewelry, the beads have to be kiln annealed. You'd have some very unhappy customers if the beads on their beautiful necklaces cracked and fell off.