Glass beadmaking

This philosophy continues to permeate the glass beadmaking world today, resulting in a huge diversity of approaches, styles and beads.
. Techniques diffused through the population, via early books such as Cindy Jenkins' You can make Glass Beads; the SGB's annual conference and their online forum; and just generally the philosophy of sharing ideas, tips and techniques. Often featuring suspension long since rendundant from modern design. This group eventually formed basis for the Society of Glass Beadmakers, which recently changed its name to the International Society of Glass Beadmakers. Excessive chrome, overspoked wheels and fur are common accessories to these low and bizarre custom creations. The "stump shaper" a popular shaped paddle, is named after Loren Stump, for example. A new breed of lowrider bicycles and even the occasional motorbike have been inspired by lowrider culture.

However, they shared their information, and some of them started small businesses developing tools, torches and other equipment. Lowriders have been a prominent feature in Hip-Hop culture, primarily in West Coast hip-hop where the 1964 Chevy Impala ragtop is widely considered to be the most desirable lowrider, Daytons are widely considered to be the most desirable manufacturer of spoke rims (100 is widely considered to be the most desirable number of spokes per Dayton), and sixteen is widely considered to be the most desirable number of switches. Their early efforts, by today's standards, were crude-not surprising when there was almost no documentation, and none of the modern tools. There are several magazines devoted to presenting, preserving, and chronicling lowrider culture, the best known of which is Lowrider magazine, currently published by Primedia. Thirty or so years ago, some American artists started experimenting with the form. Aside from local drags and their parking lots (hence the term, parkin' lot pimpin'), lowriders are most commonly seen at privately organized lowrider car shows that often feature a variety of different vehicular and non-vehicular events, the most popular of which are the hydraulic competitions and the wet T-shirt/bikini contests. Lampworked beads (with the exception of Asian and African beadmaking) have pretty much strictly been the provenance of Italian, and, later, Bohemian lampworkers for the last four hundred years or so who kept the techniques secret. Most lowrider clubs have weekly meetings in the summer where owners and friends will have a BBQ/cookout followed by cruising a popular drag (or strip) after dark.

It should be noted that as torches get bigger and more powerful, the cross-over between lampworking and furnace glass continues to increase. Summer is the most popular season for lowriders, as the weather often encourages being outside either in or nearby the vehicle. Chevron beads are multi-layer beads once exclusively made using hot-shop techniques to produce the original tubing; but now some lampworkers make similar designs on their torches (using borosilicate,--Kevin O'Grady, demonstration, 2004 Gathering) before lapping the ends to reveal the various layered colors. Essentially all the options available to today's custom automobile creator are also available to the lowrider builder, and lowrider style varies greatly from region to region. "Furnace glass" beads, more elaborate versions of the old seed bead technique described above, are also being made. Today the lowriding scene is diverse with many different cultures, vehicle makes and visual styles. Beads can be sandblasted; they can be faceted, using lapidary techniques. This culture was celebrated in the 1975 song "Low Rider" by the funk group War.

Lampwork (and other) beads can be painted with glass paints. Lowriders were originally a facet unique to Chicanos, but have since become common to urban youth culture in general. African beads, such as the famed Kiffa beads, are made using ground glass.) Molded ground glass, if painted into the mold, is called pate de verre, and the technique can be used to make beads, though pendants and cabochons are more typical. A skilled switch operator can manipulate his controls (hitting switches) to raise one wheel completely off the ground (3-wheel motion), or to bounce one end of the car completely off the ground (bouncing, hopping, dancing, hanging, amongst many others). (Soda lime glass can be blown at the end of a metal tube, or, more commonly wound on the mandrel to make a hollow bead, but the former is unusual and the latter not a true mouth-blown technique.) In addition, beads can be fused from sheet glass or using ground glass (e.g. The most common motions are dipping/raising the four corners of the vehicle (referred to as corners), dipping/raising the front or rear of the vehicle (front, back), dipping/raising the sides of the vehicles (side to side), and lowering/raising the vehicle as a whole (pancake). Lead glass (for neon signs) and, especially borosilicate is available in tubing, making true blown beads possible. These systems range from simple to complex and are usually measured by the amount of switches used to control the various hydraulic combinations that ultimately produce a specific motion from the vehicle.

Large or complex beads go into an annealing kiln immediately; smaller ones may be allowed to cool slowly, as with a fiber blanket or by being plunged into vermiculite, and then "batch annealed" at a later time. Many lowriders feature custom hydraulic suspension systems that allow the driver to alter the ride height at will. Good quality glass beads, like any warm or hot-glass item, are then annealed. Many lowriders now feature any combination of mobile electronic audio and video devices, most stereotypically a loud audio system that features a powerful amp and large subs (or woofers) and primarily focuses on producing massive amounts of bass. These are typically applied as very fine leaf, slightly thicker foil, as fine wire, as fine mesh, or even as a metallic deposit (fuming.). Other common custom interior enhancements are; the use of woodgrain panels or interior paint, neon or LED lights, chrome or gold accents, cosmetic mirrors, aftermarket steering wheels (of which a chain-link steering wheel is iconic), and various fuzzy objects that hang from the headliner or rear-view mirror. Thomspson enamels) in which the bead can be rolled; it can also be decorated with metals---silver, gold, copper, palladium, and platinum. Custom interiors are also very popular and are most commonly fabricated in leather, tweed, or velvet.

Glass can also be broken into very small chunks (frit) or even finely ground powders (e.g. The most detailed vehicles have engine, exhaust and performance modifications and/or beautifications. Another very old, traditional design involves sagging one part of a striped bead by heating it more, or rubbing it with the paddle to shift the design into waves. Other common custom exterior enhancements are; body kits or skirts, extensive use of chrome or gold, neon or LED lights, curb-feelers, tinted windows, antennas or fins, spoilers, and fifth wheels (a full matching spare on display). Additionally, a sharp pointed object---for example, a tungsten rake (or pick) or stringer of glass can be dragged through the surface design to make feathers, hearts or other designs. Lowriders traditionally feature small (to be able to tuck beneath the wheelwell and allow the lowest ride heigth), gold or chrome spoke wheels with or without knockoffs and whitewall tires. Dots are particularly versatile and can be piled on top of each other in many intriguing ways. The exteriors typically feature expensive custom paintjobs (the best are often referred to as candy) that consist of several thin layers of different colors, metal oxide flake or pearl flake, clear coat, metal leaf, airbrushed murals or script, pinstripes, flames or any other hand-painted graphics, or any combination of the above.

One is to draw with a stringer, or fiber (a small thread, usually 3mm or less in diameter) of glass on the surface, making dots, lines, or combinations. Lowriders are very often flashy, show-quality custom vehicles. There are many ways to decorate a bead. . Other common tools for shaping beads are mashers, tweezers, picks, and even the rod of glass itself. The word is also used to refer to those who drive or own such cars. Some beadmakers rely solely upon heat and gravity to shape their beads; most at least use a graphite paddle to coax the bead into the shape they want. Lowriders are very often classic cars from the 1950s which rode low to begin with, although large numbers of 1940s and 1960s cars are also so modified, and to a lesser degree newer vehicles.

Getting a good shape is quite often the longest part of the process, though onlookers tend to be most impressed with surface decoration. A lowrider is a car or truck which has had its suspension system modified (usually with hydraulic suspension) so that it rides as low to the ground as possible. Czech beadmakers, who can produce up to 1200 (identical) lampwound beads in 2--3 days, are particularly known for their use of jigs to help rapidly shape the bead into the desired silhouette. Low Creations (since 1974). The beadmaker can use a paddle, a small slab of graphite or brass to shape the glass in different ways---long thin barrels, bicones, tabs, and so on. UCE C.C. The usual beginner bead is a simple donut shape. Vultures.

When both glass and mandrel are sufficiently warm, the beadmaker starts rotating the mandrel (usually with the non-dominant hand) while allowing the glass to wind upon it---sort of like pulling out a strand of cotton candy, or wool batt while spinning. Viejitos. The mandrel must also be heated, or the glass will not stick. Touch Of Reality. The flameworker then selects rods of glass which she heats in the flame of her torch. Strokers. Some brands allow for drying in the flame. Sleepers.

In any case, the beadmaker starts by dipping a mandrel, or wire (stainless steel welding wire, cut into 9 or 12inch lengths is typical, at least in the USA) into a clay based substance similar to kiln wash and letting it dry. RPM boys. At one time, soft (soda lime and lead) and hard (boro) glasses had distinctly different looking palettes, but demand on the part of soft-glass artists for the silver strike colors on the one hand, and the development of the bright, cadmium based `crayon colors' in the boro line on the other, has softened the distinctions between them considerably. Rogues. Donald Schneider (personal conversation, late 1990s) recalls how years ago he had to make all of his own borosilicate colors (he still makes a tin white.) Northstar, and new Glass Alchemy (started by a former chemist at Northstar) now offer many colors, introducing several new ones every year. Plaza rebels. Sue Ellen Fowler is credited for developing many of the original recipes for colored borosilicate glasses, which became the basis for the Northstar company's first products. Play boys.

This is laboratory glass, such as Pyrex. Nobles. Finally, beadmakers can and do use borosilicate glass, a very hard glass requiring greater heat. Naturals. Satake, Czech and German glasses (the latter being marketed primarily to glassblowers) all come in lead versions. Masquers. Lead glasses are distinguished by their lower viscosity, heavier weight, and somewhat greater tolerance for coe mismatches. Majestics.

In addition to soda lime glass, lampworkers can use lead glass. Los Santos. New firms seem to be springing up like weeds to serve the glass beadmaking market, which in the USA has grown from "about 30" to 70,000 people (Kate Drew Wilkerson, interview, Dale Smeltzer's internet-only glass talk radio). Imperials. Japanese Satake, Czech (Ornela) and even Indian (PIG) soda lime glasses are also known. Hot coils. Spectrum, Uroboros make 96coe glasses. Highway barons.

Perhaps the second most popular soda-lime glass (in the USA) is made by Bullseye, which markets their product as being particularly compatible (find/link/write article about glass coe/compatibility). Idols. Effetre is a soda-lime glass, and, again is the type most commonly used by lampworkers. Cherry pickers. Confusing matters is that a cousin started a rival company; their product is called Vetrofond, and is very similar. Cavaliers. Before it was sold, it was called Moretti, and some people still call it that. Buzzards.

The most popular lampworking glass comes from Italy and is currently made by the Effetre company. Barrelers. Window glass can actually be used, but usually isn't, because it's not formulated for flameworking (it's shocky, that is, cracks and shatters in the flame) and there is little in the way of color available. Auto butchers. (Glass also comes in particles of various sizes, but these are typically surface decorations in lampworked beads.) Many manufacturers who once only sold their glass in sheet or very thick rod now provide rods for lampworking use. Coffin cheaters. Most lampworkers use rods of glass 7--8mm in diameter, though premade stringers come in 1, 2 and 3mm sizes (depending on the brand), and some brands come in very thick diameters (15mm or more.) Sheet glass can be cut with tools into strips, though they're easier to manipulate if attached to a rod first. Amigos Car Club.

Their high lead content makes them sparkle more than other glass, but also makes them inherently fragile. Lead crystal beads are machine cut and polished. These beads require a large scale glass furnace and annealing kiln for manufacture. No air is blown into the glass.

Furnace glass uses large decorated canes built up out of smaller canes, encased in clear glass and then extruded to form the beads with liner and twisting stripe patterns. Italian glass blowing techniques such as latticinio and zanfirico are adapted here to make beads. Beads can be pressed, or made with traditional lampworking techniques. Dichroic glass has a thin film of metal fused to the surface of the glass, resulting in a surface that has a metallic sheen that changes between two colors when viewed at different angles.

Increasingly, dichroic glass is being used to produce high-end art beads. American torches are usually mounted at about a 45 degree angle, a result of scientific glassblowing heritage; Japanese torches are recessed, and have flames coming straight up, like a large bunson burner; Czech production torches tend to be positioned nearly horizontally. Also unlike metalworking, the torch is fixed, and the bead and glass move in the flame. Unlike a metalworking torch, or burner as some people in the trade prefer to call them, a flameworking torch is usually "surface mix"; that is, the oxygen and fuel (typically propane, though natural gas is also common) is mixed after it comes out of the torch, resulting in a quieter tool and less dirty flame.

Modern beadmakers use single or duel fuel torches, so `flameworked' is replacing the older term. After this initial stage of the beadmaking process, the bead can be further fired in a kiln to make it more durable. When the base bead has been formed, other colors of glass can be added to the surface to create many designs. Lampwork beads are made by using a torch to heat a rod of glass and spinning the resulting thread around a metal rod covered in bead release.

A third technique, the most labor intensive, is traditionally called lampworking, because once upon a time the beadmaker used an oil lamp to create lampwork beads. One `feed' of a hot rod might result in 10--20 beads, and a single operator can make thousands in a day. By making canes (the glass rods fed into the machine) striped or otherwise patterned, the resulting beads can be more elaborately colored than seed beads. The beads again are rolled in hot sand to remove flashing and soften seam lines.

Thick rods (20cm?) are heated to molten and fed into a rube goldbergian contraption that stamps the glass, including a needle that pierces a hole. These were (and are) made in the Czech republic, in what was once called Bohemia. Increasing in labor costs are pressed or molded beads. Modern seed beads are extruded by machine and some, (Miyuki delicas) look like little tubes.

The tube was then chopped, the resulting beads rolled in hot sand to round the edges, sieved into sizes, and, usually, strung onto hanks. Once upon a time, these beads were made by puntying up a gather of glass, blowing a bubble, attaching a second puntile and pulling molten glass in opposite directions, reportedly in lengths up to 200 feet long. The most common type of modern glass bead is the seed bead, a small type of bead typically less than 6mm, traditionally monochrome, and manufactured in very large quantities. .

Perhaps the earliest glass-like beads were Egyptian faience beads, a form of clay bead with a self-forming vitreous coating. Glass beads have been dated back to at least Roman times. Beads are amongst the oldest human art and technology, dating back 30,000 years (Dubin, 1987).