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Could I get any suggestions on the use of mandrels? I've had trouble with them moving as the glass starts to move, thus not creating a straight line. Also, on the small items, I'm finding the layup hard. Would it help if I went to my husbands shop and ground two flat edges on the mandrel? I'm coating the mandrels with bead release. Thanks in advance.

Kay,

Are you using the mandrels for horizontal holes? Try bending the end of the mandrel 90°. It won't roll after that.

Tony

kay - you are right, the mandrels can move around. i cut welding rods into pieces about 2" long and i coat it in kiln wash.

lay the mandrel across the top of the pendant, often about 1/4" down from the top, or so. next, make your upper layer for the pendant, and when that's done, set it on the pendant lay-up. i usually put some Klyr Fire or tack glue in between the 2 layers to keep the top from sliding.

now to stabilize the mandrel. there are a couple of ways to do it. i have a bunch of 1/2" pieces of much thinner welding rod, maybe 18 gauge, i dont know for sure. i put a little piece of this under each end of the mandrel, at the extreme outside edge. this keeps the mandrel from sinking down into the bottom layer of the pendant during firing. as you have noticed, the weight from the top layer is sufficient to push the mandrel down into the lower piece of glass.

even using these little half-inch pieces, things can still roll around if you're not careful. sometimes i use a little bottle with a squirter end on it, and i VERY CAREFULLY apply a blob of kiln wash batter to the little support bits mentioned above.

another way to do this is to forget about the half-inch pieces, and just put a blob of kiln wash on the ends of the mandrel. they will keep the mandrel from sinking down into the lower level of the pendant.

the third way is to put tiny pieces of THIN glass under the edges of the mandrel. pieces should be the size of your baby fingernail, or so. just set them under the mandrel, and during firing, the mandrel will sink down ever so slightly into the chads, but it can't go very far. i've done a ton of firings using this method, and it works well.