Basic Lampworking

• Basic lampworking requires a good deal of heat, which you can generate with natural gas energy from a Minor torch. This kind of torch usually has propane, which is an appropriate gas to use for lampworking and serves as the fuel for designing the beads. You also need an oxygen concentrator, which must be used as the accelerating agent in the final molding process. While the former is used to introduce heat into glass to make it pliant for molding, the latter is used for the actual work of turning glass into well-shaped beads. Other implements include a mandrel; a glass rod and a glass stringer.
  
  

Anneal the Glass

• Kilns, traditional or digital, can be used to anneal the glass overnight. Doing this makes the beads more robust and supple and enhances the durability of the beads. Apply a coat of bead release to the mandrel and let it dry. Then, introduce heat to the mandrel to enable the molding process by holding it up against the flame. When it is hot enough to enable the molten glass to hold on to it, stop heating. Heat the glass rod next until the tip is red hot.
  
  

Designing the Bead

• The glass then needs to be released and start flowing from the rod to the mandrel. It winds unto itself as it is transferred into the mandrel, forming layers of glass. As it rotates and burns, the glass then forms into a bead shape. The bead's size can be increased by adding more glass on its base. When the glass melts down, the lampworking is ready for the desired design or decoration to be applied.