Where have all my mandrels gone?

There is one thing that frequently stymies my beadmaking creativity. Mandrels! [mandrels are the things that glass beads are made on that leave the hole behind in the bead]

There is little more uninspiring than heading up to the studio, head brimming with ideas, only to find I don’t have any dipped mandrels. Worse than that, most of the time when this happens I have a hard time rounding up the mandrels to dip. Which gets me singing an old camp song again. A camp song for me, an old Pete Seeger folk song for most people; Where have all the Flowers Gone. I have to change the words a bit:

Where have all the mandrels gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the mandrels gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the mandrels gone?
Into a black hole every one.
Oh, when will you ever learn?
Oh, when will you ever learn?

I am convinced that they really have gone in to a black hole. I swear, knowing the pounds of welding rod I’ve purchased and how often I’ve cut them into mandrels I figure I should have hundreds of mandrels, but it seems I’m lucky if can round up a dozen usable ones.

I do make many long beads on 1/16th inch mandrels, and it is quite easy to bend the mandrel while removing the bead. That explains where some of them go. Some have permanently stuck beads, and now decorate my potted plants. But the rest? I’m at a loss.

Of course there are always some in my bead cleaning bin, or my bead makers nightmare as I should call it. Like most beadmakers I don’t really like cleaning beads. My best beads, the ones I want to list on ebay get cleaned pretty quickly… but the rest? Ugh, can you say procrastination?!

How about I give you a tour of my cleaning bin? My bin is a dollar store kitty litter tray lined with a towel (Never used by a cat!). The whole idea is that I can carry it to the living room and watch TV or a movie while I clean beads. Here’s what you’ll find:

1. My container full of stuck beads. Some of these may come off if I cut off the end of the mandrel.
2. Soaking beads, waiting to be dremeled clean.
3. MANDRELS… waiting to be cleaned and dipped.
4. Cleaned beads, drying.
5. “Good” beads, scheduled for ebay
6. Miscellaneous beads… not quite perfect, experiments, maybe even a forgotten treasure or two.
7. Beads that cracked while pulling them off the mandrel. Maybe one day I’ll clean them and melt them flat in my kiln.
8. Dual dremel tools. A true luxury! One for my 1/16 inch bit, the other for my 3/32 inch bit. It’s a luxury not to have to switch bits.
9. More beads to be cleaned, including a couple of experimental mini-series I have yet to debut.
10. Cleaned beads, that didn’t make the ebay cut.
11. A few beauties that cracked along the mandrel. I’m definitely going to melt these into cabs one day.
12. Tools… pliers used to hold the mandrel while I slide the beads off and a bolt cutter to cut the ends off bent mandrels.

I have a never ending goal to some day make all the beads in this bin disappear… cleaned and sold, made in to jewelry, or at least sorted in to my various categories in bowls and boxes. Categories like: beads that may be good for jewelry, beads good for giveaways to teenagers, beads that are quite imperfect, but something in the design holds a glimmer of hope for a future design, beads that may be fun beads to melt down in the kiln, beads I simply can’t part with for inexplicable reasons.

So that’s my dream… all my beads cleaned and sorted. If I accomplish this I’m sure all my mandrels will some how reappear, or at least I’ll find out where that black hole is located.

Linda Carol beads and blogs from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah!