Every glass artist has their favorite type of glass with which they work. Likewise, every flameworking glass bead artist has their favorite "consumables" to use for making the beads. Mandrels are the metal rods on which we wind our molten glass as we make the bead; it's the mandrel that leaves the hole in the bead once removed. Bead release is akin to a potter's kiln wash, and coats the mandrel to keep the glass from sticking to the mandrel permanently without permanently fusing to the glass itself.

Recently I tried out a new type of mandrel and a new bead release. You can read about my results at my regular blog, http://artofthefirebird.com/wordpress/2009/01/0....