Placing Even Dots

Question:  I have noticed that you are really good at placing even dots on your beads.  Would you be willing to let me in on your special way to do such perfect dots.  I feel like I have tried so many times and just get flops.

Answer:  Dots really are a practice thing. 

To practice, create a simple, smallish bead, then using stringer not a full rod place 4 dots around the equator at the quarter marks.  Use the mandrel to estimate the correct points. 

Here's how I do it.  Gently melt the tip of your stringer just to the outside of your flame to create a tiny ball of glass.  Put the first dot on the front of the bead centered as best you can.  Then turn the mandrel 1/4 turn away from you so that the first dot is now on the top of the bead.  Again, melt a tiny ball of glass the same size as the first and place the next dot in the front lined up with the mandrel.  Turn the bead again so that the second dot is now on top and place the third dot on the front as before.  The fourth dot will fall between the 1st and 3rd and if you eyeballed it well they will all be even around your bead.

Now keep going.  This time you will place the dots on the shoulders of your bead between the first ones you did on the equator.  Again place them on the front and turn the bead away from you and place the next.  Do this on one shoulder first and then the other. 

Now, after the center and two shoulder rows of dots are placed gently heat the bead to round out the dots and adhere them to the bead properly.  If you want them to be raised stop here.  If you want them to be flat then melt them flat into the bead.

Possible problems and how to fix them

My dots aren't all the same size.....If you need to correct the size of your dots add glass to small dots the same way you made the dot originally but just use a tiny bit of glass and gently blend the dot in the flame.  To remove glass, heat the dot gently and touch your cold stringer to the hot dot and pull away extra glass.  Both of these take a bit of practice so that you don't melt the dot completely into your bead.  But try practicing this too.  It really helps as you get better to know how to correct little things.  This is how you make your beads look professional.