First step is to make some tiny spacer beads to show the width of the mold. Make the first one on the right, then hold it to the mold to see where you need to make the second one.
Step two is to fill in between the two spacer beads you made. I fill in the center towards the two spacers until I have a nice lemon or football shape.
Now that you have a nice lemon shape,you are ready to place it in the mold. I squish it down into the bottom mandrel grooves to be sure I have it in the right spot.
Now you're ready to close the mold, squishing your glass flat. You want the glass to be nice and soft when you put it in the mold, even glowing is ok. The brass won't get hot so don't worry about it.
Open the mold and you should have a nice even lentil. You can now put it back in your flame to remove any chill marks the mold may have left on the glass. Give your bead a nice reheating and it's ready for the kiln.
Tips: Some bead releases are thicker than others, so you may need to thin it out for any mold or tool that you use. IF your bead release is too thick it may chip or flake a tiny bit. If that happens, just blow any stray release off your mold and you are clear to press away. Lost release on the uncovered parts of the mandrel won't hurt anything, it's under the bead that is what does the job.
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