Leslie’s first marble mold was a melon baller. (Great idea, just be sure to remember the metal will likely stay hot for quite a while!)
This melon baller is on Bed, Bath and Beyond’s website for $4, and the two sizes in one tool is great.

Pull a stringer using an old bent mandrel. Heat the mandrel, touch it to the hot rod and pull. No more big blobs when using tweezers to pull. (Because don’t we all have a few of those old mandrels hanging around waiting for their new purpose? I know I do.)

This one from Leslie may be my favorite: Stringer … pick a color rod, pull a stringer, then apply the stringer to the same rod. No wasted glass because you are practicing finding the sweet spot in the flame for stringer work.

Do you have an unusual item that you have adapted to use with glass like Leslie’s melon baller? We would love to hear from you, and include a picture too!

Thanks for reading, happy melting!

“Tips, Tricks & Tools” is an ongoing section of our Newsletter overseen by Alice Henry and Janie Jones. If you have ideas for this section, please share via email to: Tips@theglassdragons.com