Diamond Tech Crafts Fireworks Beginner's Beadmaking Kit
From Notions Marketing
With this kit and a few hours of practice you'll be making your own g lass beads of all shapes and colors. The kit includes everything you n eed to get started... Step-by-step instructions Fireworks self-igniting torch head 10 pack of mandrels bottle holder marver set rod scrubber heat resistant work surface bead release 15-104 COE Italian glass rods fiber blanket t o cool beads and a bead rake.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #56361 in Toys & Games
- Brand: Diamond Tech Crafts
- Model: FW632
- Dimensions: 14.75" h x 17.00" w x 3.60" l, 6.00 pounds
When combined with a good instructional video this is a good kit for beginners
I love craft kits whenever I want to try something new because they typically provide everything you need to make a few basic projects and get a feel for that particular craft. Then, if you enjoy doing it, you can always upgrade and add any tools you want. This kit had everything I needed to make quite a few beads (except a tank of MAPP gas which I picked up at the local hardware store for under 10 dollars, and the special tinted safety goggles. These are expensive but so far I have had no problem with regular safety goggles.) Add the gas and safety goggles and you are ready to go...except for one problem, the instructions consist of a measly folded over pamphlet! That is the reason I took one star away. There weren't even any good pictorial examples. I ordered an instructional video at an additional 20 dollar expense (there are many to choose from and books as well) but once I had that I was ready to go and even though I mangled my first three beads, I was soon getting the hang of it and have made many successful beads since. With the proper instruction and this kit, making the basic bead isn't nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be and I have even begun experimenting with more advanced beads and adding dichroic glass. This hobby is a lot of fun if you have patience, enjoy a challenge and love making something unique and beautiful. This kit gives you the necessary tools but not the necessary instruction in my opinion, but compared to buying everything separately and still having to seek instruction, the price is just right!
Great for casual use, but...
This kit would be fantastic for a casual adventure in flame working - in other words, for someone not looking to seriously invest in the craft. I intend to seriously invest in the craft and bought the kit at the recommendation of a friend. However, you don't get much bang for the buck - shabby, dirty and downright cheap tools, plus glass of questionable quality.
The torch head that came with the kit has already begun to show damage, at no fault of my own. I have only put in about ten hours of work, at the settings specified by the directions on the box. The fireproof work station is a joke; it's merely a thin layer of fire-resistant material with a cheap cardboard backing. On a positive note, the bead release seems to be alright, and almost all the instances in which I have lost a bead on the mandrel have been the result of my mistakes.
The few glass rods that came with the kit were dirty and several of them had small cracks in them at the time of arrival. Not to mention, little consideration seemed to be given to the skill level of the buyer when the rods were chosen. I received only one stick of black and white, and had several sticks of clear, plus strange hybrid colors which one would not expect to see in a beginner's pack of glass.
Diamond Tech, not the company I purchased the product from, is to be given a poor review for this product. There is something positive to be said: this product is great for a very brief, curious experiment in glass. For more serious interests, it would be wiser to buy the components individually or as a kit from another website:
A hothead torch, which like the Diamond Tech self-igniting torch can be used with MAPP gas, costs between thirty five to forty dollars new. You can also buy adapters to fit bulk propane tanks and save lots of cash.
Glass rods can be purchased from many sites for very reasonable prices, by the stick or in bulk. Howaco Glass, for instance, sells many rods at 50 cents and up.I have already used up several rods from my kit, so I'll assume there were about ten rods included - five dollars at the cheapest, more for elaborate colors.
The other components are rather cheap and easy to find. The most difficult thing to find would be a cheap marver, although the marvers provided are little more than shaped hunks of aluminum. (I use the flat side, anyway.) More expensive equivalents of the items provided would last longer, as well - I am already looking to replace the torch, and I have the feeling the work station will be the next to go.
This kit is not all bad! But if you're really looking to get into bead making, invest in more permanent, quality supplies.
