I Finally Did It!!

I've been trying to add a silver core to my lampwork beads and it's been a frustrating process, resulting in cracked or broken beads, collapsed sterling silver tube, and more than a few creative combinations of swear words. I finally gave up trying to do it with my bead liner tool and figured silver coring wasn't going to happen.

Then a fellow lampworker posted a tutorial on the Lampwork Etc. forum and armed with a dapping set from Harbor Freight tools, I gave it another go. Done entirely by hand with the dapping punches and a chasing hammer, this was the first bead I've ever cored without cracking or breaking the bead. It still needs polishing and the picture isn't the best but hey, it's a totally usable, uncracked silver cored bead! Yep, I'll be doing that again!!