The base of the CBS is made from a black oxide (plated) anodized steel. The thickness of the steel used makes it a heavy tool so it won't slide off your work area. The molds are made of brass. This tool comes with a lifetime warranty. The CBS has a "fence" at the back of the mold, which will hold upgrades (up to 1 1/2 inches in diameter).

"Thumb-screws" made of stainless steel that won't rust hold the mold in place and allow for a quick exchange of molds. Even if you have already made a bead and changed your mind about which tool to use to press the bead with - you can quickly exchange the molds with one hand, while using the other hand to keep the bead in the flame...

XL Deep and XL Flat

The flat x-l mold is $ 75, and the deeper x-l mold is $ 85 - because there is more brass used to make this mold. Which one you want to have? Well, that is a matter of taste, some people prefer flatter beads, others like them to have a little more "belly" to them, usually encased beads will look better if they are a little thicker (especially if you have flowers or some other pattern underneath the encasing). I have used both molds and I found that the deeper one is a litte easier to use (although it requires MORE glass!) - just because it is closer in dimensions to the smaller lentils, and the glass gets distributed within the mold similar to the way it does in the smaller molds I have been working with. The flatter mold requires less glass - which means that you have to start out with a shape that is radically diffferent what we are used to. The mold will "squish" the glass quite a bit toward the edge of the mold... This is all fairly difficult to describe in words, once you try any of these, you will know what I mean. If you are in doubt, you can always spend lots of money and buy BOTH molds, but if you can only afford one, I would recommend the deeper mold, just because I like that shape bead better myself. And it IS easier to use...

This stamp fits in the smaller part of the CBS base. You might wonder "Hey, those cups looks as if they are all the same size!" but they aren't, trust me! At that size (and amount of glass) a minimal difference of 10-1000th makes a huge difference. And whenever I use this tool, I never know which of the molds I will use to mash the bead, until I ACTUALLY place the bead into one of the cups. You will immediately notice the difference it makes whether you place it in the center one or the one to either side....how big a bead do you have to make to use the x-s tool? just about an average "spacer" bead of 6-8 mm. If you like working on smaller scale, these will be perfect for you - but you can also make some really cool spacerbeads without any decoration. The main point for this tool is that you HAVE to use a 1/16th mandrel (or even smaller) - the regular 3/32 (medium) size does not work with this size mandrel, because there would not be enough glass above and below the hole to allow for a stable bead.

What is the difference between the "Madonna Bra Bead" on the left and the one in the center? The center bead is slightly oval - very delicate and elegant. All you have to do is make a small ROUND bead and mash it - the glass will distribute evenly in the mold. No reshaping necessary (as long as you don't start with a donut shaped bead).

The 7/8th inch mold fits into the smaller part of the base - and this mold comes with TWO different depths - you can make a fatter lentil or a shallower one, depending on the amount of glass you have on the mandrel. This size bead works both on the 1/16th mandrel and on the 3/32nd - though the flatter lentil might look better on the thinner mandrel. Try both!

It seems that my initial description caused a little confusion - these are TWO molds of two different shapes - each mold has two different versions of the rim - but the CENTER of the bead is the same in each mold.

A few people played with prototypes and really liked them, so we are finally offering these for sale. It took me a little while to decide how to offer these - because we had so many variables that were possible...I could have contemplated this question forever...

The shapes are called "Lollipop" and "Saturn" - both have been developed by Catt and Fred, the "Beauty and the Brain". Thanks to both of you.