Experimenting with Reduction Glass

A local friend of mine was kind enough to give me some reduction glass and frit (reduction and regular) for my birthday last month and I finally got the nerve up to play with it.  I've read so many Lampwork Etc. threads about how to use reduction glass so I thought it would be intuitive, but I was.  I tried the frits first, including 3 of the reduction frits, setting the propane way up high and just bathing the beads in the main portion of the flame, but the reduction frit beads all turned grey.  Happily, all the other frits turned out really nice, though.

Seeing as how those three beads aren't *really* what I was hoping for, I broke down and did a Google search and found these instructions on the Arrow Springs website on how to use reduction glass.  Since I had a whole rod of reduction glass from my friend (Reichenbach Iris Orange, R-108), I decided to just make bead after bead after bead until I got it right.  This is how the next batch of beads came out. Aren't they pretty?

Just so you know, I used the "second method" as described in the fourth paragraph of Arrow Springs' instructions.  When you're done reducing your bead, remember when you turn your oxygen back up that you have to do it really slowly, because the build up of oxygen in the line with cause a loud *pop* as it mixes with the propane and possibly blow out your propane flame.  It might be better just to turn the propane all the way off and then turn your torch back on using the POOP method (propane on, oxygen on; oxygen off, propane off).  That *pop* scared the bejeebers out of me even when I knew to expect it! :^)

I don't see myself buying any Reichenbach for myself in the near future, and I only have an inch or two left, so I'm thinking of turning the rest of the R-108 into stringer to stretch out that awesome oil-slick effect over several more beads.  I'll be sure to post some pictures of those experiments when I get around to making those beads.