Ginormous Beads for Serving Set

My good friend, Sheryll, got married last week! When I told her that I would make the handles for her cake serving set if she didn't have time, I never thought to ask how large the holes needed to be. Imagine my surprise when the beadable knife and spatula arrives and the steel rod required 3/16" mandrel . . . and the beads almost 4" long!

All my 3/16" mandrels are only 12" long! At 4" long and 5/8" thick, those monsters emit a LOT of heat, and so does the thick mandrel. I made three beads and two of them turned out "good enough" ...especially since cake cutting was done outdoors after dark! ;-)

Here is a quick pix of the set:



Here is one of when they were in use!