what size tubing to start with?

[meadowesky]

I am getting a cheetah and have very little hollow experience.
I am thinking of starting with some 25mm tube. Do I want heavy wall or medium wall? Frantz has a killer sale on the medium wall.
No idea what I am going to make yet but will eventually like to try pipes

[Managlass]

I have the same question so i'll just bump this thread...i want to make spoons and maybe sherlocks and jars (if possible) on my Lynx...i'll save a ton of marble pendant questions for another time..

[mer]

the heavier wall thickness will move slower so it's easier in the beginning, also people seem to like heavier pieces. med wall is great for things you want to shrink down to tighten the pattern but it goes fast which intimidated me when i was starting out. 25mm is pretty common for pipes and works well. i also use alot of 22mm for surface work as i can roll it without a point or blowtube and my blowhose assembly fits in the end. good luck and have fun!

[dirtyglass]

the 3 or 4 cases of glass i bought was all 25 mil heavy wall. Its great for starting out!

[n3rd]

can you get a half of medium and half heavy?

[jiminyrootkit]

25 hvy is a good place to start out, imho....when that starts to feel natural, get some 32 or 38 hvy....
with no tube experience med would probably be kinda frustrating...
....and of course biggles is the only one who ever liked standard wall ;)
-f

[meadowesky]

thank you!! I think I will pick up a case of the HW. at case prices it is probably cheaper than the discount per pound anyhow.

one other question,
I am ordering 38# of boro color from frantz so I will get the 35% off. Do I get that discount on the cases of tube too?

[susheke]

Wow, you are really jumping into boro Brandie! I want to be at your house when the glass comes :D

[Fire on the mountain]

one vote for one inch HW. its a great place to start

[Headchange]

38 mm hvy.. on points.. any torch.. even single hole

44mm hvy for the sherlock question.. but thats where it becomes a project with smaller torches.. still workable.. but lil bit more time.. pattern should be identical tho on any of the said torches.. the main restriction is during the meltdown.. be aware of the lengthy reheat process so just keep it hot.. never removing the piece from the flame.. use its handicap in size to your advantage in premeditating where you should be working..

[β]

38lbs, holy shnikeys batman,that's a lot of color to start out with.

1" HW is definitely the way to go IMO.

[ShttrdSpctrm]

i started with 1 inch , 25-4, HW tubing. and its mos def cheaper by the case. 38 pounds is alota color, make sure u get some u will like,lol

[Headchange]

38lbs, holy shnikeys batman,that's a lot of color to start out with.

1" HW is definitely the way to go IMO.

38 MM... 1 1/2 " :P

[meadowesky]

Wow, you are really jumping into boro Brandie! I want to be at your house when the glass comes :D

come on over!! We will play!

[meadowesky]

I am only getting about 1/4# of the colors I want to try and 1/2# of the ones I know I love already. Like persimmon strike, blue passion, dap, ap etc. I dont get to order glass too often cause of the $ but well now is a good time to order LOL

of course if i keep wanting to add more and more cases of tubing I might just have to cut some of that color out :)

[The Lorax]

i started a few months ago, and i bought a few cases of 26.4 mm heavy wall... perfect size really... although now that i've been asked to make some bigger vessals i wish i had some 32 - 35 mill.... i could trya stick stack if i had that as well, but i don't wanna get ahead of myself anyways

[K-Dog]

I used to use 31.7 x 4 for everything,but have recently started using 38,44,and 50mm tube for larger applications,you can fit alot of lines into 50 x 5 mm tube,it's heavy and you need alot of heat,but if your making basic inside spoons the fact you can fit so many lines inside might set your stuff apart from others.A 4 inch peice might give you 5 or 6 spoons when you shrink it down,And you can get awsome results when making larger peices sherlocks,hammers,ect.But i'm with every one else,start small,but practice with the big stuff,the sooner you can use it the more options you'll have

[meadowesky]

so how much bigger can I go comfortably on the cheetah?

[Swampy]

I got a first case of 22mm and reckon it was too small to do anything with, as in maybe 25mm would have been better and give more space to play around with.

But as MM says, it's good for surface work and building it up in layers then swelling it a bit.

[misled youth]

come on over!! We will play!

LOL, i am a perv!!!

i would reccomened 25.4 hvy.
i would cut back some of the color and get a bit more tube.
38lbs is alot of color. i run prodo all day and i usually order 40 - 50 lbs when i order.

i started out on standard wall had a few cases and practiced things like butt and T seals. then i started condensing it and trying pipes.
it seemed very easy when i moved up to heavy wall.

anyways good luck on your glass endeavors!

[meadowesky]

so if I give you all my list of colors I am ordering can you help me narrow it down??? like to the ones that are must haves and ones that I will for surely love? taking out the ones that I wont get much use out of or that are really similar to other colors I am ordering?

GA

aqua azul .25
amazon canyon .25
amazon jewel .25
amazon lagoon .25
amazon night .25
aquatic carnival .25
bibidibobidblue .25
blue brilliant .25
blue luster .25
blue passion .25
blush .25
bronze amazon .25
caramel blues .25
caramel luster .25
cherrywood strike .25
chocolate crayon .25
clover chameleon .25
cobalt 1 .25
cobalt 2 .25
disco sparkle .25
emerald dark .25
grape .25
green carnival .25
green olive .25
green phthalo .25
indigo luster .25
persimmon strike .5
pink erbium .25
purple luster .25
red agate .25
sage .25
silver strike 3 .25
silver strike 5 .25
spring luster .25
teal .25
triple passion .5
twilight chameleon .25
yellow crayon .25
warm yellow .5

NS/ Precision

amber purple .5
double amber purple .5
amethyst .25
aurora .25
blue caramel .25
blue cobalt light .25
blue exotic .5
blue moon .5
bubblegum .25
butterscotch .25
caramel .25
egyptian white sand .5
green amber purple .25
green exotic .25
hyacinth .25
indigo adventurine .25
moss millineum .25
multi .25
multi dark .25
mystery adventurine .25
pomegranet .5
blue amber purple .25
ruby.5
rust .25
teal .25
turquesa .25
x light yellow .5
green experiment .5

clear
kimble 3mm 2#
kimble 19mm 3#

bunches of dichro- magenta,pink, purple

Frit
Double amber purple 1#
amber purple 1#
aurora 1#
blue moon 1#
multi dark 1#

Plus whatever tubing and more clear. prob. just order a case of 6mm and 10mm rod too.

[meadowesky]

whoever takes the time to actually read that list and help me with color choices I will send a bead to. appreciate it!! Please send me a pm with your addy!!

I just noticed I have two teals. duh.
Brandie

[smutboy420]

I can't offer to much advise on colors because. I don't know what colors you like. Plus I'm not all that big on most colors out these days.

But as far as clear try to get some 1 inch tube if you want to do any hollow work. Inch is a good size to learn some basics on.
A good place for single cases of simax tube and rod is Friedrich & Dimmock www.fdglass.com (http://www.fdglass.com) (warning the listed web prices are about 22% higher then what they charge if you call in your order on the phone.)

If you call them and ask them for a shelf pack or handi pack of rod or tube they Some times have mixed cases of tube and rod. So you don't need to buy a case of each difrent size. they also have simax value packs. wich are smaller sized cases of tube and rod.

[Ruskin Designs]

Brandi - stay away from Bibidibobidiblue - it is so full of bubbles -
Also get some clear frit.

[UmaJulz]

Get more variety of clear rod and tube. Having more sizes available adds versatility- you might not want to get whole cases, but the multi-pack that Smutty mentioned sounds like a good thing.

[glassblowingBiker]

if your going to want to work tube this is what i would get
25.4 x 4
32 x 4
38 x 4
the 25.4 for beads and hitter and pipes
32 larger beads and some thicker pipes
38 pipes
rods i would get some
3mm,4mm,8mm and some 12 & 15mm that would let you do a lot of dif things
i think thats the sizes i started with and i still use all most all of them to this day peace Jeff

[meadowesky]

are any of these colors so similar that I might as well only order one of them?
I am going to TRY to cut the color list down a bit. I guess I am still thinking soft glass. LOL
I do have about 5# here and I dont really see me needing much more for a while but I want to try out the colors and the sample packs are $$$

[meadowesky]

ooo and does brand of tube matter much? I am using simax rod right now but frantz doesnt carry that either.

[mer]

my impressions of clear boro brands fwiw;

-simax, moves fast, some running bubbles and flux but not bad
ust, cracky and chipped in the case, running bubbles and flux included free of charge but very inexpensive and good enough for prodo (preheat)
-corning, slower moving but i hear the quality has gone downhill and it's not cheap enough to ignore the problems
-schott, high quality, high price
-schott boro artistic, highest quality but a little spendy for prodo

i'm sure others will disagree. everybody has thier own preferences based on thier experiences. i use simax for prodo tubing and sba for marbles.

[gotglass?]

Well first off the 2 teals you have are totally different: the GA teal is actually teal in the traditional sense. the NS is a dark green sparkle color which when it first came out it was actually teal colored and had no chromium in it.... go figure?

Coming from the palette of soft glass colors this has to be tough.... i see you have a lot of striking colors on the list are there many in the soft world? well you have the right torch for those colors

amber purple is nice double ap can really look like crap if you don't burn off the haze a better color in place of ns26 would be GA's triple passion which is on your list... i liked this color a lot better when i was on premix centerfire... but i haven't tried double AP since i got my mirage i should give er another shot...

blush is a nice flesh tone and i clad it in warm brown also by GA to do trees and other wood like effects

blue moon is nice but the amazon colors from GA yeild a wider range of colors

bubble gum is prone to being bubbly and bleeds out in stringer applications but its still a nice pink you just have to coat it

the light cobalt is a nice transparent blue..... but overall you have a great selection of colors on your list ... ask yourself this how many colors are there available in each COE and how many do you actually use?.....enjoy your foray into the boro world and especially your new torch.

[meadowesky]

thank you!
there arent many striking colors in soft glass. There are some new types of silver glass that are available that are supposed to simulate boro but they are 100$ a pound and after working with boro, it aint got shit on it :) I love the boro striking colors that I have now LOVE LOVE them! I only ordered some of the non striking ones because I figured I should have them not sure if I will use them much. (there has to be a good use like sculpture for them though.


So far I have gotten some pretty colors out of dap and ap. Not so much with the triple passion. I need to work on that one.


Soft glass has such a wide array of colors. I dont find myself using much of the oranges, or reds. I tend to use alot of blues, pinks and purples. (hey, I am a girl :) )


Thank you everyone for your help with starting out. It is kindof strange to be a newbie again LOL

[meadowesky]

oh yeah, and WOOO FREEAAKIN WHOO!! My torch is here!!!!

[The Lorax]

But as far as clear try to get some 1 inch tube if you want to do any hollow work. Inch is a good size to learn some basics on.
A good place for single cases of simax tube and rod is Friedrich & Dimmock www.fdglass.com (warning the listed web prices are about 22% higher then what they charge if you call in your order on the phone.)
.



has anyone else found this to be true? i emailed and asked and they told me there is no difference between phone and online prices... but i figure thats like when you ask the headshop if you have the be 18 they say yes when they will sell to a 16 year old as long as he doesnt ask how old you have to be... yea know? :tongue2:lol...

[Slimy-E]

i am a guy and im all about blues and purples! i would skip the ebrium pink, all bublles and boily and fades out. u cant use it for lenses couse u cant see through the bubble. i would double up on cherry wood strike, i dont use much red but when i do this is it.
i think you will love spring luster, i get all greens and purples and bright voilets.
My favorite purples right now are ns. silver creek- momka. silver beach, purple thunder,-- and ga. tripple passion.
my $0.02
i use 31.7 heavy wall for everything.
never mind, just nodiced this is a 3 year old tread. opps!