Moving from Extra heavy to Medium

[eegee]

I've gotten pretty good at pulling points on Extra heavy wall (25.4 x 4, 38.1 x 4), but now that I'm trying to make cups and feet, I've moved to Medium (standard???) 25.4 x 2.4, 38.1 x 2.4.

I'm having a hell of a time pulling points on this thinner wall - they dont stay straight and are too thin. One thing I noticed is that I have to gather a bit before I pull the point to compensate for the thinner wall. I didnt have to do this on the x-heavy. Is this the correct way of doing this? Any other tips?

Thanks,
Eric

[chayes]

heat a larger area on the tube

[Emmett's Glass]

Give me a call & stop by, I'll give you a demo.
E

[bc]

yeah gather up a lil more galss then she'll condense an pull yer point, your almost there

[homer]

Dont gather it, just heat up a wider area.....you will get more even pulls...

Homer

[NUBBLET]

Yeah heat up a wider area , then pull , but a bit slower than with the hvy wall , to mantain a good wall thickness . I like to pull vertically to keep the point real straight , a whole lot easier to do this way .

[bc]

don't gather it? Ofcourse gather it. Let it condense(gather) an pull a smoother pull. I thinks it's obvious you would have to heat up more glass cause you need more for a nice handle. The trick is to gather (condense) up an area so you can pull a nice handle like with your heavy. It's much smoother handle, thicker an yet less easy to break. Ofcourse there is always more than one way to skin a cat. :rolleyes

[fumalicious]

Gathering vs. heating a larger area = the same thing.... a point. IMO it is easier to heat a larger area/ section/ length of tubing then it is to spend time and energy condensing the glass in order to pull it down...

If you are doing the condensing method, all you are really doing is melting that larger area of tubing by only applying heat to a smaller area and waiting for that glass to melt and gather in the adjacent glass. So really you are spending time waiting for the heat that's in the small area of glass you heated to conduct into the adjacent glass rather than just blasting it with your flame, heating it up all at once, and pulling...

Think about it- a point is a point- if it takes "x" amount of inches of tubing to pull a "y" length point of "z" thickness, then why spend time on a thin tube condensing when you can just heat "x" amount initially and get it over with faster?

[Micah Evans]

A good rule of thumb on medium wall is to heat a section 1.5 to 2 times the tube diameter depending on how long you like your points. I like SUPER long points so i heat a pretty large section, I don't gather it too much so i don't create a variation in wall thickness which you would have to work out later when blowing your goblet. Everyone does it different and they pretty much all work!

good luck

me

[IrieGuy05]

I won't really pull points on med wall, I'd use a punty or blowtube everytime. I pull points on hw cause its much easier to heat a small section and get hefty points, I hate points that break.

[The Bigles]

Yeah, but they're talking cups and feet, not pipes.

[IrieGuy05]

doh missed that

[bc]

I think were all talking the same, perhaps different uses of the words.

[eegee]

Why are points better than blowtubes for goblets?

[IrieGuy05]

I think its cause a perfect point is more even than a good blowtube or punty, also a point is tapered and easier to spin evenly.

[NUBBLET]

The end result of the work , is directly corolated to the perfection of the prep work . It is for most easier to keep a point straight and centered than it is a blowtube . I like either , if you do blowtubes right they are just as straight as points , and sometimes I like the straight handle , no taper, . The key to blowtubes is to melt it in smooth then heat right at the seal , a little more so on the product tube , then pull a bit and it aligns just like a point .