using tube you have made

[elm744]

so i have began doing tube encasements so i can make full color tubs, when i pull the tube all the way down so it doesnt end up cracking I'm not really sure what to do next. I know this may sound silly but I am not used to starting out with such a small tube to work it into something bigger. am I missing something or does it just take some practice to figure out what to do.

-thanks for help in advance

[mistahead]

you dont have to pull it down that far...just make sure its all good and melted in.

[garrick]

you know, im going thru this problem myself to a certain extent but ive tried to just roll with it and the result being i come up with shapes and sizes that i never did with clear tubing. for me its basicly building out of small reversal balls and ive also found that getting a really big ball say for a bottom of a bub can is really easy when you just keep adding smaller balls, a really small reversal on the bottom of the can will greatly increase the size.

[petto]

When you do your tube pull you will likely end up with 2 bigger chunks(one from each end). Pop these guys in the kil and later pull them down but not as far. These are great for the bigger sections you may need, say for the bottom of the can. Or like Garrick you can stack many small sections to make on big one. This is a good method for getting nice tribal or flame patterns. Also like mistahead said don't pull it so far down, I pull mine to about 18mm. Then if I need it smaller I just take a chunk and stretch it out a little more. If it's to big it is easy to stretch down but if it is to small it is a real pain to build back up. Hope that helps. Are you doing tube encasement or stik stak? Post some pics for us all and a belated welcome to the board.

[elm744]

thanks everyone i am doing pretty small tube encasement just to get the hang of it and the fact that im sick of surface work. i will try to post some pictures when i get something good.