Stand up Bub

[EarthTones]

OK,so here it is,my fist stand up bubbler & my 3rd bubbler ever,it stands at about 8inches tall. I ended up flattening th base twice,which I shouldn't have done,it looked fuller & stood fine the first time,but noob paranoia got the best of me.So anyways,it works well(I just checked it with water,no tobacky) & the construction wen't smooth,a little too smooth,so of course the fucker has a check in it:bummed:,typical noob rushing & fear & I guess just part of learning,I seem not to crack smaller stuff anymore,but each time I step it up,it's a lot harder. The check is small & runs from the carb to the seal,I guess even though I melted the shit out of the seal,it wasn't good enough,or while doing the carb I let that section between cool too much & the flame skipped? I might try to chase it out later,do you guys think it's worth it,or do you think it will just destroy it,right now it's usable,just not sellable,but I made it for myself as a practice project anyways.Anyways,let me know what you guys think & any help on fixing the check or future bigger piece construction is appreciated.
PS> I need a new kiln! I'm working with a P. Caldera with a 4inch bead door,so once I add my attachments I can only fit bigger pieces in the top of the kiln with the blowtube sticking out of the top of the kiln,which SUCKS ASS! But I can't afford a nice guilatine kiln now,so I'll have to make due I guess.

[CripSkillz]

Nice man nice , thats what i expect my first one to look like once i finally do it. .

kickin ass man,

and just do some modifications to your kiln, and make it work ,, im still runnin my oldie makin it work.. cut some shit out make bigger holes i even re routed elements works good now for me..

[rye]

very nice dude, I wish i could say my third bubbler looked like that. how long have you been on the torch? its tough knowing whether to leave stuff as it is or try to rework it. I usually don't go back to checked pieces because im just anxious to do it over again and try to get it right, but then again after pouring so many hours into a piece its always tempting to spend a few more minutes making it perfect.

[Blade]

very nice for numero tres
IF you are happy with it as a personal piece, I would say skip trying to fix it for now. This will give you a chance to study the piece as you work on your upcoming projects, helping you to improve on mistakes you may have made with that one. If you try and fix it, and it falls apart, you wont have such a useful reference piece.
And I find that as my skills improve over time, its much easier to go back and revisit old projects.
-B

[EarthTones]

Thanks guys. Fuck it,I just put it in the kiln,I'm going to try to fix it & add another ribbon the the other side & kinda re-shape the ribbon that's on there. I might destroy it? But the check already spread a little so it's kinda screwed anyways even if I don't re-work it.
Crip I was thinking of tweaking my kiln a little,what did you do for a door once you make the opening bigger? & what do you do for moving the elements safely? Rye,I've been at it just over a year,I've poured a lot of focus into patterns & artsier pieces though. It's a little costly when you make a mistake learning that way,but you gotta pay the dues somewhere,whether it's in classes with the pros or years of prodo or breaking a lot of shit on your own. I'm just going all out in my shed doing my thing & learning my own way from everything I see/read here & everywhere else everyday. I hope to take some classes and collab with more experienced blowers at some point.:chilling:

[EarthTones]

Blade mang,you posted while I was writing that last post. Yeah,you're probally(most definately) right man about just leaving it alone,well it's in the kiln now,we'll see how I feel,I may just leave it alone or I may go balls out & try. I'm afraid cause the check spread after it cooled so,there's probally a lot of stress in that spot that will BINK real bad when I try to reheat it.The glass is real thick by the joint & a little bit thinner on the can,I'm afraid the can will de-form or rip apart where the carb is or the weld will bust. Any tips on fixing this mother ,if I try? Pinpoint flame first or flash it first then pinpoint? What to do,what to do?
PS. I just peeped you're gallery for a second Blade,AWESOME work! I'm really impressed.I love the organic look & cool patterns of good sandblasting,I wan't to get a cabinet eventually when I get better & have the $.

[Chris Carlson]

if you try a few bubs at that size, but just in clear..it'll give you great practice at doing the welds and flattening the bottom, at minimal time and expense..

with fixing your bub, if you reattach a blowtube, then put a bridge from it, to your piece somewhere, it will hold it all in place while you try to fix..

good luck..

[EarthTones]

Cool Chris,thanks for the pointers,I look up to your work a lot. I feel kinda silly for not doing clear,but I'm practicing patterns & sections & they end up just sitting there in the shop,so I figure I'll turn them into something since a lot of them aren't perfect either. I figure enough practice of both will yield something truly nice eventually,but I know I should do more clear,especially as I go bigger & the shaping gets trickier. Hopefully nobody thinks I'm a pre-madonna wanna - be headdie maestro or something,I just look at it as practicing everything all at once,but you're right it can be a big waste of time & glass if I screw up,live & learn right.:chilling:

[EarthTones]

Well I should have listened to you guys & Paul MCCartney & let it be. Good news,crack is all gone & fixed,no disfiguring to can,new ribbon cane added,kinda gave the other ribbon some more shaping & pulled it closer to the can. Bad news,about to put it into the kiln & I burn my hand,the piece falls into my shirt & buns my shirt,then I drop it hard onto the bench & the mouthpiece breaks off. It was a really clean break & I welded it back on,but the mouthpiece was the thinnest part of this piece so it got janky-ized,especially since I had to put a new blowtube onto it twice. Anyways,doesn't look too bad,but doesn't look too good either. So I now have a fixed headdie bubbler with a semi-retarted mouthpiece,oh well,we'll use it or throw it on the shelf,or both,defiantely gonna practice some clear ones now that that cane is used up & try a new one with different cane when I get better.

[Dom]

Go practice your welds with some clear. If its a clean break then the weld was no good anyway.

[EarthTones]

I know Dom,you've been tryin' to school me for a while & I'm going to listen this time. I'm only going to make mini headdie stuff for now & practice doing some trickier shapes & welds in clear . You have any tips for better welds? I really worked on the mouthpiece weld for like 10-15 minutes with a sharp flame shaping & heating it puffing & pulling & melting & still no good? I'l use the search eng. & look up some tips,but if you've got any of the bat,let me know,how can you tell by eye or whatever when you're weld is 'really' solid instead of fo' solid like this one? thanks.:chilling:

[Meta Glass]

bridges=successful welds

i feel you on the bead door kiln too

what i do is pull the bead collar out a lil bit from the base layer thing
it gives more clearance

i second the clear too
after you get comfy with those
dont just jump into full pattenered ones break it up with solid color sections

my 20 pesos

[The Cheese]

Lookin' good. That's a pretty sharp bub there man.

I've got the same kiln -the bead door. Don't you love how the handles smoke and the condensation in the blow tube crackles? Fun stuff.

[VED]

if you worked the mouth peice that long it should have been good but if you didnt have a bridge and the glass kinda twisted when it was cooling that will add the stress rt back into the weld. definatly want to try some bridgeing when your working at weird angles. some things that made my welds way better when i started: get a pair of shears so your holes are nice and even and the same size, rage both holes and barly tag them together, (you said your welds were kinda thick) i was doing the same thing, you just want to touch the holes together and not press them together once they are together bridge and gather the glass on the weld and puff out as necessary. good luck

p.s. clear will make this real obvious if it looks like its all one peice in the end and you cant see any seam you nailed it

[CripSkillz]

here was my kiln thing i did,, was good for me dont know what yours looks like so cant say for sure what you can do..

http://www.thegldg.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10626

[rye]

thats awesome man im kind of doing the same thing, just putting in my time learning new patterns and techniques so i can develop quicker. anyway, fumed cobalt is also a nice way to practice shaping/ welds and still get a little color in the mix. its a little stiffer than clear though.

[EarthTones]

Cool guys,thanks for the tips! VED,I made the mouthpiece & stem without a bridge,so that's probally what happened,it was slippin' all over the place when I was working on it.Makes sense now that you mention it to bridge any sectional weld,even the mouthpiece,bridges are new to me,but I'm going to start using them religously.
For the can I used the dichro cane as a bridge,but I think I need to use the traditional clear rod method to bridge like you guys suggest & then add attachments after the weld is good. Yeah Glasspipe,I wish now I just spent the extra $300 or some dollars for a better kiln,but too late now.The bead door is alright though,you should get it,it makes the kiln taller & I just made another small 5" bubbler after work,so it's suitable until the work gets large. Crip,thanks for the link,I'll have to rig up something,I see how you just re-routed the element coils.Iliked the idea Mer mentioned in that thread about rigging a door,I'll have to sit down & figure out the best thrifty plan for that. Well,I'll be practicing as much as I can after work,the LOX is the bomb! I made a mini tribal bubbler today after work in 2 hrs.& it came out decent & uncracked,used a bridge for the can weld,it's in the kiln,I'm going to try some clear stuff this week,welds & a bigger clear piece. The shop was sweet this afternoon because we had a heat wave today 80*,we're an hour N of SF,so it's mild here,but not 80* in Jan. mild,it was HOT,made the shop nice though,I kept feeling like a was getting pnuemonia in the shed working at night when it was 40-50* & real damp,not comfortable.