Top 10 Essential Techniques

[RedToroBoro]

OK, I was was watching a you tube vid and while the Lamp-worker was working he said, "this is one of the top 10 techniques every new lamp-worker should learn and know".

Well, this got me thinking and I did a search and could not find anything close. So with your help, I was wondering if you all could give your input on what you think the top 10 techniques a New lamp-worker should try to learn and know how to do. An example may be, 1) inside out, 2) implosions, or 3) pulling points.

I know this would sure help me to get going in the right direction as a newb. I don't know it might help allot of other new people as well.

It may need to me more than 10 I don't know

Thanks for all your knowledge.

Peace

[network420]

Im a newb too, but heres a few things that come to my mind when thinking of the basics.

-even heat base
-cold seals
-welds (rod and tube)
-puffing bubbles
-tearing open tubes
-gathering
-blowing holes
-flame characteristics

[CripSkillz]

Jugglin beer n hot glass,,, Im still trying to figure out the rest,...

[hwcglass]

Well, there is technique meaning things like inside-out and then there is technique meaning things like opening holes in hollow forms.

I'll go with technique as in some universlal skill (opening holes) that can be used with many techniques (IS/O).

1) torch control - the physical act of flame changing, learning to use your torch
2) hand control - the ability of the hands to efficiently maneuver glass at the bench
3) work planning - the ability to attack production and learning problems
4) infrastructure and maintenance - the ability to build, maintain and repair a glass shop
5) communication and business - the ability to spend and earn money efficiently and effectively, the ability to build and maintain strong professional relationships.
6) career and objective planning - the ability to honesty see one's future through glass, the ability to identify and design a path towards self defined goals
7) material reading - the ability to quickly determine the glass's temperature, thickness, viscosity and quality by eyes, hands or both.
8) basic material handling skills - the ability to efficiently and effectively process tubing and rod from case form into a wide variety of project ready 'prep' forms.
9) basic material knowledge - the ability to choose materials like color wisely, the ability to understand what kind of materials will play to the strengths of kind of projects
10) visual learning - the ability to see either another person's finished product or watch another person lampwork and effortlessly absorb that information, the ability to respect the work of others by instantaneous innovation.

[ALIEN!]

-polish your blowtube ends
-don't itch your face with a hot piece (no matter how bad it itches)
-making-a-glass-pecker-for-good-pay technique
-tiger claw
-coil potting
-how to make bubble-trash (everything's better when ya put the word "bubble" next to it.)
-biting Salt
-how to scream obscenities at your broken piece till it re-assembles itself
-the "look Ma, no eye protection" technique
-how to boil water on top of your kiln so you could cook that last package of raman noodles technique
-the wearing-no-shoes-in-the-shop-like-a-hippie-so-hot-and-sharp-objects-can-land-on-them-causing-irreversable-damage-and-scarring technique
-the important sticking your hand in the flame while picking up that piece that just fell off the blowtube with other hand technique
-the ever important "hey that Canary Yellow isn't boiled, it's textured" sales technique
-Monkey Gripping
-phallic shape technique (see glass peckers for pay above)
-blame your downfalls on bent blowtubes technique


but seriously, I don't think there really could be 10 essential techniques without being more specific as to what kind of work a flameworker is doing. A bong maker is definitely going to have 10 different essentials from a hand pipe guy or a marble maker or a ring maker.

[CripSkillz]

your list is perfect...

[Master Yoda]

The forbidden sepulworld punty of death technique

Jesus like acts of turning frit to food

Having a good visual aesthetic, some of us never will...

Stress relief through profanity

Stress relief through breaking things

Water annealing

Making $5 pcs. so that you will never have to compete with JoAnn for sales (don't even try:)

High pain Tolerance, no wimps on getting cut or burned here

Ability to survive on deferred wealth, ie. getting a huge paycheck one week and nothing for a month after that

A lot of general non glass related skills, electrical wiring, vent hood construction, kiln construction / repair, all of that stuff that it would break you if you had to pay some one else to do.

Lastly creativity, for all you newbs up here no one is giving away their bomb technique (well a few do here and there). A lot is simply left up to you to find how you do things best

Seriously though

- Proper understanding of safety and how to do things safely (run and hide when that cloud of glass dust comes for you)
- Manual dexterity (spin that nuby shit!)
- Flame Atmosphere Control
- Proper Kiln use and garaging techs
- Proper understanding of annealing techs and how they apply to various types of pcs.
- Reading heat bases and having an understanding of how glass behaves as a liquid, solid and the states between
- Crack Repair, small air bubble removal, A general ability to turn shit to shinola
- Bubble free encasement / coiling
- Scoring and snapping techs / diamond sheer techs / v tool techs
- Ability to pull points (doesn't mean you have to actually do it much, but it bleeds into a lot of other things)

[MPGB]

Hwc. It's grammar.

[Icarus]

Not exactly techniques, but more just advice I would have liked to have gotten when starting out.

1. Remember that your torch is a tool. No tool will make the outcome better or worse. It's you that decides that.

2. Remember that when you see some of the "real heady shit", that all of these people started at close to the same place as you. No one was born as a master glassblower (except maybe for Nomad, though I'm not sure he was born so much as "came to be").

3. Try shit out. Their isn't some "technique bible" that is only shared among the top pipe-makers. All of the stuff you see came from someone having an idea, messing around, and then perfecting it.

4. Remember that clear is cheap. So is fuming. Color is expensive. Build your skills using minimal color, and relying more on fuming. It will save you lots of money, and then by the time you start feeling ready to use color, you'll just have a better feel for glass in general, and won't find yourself wasting nearly as much.

5. Read up and understand basic wiring, ventilation, gas and oxygen handling, etc... It's going to save you ridiculous amounts of money, and will also possibly save your life. Safety is important. Can i get an Amen? I'll say it again.
SAFETY IS IIIIIIIIMPOOORRTAAAANNNNTTTTT!

6. Always place a piece of hot glass so the hot end is pointing away from you. After a second or two, hot clear looks just like cold clear. Seriously, you're not going to remember what end is hot when you're going to grab the punty you just figured out that you need. If you always put the hot end away from you, you won't think about this thread later when you have a bitch of a burn on your fingers and remark to yourself "Fuck, Icarus was right on that one".

7. This should be at the top of the list, but learn your basics. Everything (seriously everything) can be broken down into a series of small steps that all rely on basic glassworking skills. It may not look like it while it is being done, but everything is based on a small set of basic skills used in different ways and different combinations.

8. You could do worse than to spend the cash for a copy of "Essential lampworking". Re-read it every year if you get a chance. It will fill in gaps in your knowledge, and expose you to some other ideas on how people work glass. Rounding out your education to explore other avenues and apply them to your own thoughts and work is never a bad thing.

9. Get together with other glassblowers when you can. You'll progress a lot faster than if you work in a vacuum.

10. The more time spent behind the torch, the better. This is a practice based skill. Some get better faster, but no one ever became a master glassblower just by thinking about it or talking about it. They became that way by doing it.

[vetropod]

1-10) Have fun and don't burn yourself too badly! :D

[Icarus]

^^^^^
Amen!

[RedToroBoro]

Thanks to all of you for your replies, even the comedians.:D

Ya, Icarus I think #7 would probably make for a better list, of basics. I know there are tones of differences depending on what your making but there has to be certain basic techniques that could be used with them.



Peace

[STROKER]

yes i agree that the more we can break things down into smaller , more doable steps, the more likely we will finish what we have envisioned.

i do some very involved woodwork that would absolutely overwhelm me if i did not reduce the project to baby steps.

yes it takes more steps to complete, but they are a lot easier shoes to fill.

when i work on my race car motor it is the same way. break it down till its doable. then kick its ass..

torch time , torch time, torch time... fire that puppy up and practice any second you have...

[Icarus]

Ya, Icarus I think #7 would probably make for a better list, of basics. I know there are tones of differences depending on what your making but there has to be certain basic techniques that could be used with them.

Take a class or refer to #8. Just about everything you need to know (as far as basics are concerned, plus a lot more advanced stuff) are covered in Contemporary Lampworking. With that said, a book is no comparison to a class with a good teacher that you can watch and ask questions of.

That first Freeman Corbin video "essential lampworking" is also a pretty good place to start.

[Icarus]

yes i agree that the more we can break things down into smaller , more doable steps, the more likely we will finish what we have envisioned.

i do some very involved woodwork that would absolutely overwhelm me if i did not reduce the project to baby steps.

yes it takes more steps to complete, but they are a lot easier shoes to fill.

when i work on my race car motor it is the same way. break it down till its doable. then kick its ass..

torch time , torch time, torch time... fire that puppy up and practice any second you have...

It really is the secret to life, break everything down into a series of small, easily accomplished tasks.

When I was in school, it was the only way I got through any of my programming classes. This boy is no born programmer, and the only way I could ever get anything to work is to break it down into a small series of subroutines, and build my way back up from there. Worked damn near every time, and it teaches you quite a bit about the assembly process.

[hwcglass]

Hwc. It's grammar.

Got to love literate people. Thanks man.

[RedToroBoro]

Thanks again, I have Contemporary Lampworking 1-2 and read them daily. You Tube vids have been good also.
331stroker I used to race dirt bikes for yrs. so I can understand that.

Peace

[hashmasta-kut]

triple blown?

[Mecha]

There is some really great advice in these posts.

I would like to add one thing that I think is extremely important. You really need to develop the ability to honestly criticize your own work. It can be hard at first because the pride in making anything out of glass can easily cloud your perspective. A lot of new lampers will chalk up imperfections or wonkyness to artistic license in some sort of delusional rationalization.

This is not to say that you should beat yourself up or allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good. Just do your best and always look for ways to improve on your skills.

Good luck!

[gambitglass]

some cool techniques for coloring, shaping, and accents. There is so much to learn, I'd say take a few at a time and see what can be done with w/each, become proficient in them. Next you will notice the likenesses and differences in all these techniques and learn more about the physics or rules of glass that are linked directly to the torch flame setting you apply. also with colors comes education of how colors can be used and how they need to be annealed, and one step further comes cold-working techniques. really just try to jog before you run, i tried to run too early and suffered consequences for doing so. better off learning how to make simple things well than always pushing to make more complex and techy stuff.

-latticino
-reticello
-bass-head
-implosion
-honeycomb
-fillagree
-wrap and rake
-opening and connecting connecting welds
-using bridges
-creating and appling avolios

[Frankie Hess]

Water annealing



LOL!!!!:rollin:rollin:rollin:rollin:


#1. and always #1 to me is, heat base.

You can't do anything the way you want if you don't understand how to heat it the way it needs to be heated.

[hashmasta-kut]

# 2 is glass control i think. in other words the ability to spin evenly. its what allows you to also properly control the heat base, and of course the shape and thickness of your work. just to be able to pull off many things requires good even spinning control, such as condensing wigwags back evenly, or imploding.

[RedToroBoro]

Thanks guys this thread is a really big help.
Frankie your work on glasspipes is awesome! Someday, someday. I must crawl before I walk Danielson. lol

[hwcglass]

-bass-head

what's that?

[RedToroBoro]

Hwcglass, I was wondering the same thing.

Thanks for your comments earlier I appreciated man.

Peace

[styles1 torchlife]

Peace pipe, check this article I wrote out it may help.

http://www.torchlife.us/articles/article04-Concepts.cfm

[Din]

The saying is (or was, when I started) rotation rotation rotation. Rotation basically is control, and your level of this skill is perhaps the largest contributing factor in your level of work. Practice always. Rotate a broom while you walk around, a pencil while you watch TV, chopsticks after dinner, so on and so forth. Forget ten, master this one technique and it will open many other doors. Everything from proper flares to cleaner patterns to better welds are right there.
Mecha mentioned being able to properly criticize your work. That, too, is vital. If something isn't exactly the way you planned it, why not? This is particularily important in terms of shaping or construction.
Good luck, have fun.

[hashmasta-kut]

i found something i didnt see mentioned yet that is pretty vital to good work. is trying to be very accurate when centering handles/ blowtubes, and making points. this too can make an incredible difference in the ability to manipulate your work well. i have a hard time when centering handles on various goblet parts when constructing them, but when i get it just right, its so nice, and the end product has an actual chance of coming out like you want it to.

[Bo Diddles]

Repairing and recovering from cracks. Maybe overlooked as a skill, but essential (for me at least).

Great thread!

[RedToroBoro]

Thank you, diddles

Peace

[LTD]

Take a class or refer to #8. Just about everything you need to know (as far as basics are concerned, plus a lot more advanced stuff) are covered in Contemporary Lampworking. With that said, a book is no comparison to a class with a good teacher that you can watch and ask questions of.

That first Freeman Corbin video "essential lampworking" is also a pretty good place to start.

I have not watched Freemans video, but he was one of the first lampers I watched first hand. I used to watch him and his crew work and that is what got me hooked. He is pretty amazing.

[RamblezMarblez]

This is the paper bag fetish "yoo...baby....put this on"

How to fuck a fat bitch and pretend it didn't happen....

[Riley]

This is the paper bag fetish "yoo...baby....put this on"

How to fuck a fat bitch and pretend it didn't happen....

how to see the faults in others work and improve upon it.

"excuse me, you sweet plump gal, perhaps you could sport this innovative pore rejuvinator while we have vaginal intercourse in my mother's basement. after which i may have a lapse in memory"

[hippi]

pratice pratice pratice pratice pratice pratice pratice pratice pratice pratice, thats 10 right? oh and repeat repeat repeat.................. and learn from your mistakes...

[LTD]

Knowing the proper names for techniques is not so important, but it can help. I am not sure why it bothers me, but every time I hear or read the term wig wag I cringe a little. Maybe I am old, but I learned the term as SWITCHBACKS.

[hippi]

switchbacks---->>> WWWWWWW

wig wags------>>>> @W@

[Riley]

umbrella term: patternwork

[Icarus]

This is the paper bag fetish "yoo...baby....put this on"

How to fuck a fat bitch and pretend it didn't happen....

http://s.sfwgifs.com/img/upld/kramer-facepalm.jpg

[Ubatuba]

There is some really great advice in these posts.

You really need to develop the ability to honestly criticize your own work.

A lot of new lampers will chalk up imperfections or wonkyness to artistic license in some sort of delusional rationalization.




Big time! Don't lie to yourself kids! You will never progess if you do not accept the fact that horn is janky! Take your time to do it right. You learn how to do it faster when you get the fundamentals down.

[LTD]

switchbacks---->>> WWWWWWW

wig wags------>>>> @W@

I see people using the terms interchangeably all the time. Switchback is a term that has an actual definition and wig wag is some made up silliness. I have been doing this a long time and 10 years ago NO ONE used the term wig wag at all. They were switchbacks and @ww@ was a switchback reversal, montage or encalmo. I am pretty sure someone who did not know what to call a switchback just made up the term wigwag.
Sorry for the thread jack. I am going to go back to the shop and make some double blown wig wag spoons, or maybe go tune up my tattoogun:twitch:

[hashmasta-kut]

hippis pictures show wigwag first, then a reversal second. thats a representation of a wigwag section with a switched axis, and the two spiral ends that result.

[hashmasta-kut]

I see people using the terms interchangeably all the time. Switchback is a term that has an actual definition and wig wag is some made up silliness.




naw, whats really silly is getting your shit in a knot over people using different words for the same thing. wig wag has just as much meaning if you consider the construction. if it was zig zag it might be even more appropriate, but whatever. both words you mention show representation of the actual physical movement of the art construct, in their meaning.

another good one people agonize over is people using the term gong joints..

get over it!

[full_kiln]

1rount bottom
2side seals
3ring seals
4dewar seals
5straight seals
6reversals
7pulling points
8puffing even bubbles
9stacking r balls
10 CONDENSING CONDENSING
condensing is everything

[hashmasta-kut]

i think only three of your points qualify as top ten.

[full_kiln]

which ones

[LTD]

1rount bottom
2side seals
3ring seals
4dewar seals
5straight seals
6reversals
7pulling points
8puffing even bubbles
9stacking r balls
10 CONDENSING CONDENSING
condensing is everything

2,3,4 and 5 could be listed as 'various seals and be one tech. All of this stuff is important though.

[LTD]

naw, whats really silly is getting your shit in a knot over people using different words for the same thing. wig wag has just as much meaning if you consider the construction. if it was zig zag it might be even more appropriate, but whatever. both words you mention show representation of the actual physical movement of the art construct, in their meaning.

another good one people agonize over is people using the term gong joints..

get over it!

GonG= Glass on Glass and makes perfect sense. I am not in a knot over it it is just something that annoys me. When I was starting everyone called them switchbacks. The term switchback means the same thing in multiple forms of art and in road construction and hiking. Wig wag is a movement made with flags signaling boats or planes. I am not torn up over it just slightly annoyed. Just like when people call plugs gauges, or tattoo machines guns or inside out work double blown. This is how I feel not an attack on the uninformed. As there is no formally structured language among modern north American/ English speaking lampworkers (yet) there is no real basis for my annoyance other than personal preference.

[re-vit]

gotta love turbo welding and open heart surgery!

[VED]

turbo weld? did you learn that tech from jerry gash? he tought me and was the first one i ever seen use such a sick tech

[J Howard]

for real:


learn how to turn everything with your left hand (forward and back). your right hand is your tool hand. if you don't learn this now, you will be unable to "Unlearn" it later, and at some point in your career that fundemental skill of glassblowing will limit what you can do. (for example, you cannot use shears with your non dominant hand so accurately trimming a bubble that is to be spun out into a large foot will be next to impossible. also, good luck with Jacks in your left hand)


i'm going to limit this to one suggestion because i think it's that important.... well, ok, while you're at it, one hand facing up and one hand down (non monkey gripping)

[Icarus]

^^^^

Would have killed to have someone tell me that when I was first starting.

[Shatner]

for real:


learn how to turn everything with your left hand (forward and back). your right hand is your tool hand. if you don't learn this now, you will be unable to "Unlearn" it later, and at some point in your career that fundemental skill of glassblowing will limit what you can do. (for example, you cannot use shears with your non dominant hand so accurately trimming a bubble that is to be spun out into a large foot will be next to impossible. also, good luck with Jacks in your left hand)


i'm going to limit this to one suggestion because i think it's that important.... well, ok, while you're at it, one hand facing up and one hand down (non monkey gripping)

This is the most important thing to learn, imo, also.

I've told this to my shopmate many times and he still switches it up. :bangHead: I think he's finally figuring it out though. But it's taken watching and listening to 3 other glassblowers for it to sink in to his head.

[hashmasta-kut]

i'm left handed and when i am doing any actions requiring a tool i of course hold and spin my piece with my right. but sometimes, when just working color in, or condensing down wigs freehand, for example, when its a long time with no tools needed, i will switch it up. is that bad?

[Riley]

spin both way with both hands, dominant hand uses tools for sure.

as far as the grip, you should be able to go from a hand up one hand down, to opposite, monkey grip and everything in between. especially when spinning heavier things for longer, as it helps relieve strain in your wrists.

if you favor a dominant hand for spinning (when spinning one handed) its good to switch it up to keep your non dominant hand up to par with balancing molten glass.

be able to work with and without a blowhose, use it as a tool not a crutch. there are many things i just won't do without one, and its evidently a huge time saver, great learning aid, and indispensable on the lathe and and on the bench.

[LTD]

I am ambidextrous. I push bowls left and right handed. But for some reason I can do spintrails WAY faster holding the color in my right hand.

[Shatner]

i'm left handed and when i am doing any actions requiring a tool i of course hold and spin my piece with my right. but sometimes, when just working color in, or condensing down wigs freehand, for example, when its a long time with no tools needed, i will switch it up. is that bad?

I'm not a fan of it. I was taught by the late Shannon Hill and Sci glass pro Barry Laffler. Both told me that your non dominant hand is your 'motor'. Dominant hand is for tooling. And not to switch it up. Once you build the muscles in your motor hand's arm, you'll be able to spin all day w/ out wearing out. Within reason.

Edit: Like luke, I heat my bowl before pushing it w/ both hands. It's easier for me to get the heat aroung the hole even with hand switching. But that's the only time you'll see me do that.

[p.j.]

for real:


learn how to turn everything with your left hand (forward and back). your right hand is your tool hand. if you don't learn this now, you will be unable to "Unlearn" it later, and at some point in your career that fundemental skill of glassblowing will limit what you can do. (for example, you cannot use shears with your non dominant hand so accurately trimming a bubble that is to be spun out into a large foot will be next to impossible. also, good luck with Jacks in your left hand)


i'm going to limit this to one suggestion because i think it's that important.... well, ok, while you're at it, one hand facing up and one hand down (non monkey gripping)

best advice yet...and i thought monkey grippers were gtt users:D

[JBob]

I have a friend that just texted me asking for any tips for her first time behind the torch today. i came back to this thread, but the only real advice i could give her, me not being the person showing her the ropes, was to spin consistently and just practice and focus on that, take home a piece of rod and just spin in. not really my top 10 essentials...either way, i think spinning i probably the most important thing fora first/second time/newb torcher to really focus on :)

[Riley]

tell her to start with solid rod, work on gathers and spin. add another hand. work on that before moving to tubing.

[JBob]

yup, thats about how i started...gather, flatten backside, frit and swirl! lol

[Shatner]

yup, thats about how i started...gather, flatten backside, frit and swirl! lol

Yeeaaappp. And fume.

[JBob]

Lesson #1 frit pendent
Lesson #2 practice loops
#3 pipes and fume :D

[full_kiln]

if you wanna get your rotation down, get some ball and socket ground glass joints and draw a line on each of them with a sharpie or grease pencil and keep them lined up

[Neko]

i wish i found this wonderful thread before i got behind the torch.so much invaluable info. Ive been spinning with my dominate hand and tooling with my left since i began. gonna have to work on changing that. just force it till it feels natural i guess...

[silicabello]

The most influential game changing things Ive learned since I started are

Heat base
Torch control
**Snapping points**
bridging/bracing
holding your tools/attachments like a pen not like a caveman
Proper prep / Production assembly
Dont force it
Garage more often
Quadruple check your piece for aesthetic/craftsmanship qualities
Pulling off boils with stringer

[RamblezMarblez]

Don't forget the dying poppy! Great gather technique! Don't listen to people who claim monkey gripping is goofy style...if you can flip your hand over the point blow tube at the right time and reverse the direction of your one hand when the glass changes from a liquid to solid...the blow tube can't be super long either...my point are pin point strait...some pro will disagree with me on this, but I bet they just regurgitating what they learned from an artist who prefers goofy style..there is no right or wrong...but I like both sides of my brain on the same page.

[Neko]

one thing i heard somewhere before i started was "the most common thing that a newbie does wrong is being afraid to get the glass soupy hot." and its easy to see why, you can do alot of stuff without getting it that hot and it seems so out of control when soupy but ive learned that the less control the glass has over itself , the more control you have over it.

[D. dino i ninjah]

1. there is no "right" way to do any of this stuff... there are Better ways and worse ways for different individuals ... Do what works for you...

2. Don't be scared to bite other artists work ... Try to Imitate the artists who's work you like the best... Then once you can do it ... make it your own...

3. Work hotter.. unless its dicro... That is the most common mistake new glassworkers make ... they are scared to heat the glass .... so they work too cold..

4. Take a class... From an artist who's work you like... and one that is geared t ward your skill level.

5. Buy 1 new tool every year ... at least.. you will wish you had if you didn't ...

6. Don't get your girlfriend pregnant ...

7. Really man don't do it...

8. Save some of that money you make ... you might get hurt and need it ..

9. Glass is solid when cold and liquid when hot..

10. Have fun ... thats why your doing this isn't it .. ??