Hi, I'm the new guy

[MikeTheSeer]

Waddddddap I'm trying to get into flameworking and StoneOne referred me to this forum for alot of good info and its saved me alot of time looking around for specifics thats for sure!

So yea anyways I'm trying to get into glass blowing, mostly lampworking/ pipe blowing. Theres a couple of blowers up here that I'm am trying to get to let me do an apprenticeship with them or something like that but in the meantime i needs me some tooools and I figured I should run my list of things I think im gonna need to start up and get some input back if possible.


GTT Lynx or Cheetah whats the main differences really besides the cheeted seems to be a
little more adjustable and cant work up to 3 inch solid? Also, I want a marver for it and was assuming I wanted the L shaped marver, yea?

Obviously going to seed some diamond cutters and other assorted small graphite tools like reamers and ti pens n stuff, and i figure its safe to assume u can use the backside of a marble mold as a paddle right? lol

some nice shades to protect my baby blues

and im gonna build myself a bench and get some of that slick heat resistant plating and make a nice section to set hot stuff


anything else im missing? Oh and obviously I need a kiln but I think I'm going to go the home built way seeing as how I'm pretty handy(atleast I like to think so atleast haha)



so yea any info would be cool :-D

[MikeTheSeer]

sheesh a few hours of reading and 13 post views later but no love huh lol


time for dabs :-D

[Icarus]

Perhaps its a sign that you should do some searching, as you are not the first to ask these questions.

[JBob]

cheetah vs lynx.

cheetah will be bigger
lynx should get a bit more pinpoint.

all 2 stage GTT torches use a Lynx as their center fire. therefor my allegiance says lynx.

Not to mention the lynx is rather sought after and you will be sure to easily resell it for an upgrade if need be.

Tools to think about: reamer, paddle, push, tungsten pick, marble mold, claw grabbers, scoring knife (or any variation of it), mashers, shears, Kevlar gloves, maybe a blow hose. Diamond shears are a great tool (though ive gotten by without using them for a couple years now)

I like the cement board for my bench surface over metal personally.

Since you will be making a kiln Ill assume you will be torching before it gets completed (total assumption), in which case you can put some use to either a tub of vermiculite or a fiber blanket to help slow down the cooling process to keep your glass from cracking.

EDIT: also if your going to be standing i recommend some sort of pad to stand on. I bought some gray puzzle board floor mats for $16 for 4 (and I use 2) at Lowes, and it makes all the difference.

[MikeTheSeer]

Icarus- I did some researching obviously was just getting opinions on if there is anything I overlooked......

jbobak- thanks I think you are probably right about the lynx, but I might just wait and get the cheapest 4 plug GTT so I can atleast add a pedal later if I want. And thanks for the tip on the puzzlbe board floor mats, funny thing is there are a few in my garage haha. Thanks for the input!

[sleepingpeople]

i started on a lynx and i love it man. It works great for me, and i absolutely use the needle flame for detail work on the regular. . I dont think you should buy a 4 stud torch unless you are absolutely serious and have extra money to spend on something you wont NEED for a while.

i ponied up and spent 40$ on an extreme standing mat and i havent looked back on it, it works great.

I use large tweezers often, hot fingers, and a small paddle. i also use tile nippers often, i got some from home depot for 12$. Much of what you have asked can be found around the forum, but it always helps one to voice their own questions in their own terms.

i dont have an L marver, but i didnt buy the marver that came with my torch.. i do plan on having an L one next time as it would be very handy, but just as jbob said about the diamond shears, ive made do.

I do use my reamer all the time though and its wearing out!!

[MikeTheSeer]

Well see I am 200% serious about getting into this and the way I figure it I could spend from 500 to 5000 dollars getting myself set up. And then factoring in the size of pieces I want to be able to do and how much money I am willing to spend and I end up at about 3000 to get myself everything from A - Z.

This being said, I have putting alot of thought into torch setup and I think I'm going to just dive in and get a phantom and a TCB just for the fact that I realize what I'm going to NEED to do what I WANT even if it takes me a year to get to that skill level I will still need to upgrade my torch when I get to that point.

So yea long story short 3k easily gets me a very nice torch, kiln, handful of tools, stuff I want to build a bench area, and a whole bunch of glass to work with. Will probably end up spending less than 3k tho so I will probably end up taking some classes at Pratt

[Greenhorse Glass]

Build your bench, then your exhaust fan. It sucks to have thousands of dollars in torches and tools and no SAFE place to use them.

Having everything fun first tends to cause you to rush your ventilation build.

And 3 grand just gets you in the door. Depending on what you buy of course. But trust me. There will be thousands more you'll want to spend immediately after each purchase.

Last thing. Spend some money on some goggles. So far the glasses I've tried are very lens heavy. Just a little sweat and I'm cussing them.

Have fun and good luck.

[bildo]

good choice on the phantom. The bigger torch will speed up marbles and implosions immensely. As a beginner, an implosion is one of the cooler things to make and it would be a much longer process w a small torch. Even if you give up, the phantom has just as high of a resale value as any other gtt. I know Ive been looking. I would also consider, if you have xtra cash, to place a thousand dollar glass order. I would call all the companies and shop for a great deal. Get a wide range of tubes and rods. Some tubes may be too big for you, but you will grow into them very quickly. Good luck and post any questions you have. Some of these guys here have been doing this, and posting here for a long time, but there are plenty of rookies and people like me who have not. Some threads about anything are years old and you can read the whole thing and not answer the question you want. They think it is a waste of their time, but they dont have to respond, mostly people who want to help will respond. Only occasionally will somenody post that you should research on your own(like you didnt already do that).

[Husky]

Look at the members with high post counts and high rep power. View their profile then their threads that they have started in the past and the questions they have asked in the past. I've found the most useful information doing that. Everything has been asked and discussed here before it just takes some digging. Also on the bottom of each thread are links for similar threads. Really tho spend hours upon hours reading through this website and wait to make a large order all at once. You'll save yourself a lot of money if you really think things through and don't jump the gun too quick. Also ventilation should be number 1 before anything!! build a good bench with GREAT ventilation about 100cfm per sq ft. of bench space. this is the most important part of your setup, get an inline duct fan and you should be good. Spend your money on bench and ventilation before anything!!

good luck man!

[MikeTheSeer]

Thanks alot everyone I have been putting alot of thought into my bench and I have 2 possible areas I'm going to set it up. The first ideal one being on my nice big back porch, and the 2nd being in the shop at my brothers house across the street, both of them have plenty of ventilation so I've got that covered. Pretty much at this point I'm just trying to decide which tools I want to buy and where they are the best price.

Thanks all for all the input!

[MikeTheSeer]

woot just went by my brothers house to see what I could salvage for hoses and oxy tanks.... found 3 oxy tanks and like 100 ft of hose, just need to get the tanks tested somewhere :-D

[harpentuan]

Someone tell this fellow about the Melting Pot Butt Deodorant.
Hee's worthy of this knowledge.

[MikeTheSeer]

Yes please enlighten me haha

[p.j.]

Thanks alot everyone I have been putting alot of thought into my bench and I have 2 possible areas I'm going to set it up. The first ideal one being on my nice big back porch, and the 2nd being in the shop at my brothers house across the street, both of them have plenty of ventilation so I've got that covered. Pretty much at this point I'm just trying to decide which tools I want to buy and where they are the best price.

Thanks all for all the input!

what does plenty of ventilation mean to you? open windows and open space do not mean ventilation

[JBob]

The hose must be T-Grade hose as well.

[MikeTheSeer]

p.j.- well seeing as how my porch is outside i figured I would be ok, and the shop at my brothers house has venting and stuff for welding in there and watnot

jbobak- thats funny you say that because after I posted this I was wondering to myself if they were T grade or not and I didn't look that closesly when I went into the shop but I will be checkin that out later today, thanks.


any input on this kiln I found for sale would be nice too,

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=606482#post606482


thanks in advance

[JBob]

If you got the hose from your brothers welding shop, you will need to get T grade as chances are it is not.

EDIT: kiln looks good

[MikeTheSeer]

I'd say I have a 50/50 chance from what I have looked up hose-wise and considering the fact they are from when my dad still had his steel biz and he only bought top quality expensive tools haha

[hashmasta-kut]

oops my first post was based on misinformation, so i change it to..



Welcome!

[MikeTheSeer]

lol yea hashmasta i decided to go with a phantom haha

and the damn hoses were type R so I can't use them. Atleast I have 2 oxy tanks and 2 regs that will work. Picking up the kiln in the morning.

Gettin closer :-D

[JBob]

Well, it'll be good to have fresh hoses anyway, and theyre not too costly either.

looks like its shaping up over there!

[Kevin Bumble]

and don't tell puff Danny you will fuck him in his head cuz you might get cut out after doing so just sayin.

[MikeTheSeer]

Yea not too worried about getting new hoses, just gotta get the tanks re certified

gettin a lil closer every day

[MikeTheSeer]

uhh what bumble?

[Kevin Bumble]

just don"t be a dick lol hes a lost member i'd bring up a thread but i think i cant find it. lol

[MikeTheSeer]

Lol Uhh ok