Dangers of working in front of mirror?

[HPIAdam]

Hello, no luck finding any info on this.

A glassblower told me that working in front of a mirror (i have a very large one up, roughly 4ft in front of me) can multiply xray and gamma radiation.

Anyone?

[dustyg]

Yeah, it multiplies radiation, but only marginally (I'm thinking a 0 to 5 percent increase), because it adds less than the of radiation you'd receive from 8 ft away (4 ft each way + whatever the mirror absorbs), which isn't much.

[somewhere]

Considering the mirrored side is coated on the back of glass. Any harmful rays will be absorbed as it goes thru the clear glass twice.
I wouldn't worry a out it.

[menty666]

don't sweat it, my third arm has come in handy and with my glowing pallor, I no longer need lamps.

[byron3]

Hello, no luck finding any info on this.
........... xray and gamma radiation.

Take time to make a read, those two things are not being produced by any torch I know of.

Gamma_ray (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray)

X-ray (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray)

[Mecha]

Hello, no luck finding any info on this.

A glassblower told me that working in front of a mirror (i have a very large one up, roughly 4ft in front of me) can multiply xray and gamma radiation.

Anyone?

Sounds like broscience to me.

[yoloswag420]

Intense UV and Sodium Flare are the dangerous rays from a torch to worry about. A normal mirror with the reflective sheet beneath glass will actually absorb most of the UV and other light waves in the glass and disipate the waves into heat rather reflecting them back to you.

[Tsnider]

i have always wondered what the point of working in front of a mirror is...

[somewhere]

Intense UV and Sodium Flare are the dangerous rays from a torch to worry about. A normal mirror with the reflective sheet beneath glass will actually absorb most of the UV and other light waves in the glass and disipate the waves into heat rather reflecting them back to you.

Good info but it's uv and ir that are the dangerous ones. Sodium flare is a nuisance but isn't damaging to the eyes.

[Tzonis]

HPIAdam,

The true issue is when working in front of a mirror is not the radiation etc it is constantly stopping to fix ones hair/admire how good looking they are etc.

That is the true challenge.

-Tz

[smolder holder]

Take time to make a read, those two things are not being produced by any torch I know of.

Gamma_ray (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray)

X-ray (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray)

Yup, no nuclear ionizing radiation from torch, fuels, or glass. It's the UV/IR that our glass puts out which is down to harmless levels within a couple feet.

[DPB]

Tsnider: Some folks like to work in front of a mirror so they can see what's happening to their glass while they are blowing, if they aren't using a blowhose. I find it's not necessary but it can help.

[Mr. Wonka]

If use a mirror, you don't have to use a blow hose. Why not use a blow hose so you don't have to use a mirror?

Tom

[vetropod]

Danger of using mirror = seeing yourself and being scared shitless, then burning your face off.

[mer]

narcissus in reverse?

[hashmasta-kut]

If use a mirror, you don't have to use a blow hose. Why not use a blow hose so you don't have to use a mirror?

Tom

thats crazy logic, think about it.

[glassdocnc]

Simple, it's so I can see friends or family members who may have wandered in to see me. Surprise isn't a nice thing to be feeling when I'm concentrating, have the tunes up too high to hear footsteps, etc.

ETA: response to "why to use the mirror in the first place"

[Emmett's Glass]

I knew this guy who used to use a mirror on his bench. 1 day I went to his shop and he was all pissed off about something a few min after that he started to grow huge and turn green. Then he started smashing everything I decided to leave. Last I heard he was drifting from town to town trying to find a cure.
E

[HPIAdam]

/\HAHAHAHA that is a good one...
Thanks for the comments guys (even the ones who stepped out of the garage to make snarky comments)
Its not my shop, taking the mirror down is alot of eork, boss wouldnt be happy.
I do use a blowhose

[Mac Maestro]

How else would I watch myself dance around while blowing glass? Shirt off, chest all oiled up... You guys do that too, I assume.

Without a mirror, that would just look SILLY.

[faded]

Simple, it's so I can see friends or family members who may have wandered in to see me. Surprise isn't a nice thing to be feeling when I'm concentrating, have the tunes up too high to hear footsteps, etc.

ETA: response to "why to use the mirror in the first place"


^^^ this right here.

my wife scares the shit outta me a lot. she's getting better making noise as she approaches though. i have a mirror up in the corner but i'm never really looking at it. my doorway is behind me and to the right so the angle is all wrong.

[Matt P]

I'm a jumpy person, I don't need people creeping up on my while I'm focused holding a bunch of molten glass. Thats why I have the mirror. My peripheral vision will see the door of the shop opening when people come and go, its nice.

Don't know about the dangers of mirrors, I once worked next to a camper for a while, ended up good and red on my left side from the radiation reflecting off the vinyl siding. Not my proudest moment haha

[Dan Kooper]

I don't use my blowhose on prodo spoons. So when I make them I have a 4"x4" mirror on my table. I can hold it over it while I'm spinning/blowing to get perfect wall thickness. On my I/o I try to keep the 3d effect as much as possible and te mirror helps not over blow it.
I don't use it alot.

But at my store I have a mirror on the wall in front of me so I can tell when there's customers behind me. So I can start acting like its harder. It's fun. Ill make a spoon look difficult. I'm sick of people saying "that looks easy" so I make it look hard. Exaggerate a bit.

[aREa541]

^^^ this right here.

my wife scares the shit outta me a lot. she's getting better making noise as she approaches though. i have a mirror up in the corner but i'm never really looking at it. my doorway is behind me and to the right so the angle is all wrong.


I'm a jumpy person, I don't need people creeping up on my while I'm focused holding a bunch of molten glass. Thats why I have the mirror. My peripheral vision will see the door of the shop opening when people come and go, its nice.

Don't know about the dangers of mirrors, I once worked next to a camper for a while, ended up good and red on my left side from the radiation reflecting off the vinyl siding. Not my proudest moment haha


I thought i was the only one who was all jumpy at the torch. I have told my woman to slam the door to the shop when she comes in so she doesn't scare me. I don't know how many times I have been focused on a piece when I hear a little voice right in my ear and I literally jump a few inches. Still training my friends - i work with my garage door cracked open, so people will come over and shout at me through the crack "Bucho! Bucho!". I try to explain to them nicely that I am in the zone, and for some reason voices really snap me out of it harshly. They look at me like I am eccentric and too particular, but nod and agree, lol.

Scarface blew glass on a mirrored bench. He decided to tear that shit up when a guest mistook the white frit for a party favor.

[Mr. Wonka]

I get startled easily when I'm behind the torch, so I solved the problem by asking Elaine to flick the lights on and off when she comes into the shop.

I'm sure that will help some of you : )

Tom

[VertigoGlass]

They have remote door chimes optical sensors and so on that you can hook up to a light on the corner of your bench, someone enters your area the red light bulb goes on and you could set the dwell time and so on....

[Dan Kooper]

My home studio is in the upstairs of my garage. I hear footsteps up the stairs. And there's a window in front of me so I see when people pull in.

[Aussie]

I have a mirror in front of me for all the reasons already mentioned. Also, the play of firelight on my muscles all day long turns me on.
Unless you have a mirror behind you to infinitely intensify the light you should be ok. Infinite intensification of a heatsource is like sitting inside a giant laser and you're basically creating a new sun, especially if you're working on marbles larger than 2", so beware and play it safe. Stick to 1" marbles! This kind of thing could also have a very detrimental effect on the space-time continuum and there is a very real danger of doing your head in. Bottom line is, don't use multiple mirrors, or you could melt the earth out of existence! A single mirror should be ok, though. Just be careful and don't fuck with mirror magic unless you really know what you're doing .... also, tin foil hats don't work, to be really safe you will need a bedazzled shirt to keep those rays away from your vital organs ...

[Dan Kooper]

Great idea. I'm gonna put a mirror behind me so I can catch a tan while I work. Thanks.

[Aymie]

I feel like a blow hose cripples me. I seem to lose the ability to move around while the glass is molten when I get used to not having to. I also have a crappy swivel.

I like the mirror for a variety of reasons. I can check the far side of what I am working on, watch keeping holes centered when popping them on the end, and for watching for people.

I am beyond jumpy at the torch. I often jump and scream when someone talks to me before I see them. James knows exactly where he can stand, out of sight in the mirror, and he likes to creep up on me. Jerk.

[nicko0]

so.. has anyone figured out how to make xrays gammarays at the torch yet?

[byron3]

.... also, tin foil hats don't work, to be really safe you will need a bedazzled shirt to keep those rays away from your vital organs ...

Now this is almost true, almost. For the tin foil to work properly you will need the heavy duty industrial strength, take a large sheet and fold so as to create a pyramid Shaped hat with doubled up edges approximately 2" high. While this basic hat will shield the wearer from low level rays, for maximum protection you will need an indelible black magic marker. Now if you will just use that marker to make big block letters @ least 3" in height, the right side contains the word "PIVOT" the left side the word "MAN" ..........................................

[Emmett's Glass]

I have found that if the tin foil hat doesn't work for people wrapping their head in saran wrap will usually fix the problem.
E