Newbie / First Glass Order

[Colin Allhose]

Hey guys,
in the last stages of setting up my studio, 80% done. I was gonna place my first order of glass in the next week or two...
never ordered glass before, dont have any glass now. so i assumed a sample pack would be the way to go, but then i saw the ABR %45 off odds and seconds deal. Figure thats a hell of a deal for me to get a collage of colors to play with.

so i am hoping to spend 300-500 I would like to get enough clear tube/rod and some color to play with as i learn the flow (getting lessons too, dont worry)
~any advice on how much to get of colors? I have no idea how much a lb of glass is or how far it will go. Also was reading through forums and saw somebody recommend schott clear tubing to start with... what are the most used or preferable sizes for basic work?

I'm working on a lynx and completely new to glass, i am assuming i will be doing the very basic stuff for the first 3-6 months

thanks for the help again :)

[Credo]

Hit up EU-glass for clear. If you want to make pipes then get case of 25x4mm. Once you work through that, you'll have a good idea about what youll be able to make with what size tube.
Sample packs of rod and color are definately a good choice. Also, throw in a few jars of frit.

[maxtsunami]

The ABR deal is better if you know what colors you want already, since most odds and seconds are only in full pounds. I'd get a sample pack of color from wherever you can find it, check ABR, mountain glass, trevs glass... A lb of color is around 10-15 rods that are 20" long in my experience, but it varies because of rod diameter. Schott is cheap but IMO Simax is so much nicer for just a little bit more. You'll get a lot less bubbling and shocking with simax. I make pendants on 19x2 tubing and 14mm rod, and spoons on 25x4. Don't worry about 38x4 for now, it's too big to work comfortably on a lynx (can be done with patience, but it's probably a little more work than it's worth). Get 6 and 9mm for punties, 4mm for picking and raking.

If you're set on ordering from abr with the 45% discount, I'd suggest getting odds of any of these (my personal favorite colors, they'll teach you flame chemistry):

Blue Moon
Double Amber Purple
Silver Aqua
Jet Black (for backing pendants)


If I were you I would avoid cadmium colors for now (opaque red, yellow, etc.), you have to be really careful with them and I don't think they look that good anyway.

[hellawacked]

Get some caramel, blue colbat and dark multi too

[Aaron Ellis]

I'd stock up on clear tube (9.5mm, 12mm, 19mm, 25mm). Clear rod (4 or 6mm, 8mm, 10mm) and get a sample pack of color and an oz. of silver.

[Mr.P0rn]

Also....Regular amber purple is a very good color to start with. It can help you learn flame striking, and give you some fancy looking results on some of your first pieces.

Check the post I made in this thread, It's good advice for anyone starting out. I did it myself, and it worked well. http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?48394-Beginner-looking-for-scrap-glass!

Theres a guy that mentioned Devardi glass, but I believe Devardi is the wrong COE...so I wouldn't bother with that.

Fuming is a cheap way to color glass. If you buy gold or silver, don't buy it from a glass supplier, buy either a small bar of gold (1gram) or a one ounce coin of .999 silver. This is the most cost effective way. Good Luck!

[Captain Glass]

He's right dude amber purple will do a lot of different things you may find cool. But I took a class on fuming and some techniques along with it and I didn't even look at a colored rod today when I worked fuming is fun as hell and gives some sick colors and effects.

[maui greenstone]

Get silver casting nuggets, they are easy to pick up, also I would recommend the following basic color(buy odds to make your buck go further while learning).

Ruby
Onyx
Turbo cobalt (can be mixed with clear to make lighter shades of cobalt)
Star white
Forrest green
Unobtanium
Double amber purple
Dark multi
Carmel

[Colin Allhose]

haha, i love this place. Why use my brain to figure all this out when I have [all] of yours. :) all the experience and advice here rocks my socks.
Mr. Porn it was your post on that exact thread that made me start this one, after i saw the 45% off deal. You were the one that referenced schott, hah :)

Okay, so I did not go with a sample pack yet, I figure I'll order one of those next month as this sale seems to be a steal. I am so new that specific color choices aren't my concern yet, Learning how to apply and use the glass itself is. Once i get better at that I will worry about building my ideal palette.

I went with a lb each of
Blue Moon, Dbl Amber Purple, Silver Aqua, Jet Black, Dark multi, caramel, Reg amber purple, Ruby, Onyx, Turbo cobalt, Star white, Forrest green, Unobtanium, & English Ivy

~Came out to $308 for 14 lbs vs $300 for 8.5 lbs for the full sampler kit. basically an extra 5.5 lbs for free. :D

Gonna go with the Simax clear as recommended with a variety of sizes.
only downside is No frit or fume, that can come next month too.

So next question is Where would i look for grams of gold or .999 silver, if i dont go to a glass distributer? if you buy this way is there any sort of proccessing that needs to be done before use?
I LOVE FUME THOUGH, I miss those late 90's changers with the fumed bottom bubble & the way fumed non water pieces give color as you smoke. I think my very first pipe i ordered from the old colorchangingglass.com. Dont get me wrong the scientific stuff is cool & i appreciate all forms of glass... just not my cup of tea.

[Captain Glass]

Coin store and tell them that your looking for a coin that's .999 silver. Tomorrow I'm going to michaels to check out the silver wire they have their.

[Mr.P0rn]

TO ALL WHO ARE BUYING SILVER - I am a precious metal investor, and that I am aware of...the best silver to buy would be a .999 pure, 1 troy ounce Silver ROUND. A silver round is basically a coin, but it is not commissioned by a government mint (like the Canadian maple leaf, or American eagle, which are popular). The only real difference are that government minted silver and gold cost a higher premium. You will pay the lowest price for a silver round, although in content...it will be the same thing. if any of you guys have trouble, I could probably come off of some silver if you really couldn't find it, or hit me up with a PM and ill tell you a few good places to buy it.

And yeah, I figured that might have been the post you meant:P. I actually started with just Chinese clear from Mountain glass, and I had NO trouble with shocking or cracking..so if your new, don't be afraid to order import at first. It saves money. That Schott i had linked is DIRT cheap though, so you cant go wrong with it.

You got some BADASS colors. To strike the AP or Double AP, heat it white hot with an oxy flame, then take it out of the flame and let it cool all the way. The more you do this, the more the final color will change. There's lots of other things you can do, but this should get you started.

Unobtanium can cause checking, so be careful with it. i think you're supposed to encase it, but I've never used it so.... and encase the English Ivy. When i first tried it I hated it because I was reducing it to a peach skin color. I tried encasing and being more careful, and English Ivy does some awesome shit.

Also - the only prep you need for your metals is to get a teeny tiny chunk off of your coin or bar somehow. Both silver and gold are soft, you can flatten them to a paper thin disk, and cut little tiny pieces off. I've been using a one ounce coin of silver forever.

[maxtsunami]

That color will last you soooooo long.... I'm jelly....

When I first started I had trouble figuring out what oxidizing vs neutral vs reducing flames REALLy were, I ended up working in a neutral-reducing flame most of the time. The first time you turn on your torch, experiment with how far you can turn up the oxy before the flame pops, then you know that right before that point is an oxidizing flame. Blue Moon will not hesitate to reduce if you hit it with even a neutral flame, so make sure you're raging that oxy when you work it. Good luck!

EDIT: Another thing I should mention is that I find you can burn off the haze of AP and double AP fairly easily with just a little bit of an oxidizing flame, and those colors like to get bubbly if you overheat them, so after you burn off the haze turn down your oxy a bit or they'll bubble up.

[funksizzle]

No more 100 clear fumies advise. You need color, and fume. Dots, stringers, frit, etcc

If you can stand making plain, boring shit all day, make spoons plain. New stuff everyday, and try to keep learning and pushing it when you can. Figure something out, repeat a few times, try something new. Go back to comfort from the thing you figured out for a bit, then push yourself again. It's like not keeping all your eggs in one basket, which you shouldn't do. You need to make fused egg baskets, basket weaved pipes, and dichro napkin rings to put in picnic baskets. There's so many options, so get learning and try new things.

[LooseSeal Baller]

i would pick one thing and perfect that.

that way your not all over the place.

pick a shape or a product and make 50 of them. don't go back and forth.

[maxtsunami]

haha, i love this place. Why use my brain to figure all this out when I have [all] of yours. :) all the experience and advice here rocks my socks.
Mr. Porn it was your post on that exact thread that made me start this one, after i saw the 45% off deal. You were the one that referenced schott, hah :)

Okay, so I did not go with a sample pack yet, I figure I'll order one of those next month as this sale seems to be a steal. I am so new that specific color choices aren't my concern yet, Learning how to apply and use the glass itself is. Once i get better at that I will worry about building my ideal palette.

I went with a lb each of
Blue Moon, Dbl Amber Purple, Silver Aqua, Jet Black, Dark multi, caramel, Reg amber purple, Ruby, Onyx, Turbo cobalt, Star white, Forrest green, Unobtanium, & English Ivy

~Came out to $308 for 14 lbs vs $300 for 8.5 lbs for the full sampler kit. basically an extra 5.5 lbs for free. :D

Gonna go with the Simax clear as recommended with a variety of sizes.
only downside is No frit or fume, that can come next month too.

So next question is Where would i look for grams of gold or .999 silver, if i dont go to a glass distributer? if you buy this way is there any sort of proccessing that needs to be done before use?
I LOVE FUME THOUGH, I miss those late 90's changers with the fumed bottom bubble & the way fumed non water pieces give color as you smoke. I think my very first pipe i ordered from the old colorchangingglass.com. Dont get me wrong the scientific stuff is cool & i appreciate all forms of glass... just not my cup of tea.

The AP and DAP are also color changers (aren't all transp striking colors?). That's why people usually back AP and fume pendants in black, it brings out the colors the same way resin does.