cheap glass

[olddog]

is there any cheap but good glass out there I've tried Indian glass :tongue2: and I don't like it. Is the Chinese glass better :puzzled: Just restarting after many years away from any kind of glass.

[truedef]

you get what you pay for. sorry to be blunt

[olddog]

Not what I wanted to hear but expected that. I want glass to PRACTICE with but that works better than Indian glass.

[truedef]

I've enjoyed momka, northstar, alchemy. every time I used anything china it always ended up cracking on me either in or outside of the kiln.

I like using corning pyrex, kimble, or simax for clear rod and tube.

[Trevor]

just for practice chinese works fine. i use it sometimes for things outside of my skill level (which seems to be most stuff)
to reduce cracking avoid problematic colors like white and black, especially in pieces that take a lot of time and/or effort

[Trevor]

i dont have any experience with indian so i cant say if its better or worse than chinese

[menty666]

Not what I wanted to hear but expected that. I want glass to PRACTICE with but that works better than Indian glass.

If you're just practicing, what's wrong with the Indian glass? The white's absolute crap visually, but it's easy enough to work with. The crayon colors boil just like American crayon colors.

Realistically, if you're just practicing and worried more about the bottom line than the look, you should stick to clear, that way you can see any mistakes you're making in boiling, scuzzing, uneven thickness, etc.

[misled youth]

asian glass is about as cheap as it gets. ABR has bunches of it.
being that you are in NJ check out mcallister bicknell. you can get good deals on corning pyrex there

[olddog]

Thanks for the info I use Pyrex for my clear, but your saying that almost all crayon (opaque?) colors boil easily ?

[truedef]

I noticed white likes to boil a little, should be encased, that was like northstar

[olddog]

On average does opaque colors boil easier than semi transparent colors?

[truedef]

On average does opaque colors boil easier than semi transparent colors?

depends what your working with

[olddog]

depends what your working with
What do you mean what I'm working with? color? tech? ability? ha ha pretty low on ability.

[truedef]

sometimes I have a opaque color boil easily, some don't. same with transparent, semi transparent

good to slowly bring colors up to temp in my experience.

[Trevor]

On average does opaque colors boil easier than semi transparent colors?

yes. you can avoid boiling by working farther back in the flame and not letting the color get too hot

[misled youth]

yes opaques tend to boil easier then others. the saturation of the color makes them more prone.
to work them correctly, start in the far back of the flame "towards the point" and spin there for awhile. then move in a inch or 2, and spin for awhile. keep repeating till you are close in the flame. once they start to glow you can actually be pretty rough on them and they will be fine.
once ya get the hang of it, it is quite easy. just be patient and you will be rewarded.

eventually ya will be able to make unencased crayon tube

you can use the search engine on here to look up any color and get directions how to work it.

[istandalone24/7]

another option is to get a lb or two of shorts. cheap ass color!

[ROGUE]

another option is to get a lb or two of shorts. cheap ass color!

I go this route all the time. Unless you are making vac stacks or something, you don't need long rods of color. Shorts save me a ton of money.

[jr23]

I use all kinds of glass and find that china glass has issues sometimes but most can use it fine. Color stick with odds on sale.

[nodice]

I wonder what lampworkers a hundred years ago would have thought about Chinese glass if it feel in their lap.

[menty666]

I wonder what lampworkers a hundred years ago would have thought about Chinese glass if it feel in their lap.

I imagine they'd think the same thing we did, "Ow, damn, ow, that's hot!" Except, you know, in Chinese.

[LooseSeal Baller]

:puzzled: chinese eh, hmm,

[dustyg]

I wonder what lampworkers a hundred years ago would have thought about Chinese glass if it feel in their lap.

"This glass won't seem to melt"? How many people had oxy-propane torches a hundred years ago?

[olddog]

yes opaques tend to boil easier then others. the saturation of the color makes them more prone.
to work them correctly, start in the far back of the flame "towards the point" and spin there for awhile. then move in a inch or 2, and spin for awhile. keep repeating till you are close in the flame. once they start to glow you can actually be pretty rough on them and they will be fine.
once ya get the hang of it, it is quite easy. just be patient and you will be rewarded.

eventually ya will be able to make unencased crayon tube

you can use the search engine on here to look up any color and get directions how to work it.

That is my BIG problem I am IMPATIENT

[Abe Fleishman]

Seconds and odds are a great choice for testing and the color is much cheaper than firsts.
Abe

[misled youth]

olddog, learn patience, or you will not ever make it with glass. she is a mean fickle bitch, but if ya treat her good she will show the love.

abe is spot on about the seconds and odds. they are awesome for learning. hell i been doin this for a long time and i use them.
i have ,made some killer line work pieces with them. having 20 shades of orange is great!

[Kato]

Try using Schott boro artistic (SBA) Kimble, or Corning. They are better than Chinese, a bit more expensive but still cost effective. That way you can actually do some work that might actually have a decient survival rate. While still not feeling too beat on the pocket. Give saltcityglass.com a try for sba, ABR Imagery for Kimble, and Mountain Glass for Corning.

[istandalone24/7]

i think with Corning Pyrex, Wale Apparatus is a bit cheaper.....$20 a case shipping i think too.

[Kato]

Nice! Good to know^ didn't know that being as all I use is Simax :) mmmmm mmmmmm

[maui greenstone]

Shorts are great cheap glass too, most of the time it's sold in mixed bags by the company.

[olddog]

good to know guys thanks for the info