Thinking I'm not getting everything hot enough...

[Forge]

Hey all,

I've been messing with the encalmo tech that Kato listed in the "incalmo guidance" thread, thanks again Kato, and just had a quick question (sorry if this is should be in the color section):

Will 2 different colors, say AP and slyme, blow out in an even bubble , or will one always cool a bit faster and cause distortion/off-roundness, assuming even wall thickness and an even heat base before puffing?

Sorry if this question is ridiculous but I could not find an answer by searching.

Thanks "Miyagis"

[CripSkillz]

More heat on in general but more on the stiffer color

[LooseSeal Baller]

light your torch and see ;)

[jr23]

Blowing out different density colors is best achieved threw effort. Sometimes success is gained with the thickness of each section of color being the right thickness. Timing is one of the biggest factors.

But yes it can and is done. The one that always got me was Eric G used to do china black and china amber encolmos, clean as a whistle. I think he works at Corning . In a nice spot

[Forge]

Thanks jr23 and Cripskillz!, I figured this was the case. I've got a boatloads of learning to do,

I've been trying with the colors listed and was 99% sure it was my skill level and not something I was missing but just wanted to have you guys weigh in to make sure.

Thanks

[Matt P]

For me it comes down to lots of heat, then letting the heat soak and even out outside of the flame for a few seconds at least before blowing.

[Forge]

Thanks Matt!,

Tonight I'm going to get something ripping hot and give it another go...

another thing that might be hurting me is making 2 1/2 to 3" sections and trying to evenly heat it with my lynx.....NOT blaming the torch but I've been reluctant to go bigger because of my skill level/limited amount of time I get torching, but it just seems that having a wider flame might contribute to my success.

[istandalone24/7]

some would say a bigger/hotter torch won't make you a better glass blower. i could argue that point, because i noticed an improvement in my work when i went from a minor on oxycons to a midrange on tanked, and a big improvment when i got my phantom.
so no a bigger/hotter won't make you a better craftsman/artist per se, but having the right tools/adequate heat makes a big difference.

[Forge]

Thanks for the input,

I might as well get on the waiting list for a phantom while trying to decide between the 2, the other being a bravo.

I guess tonight I'll make a tiny 2 or 3 section encalmo, say about an inch, and see if I can get it blown out even using all the tips listed here.

[diogenes]

still a newb but... Its like each color goes thru a state change ....Light goop - Middle goop - heavy goop....ive had ok luck with the temperature range of the middle goop attained in both colors to work evenly, even tho each color has different temps in between...so its almost like a balancing act, affected by different things such as size of gather/torch etc, to get each in that middle goop? If i go for light goop they will blow out uneven and both heavy goop i risk burning. Just how i'm trying to make sense of it because I've had the same troubles.