Hello from Connecticut!

[kidakus]

Well here is another one of the newbies joining the forum with no experience and a much lighter wallet... I am picking up this hobby to compliment my summer hobby of dirt bike racing as something to do in the winter months. I am going to focus on functional smoking pieces for myself and friends and just ordered the 420 deluxe kit from (http://www.sundanceglass.com/kit-420-glass-pipe-deluxe.htm) with a Nortel Mid-range after much research and a few clear boro tubing packs. Who knows maybe in a few months one of you will score some cheap gear from me :dieslaugh.

I am not looking to create a bunch of threads on this forum but will be doing some researching with that search function as this is a pretty matured forum.

I have a few options I am going over on where to set up and I am concerned about ventilation.
My options are:
1.
A large unfinished room with lots of windows(~12) that I can put box fans in alternating directions to get the air moving and have a desk fan at my workstation.
2.
Inside of my garage with 2 garage doors open and a fan. Not really interested in this because I keep about 50 gallons of gasoline at any time with quite a few motorcycles in there.
3.
Outside but it gets cold in Connecticut although not nearly as cold as Minnesota where I moved from.
4.
Spend a lot of money on an enclosed trailer and have a inline duct fan with hood

If anyone could chime in their 2 cents on this that would be great!

Like I mentioned before I am planning on just working with boro making spoons, sherlocks, doughnuts, etc. I am going to be looking at youtube and this forum for most of my training and trying to replicate pieces I see online or in smoke shops.

I think that is enough for one post, I am looking forward to learning from everyone.

[istandalone24/7]

hmm, i'd stay away from the window fans/box fans. they do move a lot of air, but not enough. check out "gable ventilator" on the google or home depot's website....they can be had for $150ish and move a TON of air. your ventilation is as important as your torch and kiln.

that midrange....good choice! i used one for about 2 to 2.5 years and loved it, so much that i wish i'd not have sold it. great torch that runs good on a couple 8lpm oxycons (even better on tanked). did you get the midrange with a top fire? if so is it the minor top or premixed? imho/ime, the premix is superior for fuming and detail work. having that on top of your surface mix mid is a great combo.

for vids, check out Revere Glass on the youtube. TONS of good info and technique. also on youtube, Timia Glass. he's an older fellow, but has great videos on your basic beginner techniques.

look for studios in your area and see what they charge for a beginner lesson. honestly youtube is great, but actually being able to watch from all angles and ask questions makes all the difference in the world. i see you live in CT, i'll bet there's quite a few lampers in your area or within an hours drive.

[istandalone24/7]

i meant to preface my post with, WELCOME!! you're in the right place, tons of great people here.

[kidakus]

Thanks for the reply! I'll go to Homedepot and check out that fan it looks pretty solid. Ventilation is my biggest concern as I don't want lung problems down the road. I just got the midrange with no top because I thought it would be very easy to add a minor or mega when I needed more heat. I have been looking at reverglass videos all week and excited to try the techniques. Thank you for the information.

[istandalone24/7]

anything i can do to help.
are you going to be using tanked oxy, or concentrators?

[kidakus]

There is a company that delivers gasses to houses and refills them so I am going to have a oxygen rental from them I just need to decide on the size. Oxygen concentration systems are expensive and take years to get your money's worth. I need a tank that has a good compromise between weight and duration I was thinking a 300. If I set up in my unfinished room with lots of windows where would you place that fan?

[Oneiros]

There is a company that delivers gasses to houses and refills them so I am going to have a oxygen rental from them I just need to decide on the size. Oxygen concentration systems are expensive and take years to get your money's worth.

Not if you DIY rather than buying a turnkey system. My initial setup ran me less than $1200 for everything, iirc. Considering that liquid dewars cost ~$275 where I live and I'm about 6 months into my current studio space, I'm already at or very near my break even point. If you do the comparison for k tanks, I'm already well past the break even, afaik. Just some food for thought :)

[istandalone24/7]

There is a company that delivers gasses to houses and refills them so I am going to have a oxygen rental from them I just need to decide on the size. Oxygen concentration systems are expensive and take years to get your money's worth. I need a tank that has a good compromise between weight and duration I was thinking a 300. If I set up in my unfinished room with lots of windows where would you place that fan?

you do realize that you'll eat up one of those 300's a day, right? at best you'll get a day and a half out of them.

[kidakus]

I'm in college full time and working full time so I will mainly be doing this on the weekend. What size tank would you recommend for getting through the weekend? They company I am looking at is Aero all gas from Hartford CT they offer 244, 300, 360 and 480 cu.ft tanks for oxygen so perhaps I'll get a 480 or 2 300s. My limitation is I need to bring the tank up a flight of stairs.

As for ventilation I would prefer not to modify the building at all. My goal is to get sufficient ventilation using an exhaust fan connected to a window opening measuring 17" x 33" located directly in front of my work station in an attic. Homedepot was a bust as they only had a 8" inline fan in their store. The search continues...

Thank you for the helpful comments!



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[istandalone24/7]

biggest you can lift ;)

[kidakus]

I've got everything ordered I was hoping I can get some advice on a kiln. There is 4 available near me all top loaders for 200-350 ea. This is what I am looking at https://hartford.craigslist.org/art/5825728870.html large ones are $350 ea with some misc shelving and small is $200.
and
https://nwct.craigslist.org/for/5824836234.html $200
I would like to just batch anneal. Would love to purchase one today but I am not finding much about the kilns themselves as I am only seeing the controller information.

[PyroChixRock]

Hi :)

[LRG]

If I HAD to get one today I would pick the 110v seeleys,I like 110 kilns.. plug in anywhere with no messing around.None of the kilns are great for glass,the little blow tube door is worth is weight in gold.I seen you said just to toss glass in but think you will want to have a blow tube door.I worked with out one,I have used kilns like in the pic,it will do but just need to learn some tricks and there not too bad.I drill holes for blow tubes and cut little groves in pottery kilns for prep to sit.Talk them down to 150$ on the small kiln might be a deal.I grew up/started glass in CT I still know some blowers up there,sure I could set you up with someone still.I would have to check who is by you still but ct is not to big haha.AIM kiln will sell you just a little blow tube door!Cheap!We just fixed up my buddys kiln from being painful to watch him use.I can cut anything so that made it not to hard ,angle grinder and a few min it was on.He had a front loading swing out door so it was easy to mod.Got lucky and just had to trim the aim door a bit and chop his old door.I did weld it all up again but could of got around that.Can lay a kiln that on it side and use it too.My buddy had that same kiln(small one)on its side with a hole cut in the front,seems to work out for him.

[kidakus]

LRG I'll see if I can score the small one for $150 It would be nice if I could modify it a bit and for only $150 I wouldn't be out too much if I messed it up. As for meeting a fellow glass maker that would be pretty helpful but with working full time and taking 5 classes at Tunxis Community College I think I would frustrate anyone that tried to help me in person from a lack of time to work on glass.

There are 2 large kilns with the small one and one of them is a 110v as well. My only concern with the small one is that It would be the limiting factor on the size of my work. I offered $150 for the small one so I'll see what he says. Thank you for all of the help I really appreciate it!

Hello back at you Pyrochixrock. I really like the community here.

I thought I should give an update on everything I ordered for my lampworking studio.

For ventilation I have an industrial size box fan that is 2800cfm all metal so it should hold up for awhile and have more than enough air flow It will be mounted to a window blowing air out. My work area is kind of like a 15ft wide hallway with a window at the end with my workstation about 5 feet away from the fan/window and the hallway is attached to a large room with multiple windows that I will open so when my fan is on I should have a nice wind tunnel effect to clear all of the air.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lasko-20-in-Metal-Box-Fan-B20725/205846239?cm_mmc=hd_email-_-Ship_Conf-_-20161017_PP_ET_Merch_Ship_Conf_2941496-_-pip_url__W536530867

Torch is a Nortel midrange with just the base no minor.

Tools I bought the 420 deluxe kit from Sundance art with the midrange. I will get more tools as I go but I think I will be good for awhile.
http://sundanceglass.com/kit-420-glass-pipe-deluxe.htm

For Glass I bought all boro with a Borosilicate Glass Assortment of Tube Rod and Color for $45 to get me started as well as 26mm x 4mm x 5ft ($17) and 22mm x 3.2mm x 5ft ($11)
http://www.sundanceglass.com/borosilicate-pyrex-tube-1.htm

I still need to order an oxygen tank and I will do that tomorrow.

Workstation is a steel frame desk 60" x 30" with a piece of plywood on it I am looking to get some large tile to cover the working area.

I have a fire extinguisher mounted at the exit 20 ft from my work station if shit hits the fan.

Hopefully I can pick up that 110v small kiln

Everything should be here by Friday and I hope to be attempting to make a pipe or chillum this weekend just to see how close I can get to making something and give me a starting point reference.

Thanks again for all of the help I cant believe how much information is in these forums.

[kidakus]

I got that kiln today for $175. Pretty happy with it. I am really looking forward to receiving all my gear on Friday.

I called the oxygen provider near me and they quoted 60 a year for rental and 45 a refill but they swap out the tank at my house so I guess it's not horrible for a 300 tank.

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[Oneiros]

Just to point it out, $60 down + $45/fill is over $2k for your first year of torching even if you only go through one 300/week. If you find yourself with a growing glass addiction, that cost could shoot up significantly. My o2 system cost less than that (albeit it had a larger upfront cost) and provides significantly more oxygen. Again, just pointing it out for consideration :)

[kidakus]

Oneiros thanks for the tip! I am looking into concentrators but I'm planning on using tanked oxygen for the first few months as committing to the large purchase of one is just too much when I've never even turned on a torch before.

I really like the idea of concentrators I mean who likes lugging around a big chunk of metal every refill?

I'll keep an eye open for a good deal on one.

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