If it helps i dont have a bench roller so im having to use my hands to spin the the foot open. I also only spin the rod inbetween my fingers and not my palm.
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If it helps i dont have a bench roller so im having to use my hands to spin the the foot open. I also only spin the rod inbetween my fingers and not my palm.
Did you make 100 clear vases yet? If not, get to it. Once you do that you are ready to make foots and other such things.
You are still asking for advice while refusing to follow the advice already given.
James, I'm confused about your statement about not having a premix for fuming ... I've worked extensively on a variety of both premix and surface mix torches and I have to say that it can actually be a little trickier getting a good fume with a premix. Surface mix torches, by comparison, are a whole lot easier to work out how to get great results with both silver and gold.
Your nortel should be just fine for it and get you the whole spectrum of results which fuming can give. You need to play with your flame a bit more and remember settings for results. For example, you may fume with an oxidizing flame and see next to nothing. However once you've done the fume, if you hit the glass with a reducing flame, you will see the fume develop as the metal on the glass reduces. It's all about flame chemistry.
You also don't need a yoke or rollers to flare a foot. With practice you can flare an even foot quite easily, or even make spun feet.
Practice making objects with as few tools as you can or even no tools (other than the glass itself). You'll find that you can construct a vase or a goblet totally without tools or holders just by understanding and using the properties of hot glass, gravity, centrifugal forces, etc. Once you understand the basic principles move on to using tools. Tools are there to make life a bit easier and work a bit faster. But no amount of tools and crutches will help you if you don't understand the basics.
When practicing use a lighter wall gauge of tubing, like medium wall. It's cheaper and it will enable you to gain better control of the glass as well as your flame. If you can get proficient at shaping light or medium wall glass, heavy or extra heavy wall glass is an absolute snack.
There are no shortcuts to experience other than condensing a lot of practice into a short time frame.
I got to pull thousands of points before I was allowed to make the next step, which was straightening out all the points I pulled out crooked. After that, I got to pull all those points in half and practice test tube bottoms and then blowing spheres, then more points, then right angle bends, U bends, T joints, hose connectors etcetc ... I was lucky, I guess, i had the best scientific teacher I could have wished for. Mind you, I didn't always see it that way, but time and experience brought with it a lot of understanding ...
What most people these days don't realise is that putting in the time for practice right at the start and perfecting every step will actually save you time in the long run and increase the speed at which you learn as well as enable you to make better work. It's pretty much a no brainer. Everyone wants to drop a stem into a can on the first day... focus on practicing one thing until it is as near perfect as it will get, then move onto the next ... I know glass is exciting and there's so much exciting stuff to learn, but curb your impulse to want to learn everything right now ... be patient, take one step after the other and you will learn in a better and more useful way ...
There some good advice from very experienced people in this thread, read it, glean the wheat from the chaff and take the good advice along with you on your way ...
Last night i came to that understanding. I guess im just tired of the failing with my ideas some work and others just fall apart. So i only got one question before i start this massacre of clear. Points or a blowtube?
imo, both. points and blowtubes both have their merits.
Points have there place, learning to use blowtubes its a good habit though, and teaches you welds over and over and over and over again. Blowtubes would be my vote for you, but some of the "old-timers" will hopefully chime in too.
Both have their place, try both out.
There are surely epic threads where everyone has debated this. Someone link one and prove the search works.
Never deny yourself the opportunity to learn a technique because of what other people tell you. Points or blowpipes? As Aymie says, endless debate. This debate is complete bullshit and it shouldn't even exist, because the bottom line is that they're both useful and very excellent techniques to know, so get proficient in one first, then get proficient in the other. You'll find yourself in situations where there is no glass for blow tubes available and you'll find yourself in situations where the glass is too heavy to rely on points or is too large a diameter to pull points effectively.
Versatility is the name of the game, become proficient at different permutations of techniques that do the same thing and you'll never get caught out :)
Interesting fact: a lot of the OG scientific guys over here call points "spindles" ... I believe "spindles" comes from the UK and "points" comes from mainland Europe.
Thats pretty cool aussie thanks for the termonology. How did you get started in scientific glass anyways?
I worked sci tech I only heard of a point being called a point...never a spindle...spindle is a piece of a lathe....interesting to hear the different perspective though :)
I was at a crossroads a bit over 20 years ago, the two things I wanted to do with my life turned out to be either largely boring or full of shit, even though they help me with my work now. My father was a humble scientific glassblower, so humble, in fact, that he didn;t realise the true value of his abilities. There was nothing he couldn't do or work out how to do with clear glass. One of his ongoing jobs was making gas/liquid seperators, which included pierce sealing 3mm diameter hose connectors into these vessels using a tiny hydrogen flame. A Smith little torch would have been to big for this job :DQuote:
Originally Posted by James Lewis
Anyway, he asked if I wanted to come onboard and because I was disenchanted and had nothing else to do, I did. And I'm so glad I did ... it wasn't always particularly easy, mainly because I've got a fiercely independent and artistic streak, but I've never looked back. I rarely touch scientific glass anymore, but it's the best training I could have ever asked for and the best gift, in my book, for a father to pass down to his son, is to impart solid foundations to build on. Thanks, dad!
My thoughts on points vs blow tubes is both as well. Points teach even pulls and keeping things straight and center, mostly by way of learning to get then back to center after you pull it. Blow tubes teach welds.
I have no hard rules for either. I use blow tubes 95% of the time. I find points wasteful. Christina Cody reuses points for blow tubes and blow ins, reducing the waste, mine are too thin. I pull points on 50x5 since its hard to weld a nice blow tube on something that size. When doing a tube pull, I use a 16mm tube with a small open ended blank of 26mm tube to bridge the size difference.
Great tip. Thanks AymieQuote:
Originally Posted by Aymie
im in a scientific aprenticeship and first we learned to pull points to understand how the glass moves and behaves , when to pull and to rotate even and stretch even, most of the time we use points or spitzen how they are called in germany, after that we learned to make welds, connect tubes of the same and different diameter ...i think if you learn both you will be better overall with the glass then just using only blowtubes...
Attachment 43461Attachment 43462
these are the vase attempts i did last night.
Attachment 43463
this is the shape im after. Someone left this at my house before i moved in.
What size tubing are you using for those vases ?
32mm x 4mm its all i have for now tonight im going to try for bigger and not be so afraid of it failing
Cool I knew if must've been bigger than the 25mm I was using kuz if I blew it out that big it'd be paper thin.
Good luck tonight dude.
You can go huge off 25, and it is actually an important skill to be able to blow a large bubble out of smaller diameter tubing. Condense your tube down into a thick egg using gravity an light puffs to maintain an even wall thickness and shape. Once you have a large enough mass blow that shit out! If you are still having issues you can condense smaller bulbs then combine those before blowing out. Hope that helps.
It should hopefully thank you.
Attachment 43479
heres what i did last night. Their in order from left to right. Lastnight when i was trying to fall asleep i realized i was going about this wrong. The shape ive been after has been under my nose since i started. If you look at the vase im trying to get and the ones im making. I realized i have the shape i was just to stupid to see it. Flip mine upside down and put the neck and mouth on the bottom and there you go the shape ive been after. All it is is gravity not punty no tricky blowing just heat and gravity. Thank you so much Anymie for pushing me and aussie to and everyone else that stuck on my ass about working with clear. I feel more inspired and confiAttachment 43479
Attachment 44610
A snowman i made you for one of the guys i work with i think the shaping could of been a bit better around the head but overall i was happliy suprise with it
Wow I may be a little too late on this, but putting your art out there on display only a month or so into torching probably isn't the best idea. Although your family and close friends will tell you how amazing the stuff you make is, the rest of the world will not be as forgiving. In a few years you'll look back and understand. It's like telling your 16 year old daughter why she shouldn't date that one guy and she runs off and marries him. Fast forward 3 years as she's cradling her bastard child looks up and says why didn't I listen to you. Morale.. I guess you just gotta live it to see how stupid some of the shit you do is. The you is people in general.
Long story short.. you got a long way to go before you aren't just selling to friends and family. Yeah it's expensive to put what you are making in the trash, but you'll be better for it in the long run. If you want to start selling, pick one damn thing, make it till it's perfect, throw away everything made prior, then take that to the store. Oh wait that's been said already.
i know people who bought some of the first pipes i ever made. they were janky as fuck. they have come back recently and bought some of my newer stuff. they still have the earlier work of mine. they are more than happy to own examples of my progress. these are not friends or family, but random customers.
i wonder what a "first year" piece from a top artist is worth.
why would you throw away something that someone is willing to pay you for? i've sold everything i have ever made. other than a few pieces i kept for sentimental reasons.
seems like there are a lot of silly made up "rules".
i'm sure i'm wrong though. i always am. :)
The middle one doesn't look bad. Just keep at it.
Im not selling the vases if thats what your thinking Big Jay. The snowman was something that coworker just asked if i could do so i gave it a crack. Hes the second snowman. Not trying to defend my work or really sell it as much anymore. Lately ive just been pulling tubing for the guy im apprenticing for its a two hour drive there and back but its worth every penny. Hes gonna help me get into the pipe market around here but really im just doing it to learn from a awesome artist (in my eyes at least).
That's your best market right now. The reason why you wait is because some stores have a memory. Some are super cool of course and will support your career and progression, others will remember that first stuff you sold them with the wonky holes and shallow dishes that no one would buy and god forbid it come back cracked. Some will take advantage of knowing you haven't been in the game very long and getting your prices up will be tough.Quote:
Originally Posted by James Lewis
You are apprenticing though and that is your best source for how to approach your local market. If you do nothing else keep pulling those tubes! Good luck, sounds like you are headed in the right direction.
wow bunch of asshats here.
there is nothing wrong with newbies posting progression threads.
James, don't drink the koolaid. it'll make you act like 80% of the members here.
Nobody, at least no posts I've read, said anything wrong with new progression threads. Matter of fact they are usually appreciated as people can see what is going wrong and where to direct help.Quote:
Originally Posted by istandalone24/7
It's amazing that everyone who has been in glass for any length of time has the same advice, but because it's not what new glass blowers want to hear then clearly people are assholes for saying it. Most of the glassholes I've met, were people who didn't know how to blow glass. Just about every single person I met on this forum since starting my glass blowing adventure right here on this forum in 2007, has overwhelmed me with help. Of course I never said oh that's cool show me how, then said no I don't want to do it that way without even trying first. As much as people don't want to believe it, glass blowers love their family.
No wonder you stand alone...no one likes a know it all with very little life experience. Oh and before you start typing some sort of long winded reply about your life experience, please know that I don't care. STFU, learn more and run your mouth less. You will get a lot further in this world.
I have met a bunch of folks from this forum in person and have nothing but love for every single one of them. Seems to me that if out of 100% of the people i have met from here all of which have been not just cool but also amazing teachers that maybe you don't know what the fuck you're talking about...just saying. Maybe you should meditate on the fact that it may not be the people here, it's probably you. These people don't get paid to help people learn glass. They do it for the love of glass. If you're around here for a while you will be hazed (especially with a shitty attitude like yours). We all have taken our licks and you show a lot about yourself by how you take it. There is tons of love here, kill the attitude and find the love.
i was replying to big jays comment "but putting your art out there on display only a month or so into torching probably isn't the best idea"
i made no comment that should make you think i "know it all" and have a whole life's experience. your deductive reasoning needs some work. it's funny.....you're bitching about me "reading into things" and yet....you are making more out of my post then it really deserves. in your fucked up world, if a newbie simply doesn't agree with a vet, they're labeled "entitled, ungrateful etc".
regardless of what you all say, that's an asshat comment if there ever was one. people should be proud of their progress. i am.
so why don't you "stfu" instead of picking fun at people's username....dr phil would have a field day with many of you people.
what a joke some of you are.
If you would have read the whole thread instead of just the comment, you would know I was talking about an art display he put up at his local library and trying to get his art in shows at less than a month of torching. Think you need to check who is the asshat.Quote:
Originally Posted by istandalone24/7
Quote:
Originally Posted by James Lewis
i have read the whole thread. go take a toke and mellow out there tiger.
mmm nice snowman... I think that's what it is
Yeah I get it, I am legitimately trying to help the guy out with his career. You call me an asshat, but I'm the one who needs to go mellow out. I wouldn't expect you to say hey I misread what you were trying to say and I'm sorry my mistake.Quote:
Originally Posted by istandalone24/7
why would i apologize when you jumped on my shit? yes i may have misread what you posted but you over-reacted big time.
Please everyone calm down. Big jay the advice would of been good when i first started but ive been working for alittle over a year now. The ornaments were something i was displaying mainly. Ive done over a 150 of them. Still trying to improve with them. But now all i want to do is learn from my mentor his work is awesome and i just wish to learn im not veiwing this as work just a method of self control. So everyone please relax and feel the flow. :chilling:
Attachment 45001
This is the center of 2ft peice of tubing i just pulled the best one yet. How ever the deep sea inbetween the azul and twilight was bubbly as all hell. So not the best looking color wise but best in thickness and diameter. Still got alot of tubing to pull though.
Attachment 45070
this is one of three stripe and pulls i did tonight. My last one i did the base tube was around 5inches. Part of me said to cut it down after i striped it the other said go for it you pussy so i did and i pulled it off but the last ended cracked all to shit but im happy i went through with it xD.