1 step forward, 2 steps backwards... $Y$TM's progression

It's been a while since I was on the torch but I am trying to get out in the garage more often now. I've had my gear for a little over 2 years but was not really able to use it that often. I had to work to much to pay it off! Started on a MiniCC and then broke the bank on a Delta Elite. Best thing I've ever bought:D

I am self taught so bear with me (minus one off hand class), it's been a frustrating week.:bangHead:
Here are some of the pieces that didn't break. I'm still having a hard time with the bowls. Getting the holes center, not to big or to small...those sort of issues. Really need to work on shaping. My spoons lack any.

good shit nice pics

Cool keep em comin

I've been messing around with blow in's/ stuff n' puff techniques. This one was Black Pearl stuffed into silver fumed clear.
Thought this one came out kinda cool. Really like the colors, it has almost an oily appearance to it in the sun.
I finally sunk the bowl decent but had a little trouble on the mouth piece. Pulled to much off and it's sort of an eye brow burner. I need to get more comfortable using cold seals on a preformed mouth piece but have had bad luck with pieces cracking at the seal or falling off at the wrong moment:tantrum:. So i weld all punty seals or work from a point.

Looking good.

Cracking issues will go away for the most part over time.

Try and be considerate of the glass's needs. When you are being a bitch to the glass it cracks.

I really like the swirls around your chillum constrictions. Diggin' on the smiley too. Nice work

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Originally Posted by hwcglass

When you are being a bitch to the glass it cracks.

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Funny you say that, I've always noticed when I feel calm and centered the glass will usually flow. And when having a bad day and you try and force the glass, well things usually don't work out. Call me a hippie but I have a theory on that one relating to water and Dr. Masaru Emoto. Glass is a liquid after all.

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Originally Posted by pipeshawk

Diggin' on the smiley too

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Thanks! I threw that in one day just cause I needed a good smile. Been trying to steer things in the positive direction as I was headed in the wrong direction for a while.

Lookin good my man. great stuff for self-taught. Those I/O's are money if you give it a little stretch in the middle and puff out the mouthpiece.

I dig the chillums, pendants and steam-rollers as well

Made this guy last night. I'm surprised it came out as one of my better ones so far. I was a little too medicated last night:chilling: My friend makes some monster brownies....my hands were a little shaky.

Same tech as the last one I posted. I'm stoked on the bowl on this one. Nice and center and not too big. Could of been a bit longer but it's not as bad as the last one. I think I need to get some bigger tubing to start with.
I think this one is going to my cousin.

You have to melt that in a little more so that the air bubbles have no sharp edges. That can cause the piece to crack.

Thanks for the tip Dom. The air bubbles got a little stretched out when I pulled the mid section. I was afraid to recondense things and repull.
Trying to get those blow ins smoother with less air bubbles, even thought the bubbles create a cool effect they weaken things.

Trying something a little different, my second attempt at a goblet. Stands 6"

Nice colors on those stuff and puffs. Those bubbles will sneak up on ya. Goblet is cool to, flaring the foot right is tough.

nice work man! i would say avoid cold seals all together and you will have less of a headache. practice welding your blow tube on nice and smooth and for your mouth piece. you have to practice picking open the holes i would say use a small flame and parctice picking and wleding with a couple blowtubes or scrap pieces so that way your not learning on a piece you want to come out nice.

^^do this seriously. Like 20 times in a row at least.

My tech for opening mouthpieces is to heat right where your tube attaches to the piece with a small sharp flame. Pull that out as far as you can before the glass cools. Cut it off as close to where you want the mouthpiece to be as possible. Now just heat up the thin area you just created and use a 7mm rod and stick it to that thin area and pull again. 2 times or so and the glass will be so thin it will open on it's own.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the tips guys!
You're right Boiseno on flaring the foot. My first attempt there was a little too much glass on one side and when I started the spin it went all crazy. That became scrap.
The second attempt the flare went a little better but I think it could of been with a shorter section, leaving more of a foot and less on the upper portion...if that makes any sense.
All in all it was a fun experiment. Never made one before. Figuring out how to join all the pieces together with only one semi-broken hot finger tool was interesting. I all ready have 2 friends that would like one so looks like I'm gonna try to perfect this one a little better.

Great work man, the blow-ins have some nice colour and that goblet turned out pretty sweet.
Also, you may already know this but it's not necessarily bubbles that will cause stress, it's sharp bubbles. Just make sure they're heated until they're roundish.

Some flowers for mom on Mother's Day. My first attempt at any sort of sculpting.

Still having fun with this blow in tek. Working on trying to minimize the air bubbles. It's getting there.
Also tried my first attempt at a one piece shirley. Definitely gonna have to work on that one. I find it really hard to pop the bowl hole on things like this where the bowl is out of center from the punty.

A couple from last night. Dry hammer and 2 spoons.

I almost thought I had ruined the hammer. I don't own a big enough set of hot fingers or proper set of gloves, so I had to improvise with some leather work gloves doubled up with a nomex sleeve folded in thirds to get it off the punty:D. Well the nomex sleeve had some stitching in the end of the sleeve that melted and left crap on the glass. Luckily it burned off in the kiln and left no marks. I was a happy camper this morning when I opened the kiln.

I think I might have to change the title of this thread, been feeling more confident with my glass lately. I felt like I stepped it up a notch on the hammer and am getting more consistent with the bowl sinking process.

Been really trying to focus on shape and proper length. Spoons are finally taking some form. The green (GA Clover) was really bubbly though, even with some clear over it.

I'm pretty happy with the chillum. Black with some fume and an unobtanium anti-roll dot. Was the first one I've made with a hollow bowl and not a constriction.

Love that fumed onie... I'm curious to see tha bowl on it

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Originally Posted by muk803

Love that fumed onie... I'm curious to see tha bowl on it

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Thanks Muk, here ya go. I usually make them with a constriction but thought I'd try something different. In the future I need to blow/ream out the fume part more. I couldn't sink the bowl as deep as I wanted to without possible tagging the fume part. It's still a good finger tip deep though.

Thanx for doin that man... Yeah when I didn't see that constriction I had a strong urge to see that bowl. Especialy how thin tha black are had appeared. But looks like a decent size bowl though. Good job on that piece man!

love that hitter design; smart and must be fun to make.

Lookin great! I dig the chillum. :)

very nice work man....love the fume chillum....really like the shape of it

A clown fish sherlock for a friend. Making all the coil pot sections was time consuming but worked good. The orange was trickier to work, had to watch the sublimation. Like all clown fish, there's an anemone close by.

That chillum looks killer and the sherlock looks great man! Nice work.

very nicely done on that clown sherly - lookin hawt

Didn't have access to a camera so I haven't posted in a while. I purchased a GoPro recently for the HD video, so the pictures aren't excellent. Also broke the bank last night with an order to Glasscraft. Finally! A torch mounted marver, necking tool and lots of color is on it's way. Also got some 25mm to try my first vac stack.

Pictured is my first attempt at sculpting, some quick 'n dirty wrap 'n rakes and still trying to perfect the blow in's. The last one I did, I didn't get one air bubble. Super stoked on that one! Repetition, repetition...

Found out yesterday that one of my pipes now resides half way across the globe in Tahiti on the island of Moorea. Kind of cool, never thought that would happen. It was part of the payment towards a tattoo my friend got over there.

really like the sherly bud
nice job

keep working on that sherlock bend, they took me forever to get down. once you get it though its second nature. Looking good go with the flow

Giggity Giggity! Nothing like some new color, marver and necking tool to play with:D

Droosl^^^^^^
I love looking at a fresh batch of color

Hell heah man! Looks like some fun. Neckimg tools rule. It's about the most used tool in my shop.

Pretty stoked on today. Made my first sale to a local store. Owner was a pretty straight forward dude and gave me some good advice on what to improve on and what his customers are looking for the most.
I would of taken some pics but the pieces were gone before I could get em. Got to pay for the glass and tools I just purchased. That necking tool is a sweet tool. I wish I would of discovered that sooner!

I was eyeing that marver, looks nice. You might enjoy diamond shears, too!

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Originally Posted by julian

I was eyeing that marver, looks nice. You might enjoy diamond shears, too!

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That's next on the list, along with some better hot fingers and some different sized bowl pushes. The shop owner today said that's what most of his customers want, a bigger bowl.
Ya, I'm loving this marver. I don't know how I lived without it before this. It's nice to have something close to the flame with hands free and the ability to be puntied at both ends. Also the construction of it is nice and beefy, not a cheesy hose clamp style.